Norton AntiVirus?

Yesterday I installed Norton Sytemworks 2004 on my WIN98 pc and am beginning to wonder if this software is itself a virus, as it has done far more damage than the stuff it is supposed to be curing. looks like it's a case of "the operation was a success but unfortunately the patient died". I keep having to re-boot as I keep being informed that the system is dangerously low on resorces. When the software did it's pre-installation scan I tried to print its report but was told I had insufficient memory (my RAM is 120MB). The most irritating problem is that the dial up connection box comes up as soon as I boot up and can't be closed, even using control alt delete. If I leave the machine unattended for any length of time it is quite likely to have gone unstable and shut down windows. Everything seems much,much slower and some programs, like the hearts card game, no longer work at all.

The irony of it is that the software was a birthday present from my parents. When I asked for it, my father told me he had tried an earlier version of the Norton software on his computer but had to remove it again as it caused so many problems.I should have listened to him!

 

Norton has a tendency to run EVERYTHING in the background, all the time, which really bogs down the system, on top of some of their apps being destabilizing. If you want to try to salvage it, start by going through all the preferences/options for all the apps, and disable "run at startup", however they word it, to keep them from running in the background.

I still use System Works 2003, but keep everything shut OFF until I want to use something, and I'm using AVG6 anti-virus instead of Norton's. Lighter on the resources. I've heard that System Works 2004 is worse for stability than 2003 was, but give the above a try if you want to keep it.

 

Hi Fido, You may want to check this item out regarding your dial-up box problem: http://service1.symantec.com/Support/nav.nsf/docid/2002012513283206

and this thread and responses http://majorgeeks.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26417&highlight=maxwell+norton where I've commented on a similar dial-up problem.

Here is a direct link to my earlier response: http://majorgeeks.com/vb/showpost.php?p=295972&postcount=15

 

Hi Fido,
I just wanted to add my opinion and share my experience here. You will get varied opinions and should listen to all then do what you believe is right for you and your computer. When I first came to Major Geeks I was also using Norton products. Unlike you, I didn’t realize that they were my problem, and most members told me to get them off my computer. I got very angry at them because I had spent so much money on my Norton products, but I eventually listened to them and rid my PC of them. My computer runs much better (faster) now- the difference is astounding! My system has 256 Mb. RAM, Intel 857 MHz Pentium 3 processor and I am running Windows XP Pro. Although there are tools for removing components of System Works and some instructions on the Symantec Knowledge Based web site, I ultimately had to reformat my HD to completely rid my PC of it! It is strong, thorough protection, but in my experience most personal computers do not have the power to sustain Norton products. My friends call upon me to “fix” their PC’s and the first thing I do is rid their systems of Norton products as best I can. I have seen new Pentium 4 systems with over 1 Gig Ram and 1.6 MHz that still cannot successfully run SystemWorks!

You expressed regret over installing System Works and not listening to your father. Don’t be hard on yourself, as we have to make our own mistakes in order to learn. Perhaps you can return System Works and get a memory card for your PC if you decide not to use it. I now use AVG 7.0 antivirus and Zone Alarm Pro firewall, although there are free versions of these and many other freebies that work just as well and can be found in these links:

Antivirus: http://majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html
Firewall: http://majorgeeks.com/downloads16.html

Shop around the freebies pages and decide for yourself what is best for you and your system. These Geeks are great, and always give the best advice! My suggestion is to ask many questions and listen. Good luck with whatever you decide and keep us posted!

Take care,
Gina

 

Thanks for the replies, guys. Things came to a head this morning when I kept re-booting but could not get any applications to run. After using control alt delete to shut down a dozen or so programs I was able to get the control panel up and try to uninstall the package. Even that didn't work properly as 3 parts of the uninstall kept timing out. I will see if the remaining bits still cause trouble. The Norton package was bought from Spell software and I noticed when I entered this site today you were displaying an advert at the top of the page for this same product from the same supplier! One minor point concerns the packaging. I received a typical printed box (4 cogwheels etc), roughly 9" by 7" by 2 1/2" with the CD and handbook loosely dropped in. The book was slightly damaged by all the rattling around in transit and I wondered if there should be additional packaging to hold things in place. Could it be a pirated copy?

 

Actually, rnisupg.exe and rnav.exe from Symantec, only remove up to the 2003 versions.

Fido has 2004.

 

I use 2003 strictly for its windoctor and speeddisk. I won`t touch the anti virus suite or clean sweep. I`d like to think there is a utility out there that does what WinDoctor does, and a better defragger. But I am still looking. Norton did pizz me off when they dropped the move swapfile to front of hard drive tweak for the winxP Systemworks. I haven`t been able to find any other utility that would do that, now Norton doesn`t either.

 

Fido,
I know this is late (but in case you do come back) I used Norton products for 3 years and they were all loosely packaged as you described.

Take care,
Gina