Norton Internet Security 2004

Rating:
Summary: product works fine but tech support is pathetic
Review: I had a question about the pros and cons of turning off the Norton firewall vs. the windows firewall, and waited 45 minutes to speak with a tech support representative because I did not have a "customer priority ID number." Then when I went to Norton's website to obtain a priority ID number per the instructions I had been given, I couldn't find a way to get one. So I e-mailed the online tech support with that simple question, and got a reply which was totally unresponsive (it looked as though they didn't actually read the e-mail and just sent back a few boilerplate paragraphs). And, when you think about it, it's insulting that Norton requires its customers to jump through these hoops -- anyone who can provide proof of purchase, whether on the phone or online (what if your computer is down?), should have equal priority. I may not be a computer expert but I am perfectly capable of following detailed instructions, and Norton just makes life way too hard. Plus, when Norton provided online updates, there were so many unexplained categories (about 15 over and above virus definitions) I was totally baffled. That being said, the program seems to work fine, but the customer interface has totally eroded my loyalty.

Rating:
Summary: I am so glad it's not just me!!
Review: I was begining to think I was computer-retarded after dealing with this program. I was using this on my 2001 Dell laptop (which worked fine until I upgraded to this junk!) I had much of the same problems that everyone else has listed (mainly the SLOOOOOOOOOW processor), and then I couldn't get the damn thing off my computer completely!

I decided to give it one last chance... so I formatted my hard drive, reinstalled Windows XP (which also required a day & night download/install of SP2 on dial-up) and put NIS2004 back onto the computer. It locked during install and I had to reformat the drive and start from scratch (GRRRRRR!)

Blessedly, my DSL was installed just about this time and I set up a wireless network with my desktop. So when I reformatted for the third time, downloading SP2 took no time at all and the new XP was kind enough to even suggest other antivirus programs to try (it also listed Norton and McAffee).

I downloaded a trial version of Computer Associates EZ Firewall and Antivirus and fell in love with a computer security system all over again. I can't recommend their programs enough.

And I can't warn you enough to STAY AWAY FROM NORTON!!





Rating:
Summary: Give it a chance
Review: I think this very good protection utility, you just jave to give it a chance. It always keeps me protected, since I started to use NIS few years ago, never had any viruses. It does a good job with the Firewall and Auto Protect. If you have two Firewalls on your PC just turn off one of them, I turnerd off my windows firewall and left NIS Firewall, and my PC works very smoothly and very effeciently. Once I had a problem with Auto-Protect, so I contacted Technician via email, and they send me response to solve mmy problem, I was able to solve it almost immedately. If you think about buying this Product I would highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Do not purchase this product
Review: This is the first review I write and I'm motivated by how furious this product has made me. I consider myself pretty computer saavy but I have had nothing but problems with Norton Internet Security. I have been unable to access the Internet (the firewall sucks!) and my computer runs slower than ever. I have spent hours trying to access technical support and then hours with the tech support agent trying to solve this. After three hours today (again!) they finally made me download a program that will supposedly fix this. I just don't have the time to deal with this garbage and honestly, I give this product zero stars. When my subscription runs out I will purchase Mcgafee- my Mom swears it's better. You're warned.
VERY DISPLEASED CUSTOMER IN U.S.

Rating:
Summary: Abnormal program termination...
Review: After installing this software on a brand new CPU, we began seeing this runtime error every time MS Outlook was started. Researching the Internet revealed that this has been an issue since early 2003, regardless of how "clean" or fast ones computer is. The primary association with the error has been Norton Anti-Spam or Internet Security and MS Outlook 2000, 2002, or 2003. We should all accept by now that computers are complex, and software is often released prematurely, with multiple service releases to fix bugs as they are discovered. I do have a problem however, with the attitude of the Norton Support Technician, or those in support at any other software company. Why should we consumers have to wait two years for obvious conflicts to be resolved? We spent good money on this product, and although it works OK with our faster computer, we're annoyed by the conflict with Outlook and expect to see a patch that will fix it.

Rating:
Summary: no star for this program
Review: I really wish there was an option for zero stars, because this program doesn't deserve a star at all. I had so many problems with it, it's not even funny. First off, when I bought the program, I was living on campus (conflicting firewalls allowed me to do NOTHING). Second off, when I went to uninstall the program (very disatisfied with the fact that I was no longer able to use my computer for online buying and bank access), it didn't fully uninstall (I used the wizard). Come to find out... You're supposed to disable the product COMPLETELY before uninstalling. Even though I didn't have ANY of the firewall settings active at the time, I STILL wound up with a permanant firewall. I couldn't re-install the software to fix my mistake, because I would get the error message of "this program was not properly uninstalled."
Needless to say, I had to MANUALLY delete everything NORTON and SYMANTEC out of my computer, and I am finally able to go about my business on my own computer, no longer a prisoner banned from somewhat secure websites. Don't buy this program.