Norton Antivirus 2004

Rating:
Summary: More bloated but works!
Review: I have to admit I feel quite ambivalent toward Symantec products. Back in the 80s Peter Norton's software was mean and lean, doing well what they were designed to do. Then Symantec bought Norton out and the software, like Windows itself, became bloatware with lots of bugs and secret registry entries that would just screw up your PC.

I don't now if Symantec ever listens to its customers. Well, since they offer generous rebates, and we customers jump on them, I guess they don't have to listen to us.

Anyway, Norton Antivirus 2004 finally came out. It, at long last, has one feature that I had been writing Symantec about for years: the ability to scan for key loggers and other snoopware. I set up a few of such programs on a virtual machine via Virtual PC, and NAV 2004 was able to identify all of them. To someone like me who does a lot of online banking, this feature alone is worth the (after-rebate) upgrade price.

Otherwise, you get the same features from the previous version, such as the ability to scan compressed files and to monitor IM chat sessions. One new feature that'll sure irk some people is the Microsoft-like product activation feature; you must type in a product code and then use the Internet or phone to activate NAV 2004 if you want to use it for more than 15 days.

Installation was easy as I upgraded from NAV 2003. Everything went smoothly. The only negative I've noticed is NAV 2004 seems to take longer to load at start-up than previous versions. (I have a P4 system running XP.) Not a big deal, but perhaps a sign of Symantec's diehard inability to write Peter Norton-quality software?

In summary, if you are concerned about snoopware such as keystroke loggers, or if you haven't upgraded in two years, get this. Shop around and you'll find rebates to help you upgrade.

Rating:
Summary: Get rid of adware and free your PC
Review: MY brand new PC with XP had begun to freeze due to an ad ware program that would allow pop-ups to invade even when explorer was closed. Adware program hunters did nothing. Firewalls did nothing.
Norton 2002 did nothing. After purchasing and configuring Norton 2004 the malicious script had been eliminated and the problem was gone.
Regarding the issue of keeping the software up to date all I have to say is - of course! Any soft ware has to be configured. This software can be easily configured to AUTOMATICALLY download new virus definitions daily, scan your computer for all known threats daily, scan all incoming and outgoing email, scan all websites visited, all without the user having to remember anything.
Just spend 15 minutes learning about the program and configuring it when you get it home. This program is indispensible.

Rating:
Summary: You do have options...
Review: Buy an inexpensive broadband router such as the D-Link DI-604 (this is your firewall) and a copy of PC-cillin from Trend Micro (this is your virus software) and you're good to go.

Rating:
Summary: Norton AntiVirus 2004
Review: The service is terrible, they will not help you at all.
It will not delete the viruses, it will not quarantine, it will not fix. I am very upset with this whole thing. Thank goodness for rebates at least I didn't lose all my money.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: Had Norton AV about a year..it's terrible. Has never caught a virus in advance, despite updates every three days. Takes over your system, nags you to death, and serves no purpose, assuming you don't open executable email attachments from strangers. What prompted me to write this negative review is a "feature" where Norton reboots your computer after an update..with no way to cancel after you have agreed to the update. I hit cancel, and the machine rebooted anyway....ugh. get a clue, norton.

Poorly designed, poorly engineered, and of little use.

Rating:
Summary: Product Activation Sinks NAV2004
Review: New in 2004 for NAV: A Microsoft-like Product activation scheme.

The NAV CD informs that you have 15 days to 'activate' the software with Symantec or it will stop working. Lose your docs and no more product on re-install.

The Anti-virus remains top, but there are many others 99% as good.

This is an unwelcome feature for me and I will be buying another solution next year.

Rating:
Summary: Just Don't Do It !
Review: If you read most of the customer reviews about Norton Antivirus 2004 you will find out that a majority of formerly dedicated Norton users agree that Norton Antivirus 2004 and most of the Norton 2004 products are flawed. I have also used Norton Antivirus products for years and I would have to agree with them. Here are just a few reasons why I recommend that you Just Don't Do "The Norton Dance" anymore:

-Needless hassle of newly required product activation scheme.
-Buggy and bloated software resulting in system slow down, startup problems, crashes and BSDs.
-Non existent free technical support for customers.
-Expensive compared to other antivirus software solutions.
-Cost for renewing annually for each system is expensive.
-Very difficult to uninstall their software as Norton programs infect your system files and registry like a weed.

I read alot of reviews and the 2004 releases have been a nightmare for former Norton customers. If you are using pre-2004 Norton products such as Norton AV 2003 or Systemworks 2003 you could consider paying for another year or more of updates if you want to hold out a while longer. Maybe Symantec will get its act together by 2005 or 2006. But considering that they already took their customers down this faulty trail in 2004 I have serious doubts that next year's products will be any different.

Here are some alternatives that seem to work well for Windows XP based systems if you don't already have Norton AV on your system or you have completely and properly removed Norton AV, Systemworks, Internet Security, etc. from your machine.

-McAfee AV 2004 . I use it with the McAfee Spamkiller and Zone Alarm Pro 4 programs it works great and uses far less of your computer's resources than Norton 2003 or 2004 AV (If you buy the bundled McAfee 2004 Security Suite don't install the buggy McAfee "Privacy Service" program and instead do a custom installation without it.)

-PC-Cillin Internet Security 2004 is an antivirus, firewall, antispam product all in one. I just purchased the retail boxed version this Trend-Micro product online for about forty five US dollars and I cannot wait to try in out on one of my machines. I have heard nothing but praise and positive reviews about it from people who use it.

-Kaspersky Antivirus . There is a new version 5.0 AV product out that is suppose to be very easy to use. Kaspersky is a highly regarded Russian/European based antivirus company and they are more well known in Europe but are making inroads quickly to the U.S. due to their highly acclaimed security software products. They reportedly have a history of highest virus detection rates when compared to the other top antivirus software in the world such as McAfee, Norton, etc. Go to their web site for more product information.

- AVG Antivirus from Grisoft . I hear it works well and they have a free version that is very popular. It can be downloaded from the Grisoft web site. I haven't tried it myself but if I didn't want to spend any money at all on AV software I would probably use it.

-Remember that there are many more good antivirus solutions that you can also try out that supposedly work very well (Panda AV, E-Trust AV, etc.).

FINALLY: Regardless of which Antivirus software you decide to use you should also have a good software firewall installed and enabled on your machine. The best is Zone Alarm 4.x (free download from ZoneLabs) or Zone Alarm Pro 4.x (There is a new and untested ZAP v5.0 available also). If you use PC-Cillin it comes with a firewall. At the very least you should enable the Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) found in your WindowsXP nework settings and there will be a newer and better Windows XP ICF v2 bundled with WindowsXP service pack 2.

Rating:
Summary: About Anti-Virus
Review: To be honest this is an indispensable item. Norton probably have the world's best update system for computer viruses even though smaller FREE software packages do the exact same thing except they update later (using what Norton has found, and what other packages have discovered) but Norton still leads the field. If you want the best you have it here.

Norton Installs without ANY problems. I have put it on several different systems, uninstalled it and it worked every time. IT IS A SLOW PACKAGE and can not be used in the background without a very fast machine or else you will be on a serious go-slow. For that reason do virus scanning when you are not doing anything on your PC. The Live updater is great and brings your system up to date with the latest viruses and AD-AWARE! So you also get to find things that these types of FREE (and great) software packages offer. To be honest this is a must for any system.

The only drawback I found was in the Norton File Protection system. This KEEPS files after you have deleted them from your recycle bin. You need to actually turn it off from the Norton Antivirus control panel and then go into the bin and delete items manually. This took me a few hours how to figure out properly but the documentation is online if you look for it.

Although the package is slow - it is extremely solid, robust and finds those files that you need to remove. It may be a bulky added extra to your system but it will save your files some day and in this day and age you must have some protection (Try the FREE software packages out there like AVG and Ad-Aware to see what could be on your system!).

Like I said I have never had any install/uninstall problems. It runs smoothly on Windows2000 and XP. It has never crashed on me. It finds the bad guys and kills them for me. It even finds files that the FREE software above can not.

I would recommend it... maybe insist on using this software when you can. If you haven't got it then get it.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Owning
Review: Despite the numerous bad reviews seen here on Amazon.com, I just upgraded from Norton Antivirus 2003 to 2004. I was expecting the worst case scenario: my computer gets bogged down with a memory hog of a program. I have no idea what the bad reviews are for. It runs just fine on my PC, and seems to even run a bit FASTER than last year's version. It makes me wonder what OS and hardware they're running in their PCs.

(...)The software works exactly the same as previous versions: it scans for viruses, installs, scans again, and then runs weekly to keep your PC virus free. It also scans incoming/outgoing e-mails as well as incoming files. In this day and age of viruses being in every other e-mail, you really need a product to take care of it for you, so I recommend picking up Norton Antivirus 2004.

Rating:
Summary: THIS PROGRAM IS WORSE THAN A VIRUS
Review: This software recently came preinstalled on my PC with a free 90 day trial subscription to Norton's 'pay-extra-for-virus-definition-updates' service. First off, this service is a COMPLETE rip-off for the average user. The continued monthly price you have to pay to get the new updates will quickly exceed the price of just buying a new computer should the RARE case occur that you actually get a virus.

Second, I chose not to pay for their service, but I still get 'reminder' pop-ups from Symantec (maker of Norton antivirus) asking me to renew my subscription EVERY SINGLE time I connect to the internet! These popups are worse than the virsus themselves. One time I was playing a game in a live online tournament and I lost the match because a Norton popup caused Windows to close my game and return to the desktop to show the popup.

I'm currently considering my options for legal action against Symantec and I urge you all to avoid the headache associated with these rip-off virus program. The new virus definitions should be free with the purchase of the product, not paid subscriptions. But at the very least you shouldn't have your privacy invaded by reminder popups if you choose not to pay for their service.

Do yourselves a favor and avoid the headache by purchasing an antivirus program that isn't more trouble than the viruses themselves!