Thinkpad T60 questions - security chip and anti-virus

[ghanwani]

I've had my T60 for over a year now and like it.

Every time I boot up, I get a message prompt asking
me if I want to activate the security chip. So far I've
always "cancelled" and continued.

I'm curious to know if folks have found this useful.
What happens when I activate the security chip?
Is there something on the web that describes what
it does and what the preferred options would be
should I choose to activate it?

My next question is about the anti-virus software.
The subscription has long expired. I was thinking of
uninstalling the Norton product and trying one of the
free products like AVG. Do folks here have a recommendation?
Are there any problems that I might encounter when
trying to uninstall the preinstalled version of Norton?

Thanks,
Anoop

[ryengineer]

snip.......I'm curious to know if folks have found this useful. What happens when I activate the security chip?
Is there something on the web that describes what
it does and what the preferred options would be
should I choose to activate it?

Sir, I encourage you to read this information.

As to what Lenovo Security Chip - a.k.a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is and how it works:

- The integrated security chip is a cryptographic microprocessor that is integrated into the system board of a client.
- The integrated security chip supports RSA PKI operations such as encryption for privacy and digital signatures for authentication. [works with CSS password manager and fingerprint reader].
- The chip communicates with the main processor of the computer through the system management bus (SMB).
- The chip will no longer be functional when removed from a System board.

For practical implication, I encourage you to enable it and experiment with it for a while, you can find a guide in CSS menus on setting up things too.

My next question is about the anti-virus software. The subscription has long expired. I was thinking of
uninstalling the Norton product and trying one of the
free products like AVG. Do folks here have a recommendation?
Are there any problems that I might encounter when
trying to uninstall the preinstalled version of Norton?......snip

Download the Norton Removal Tool to completely remove it from your computer. AVG is a good AV, discussion about antivirus is a part of FAQs too.

[mattbiernat]

i heard that norton removal tool does not remove all the registry entries. if you are comfortable with registry you can go to "regedit" and delete anything that says "symantec" in the "software" section. same goes for "documents and settings." AVG is a good alternative when you want something really light. if you want a bit more protection AVAST seemed to me to be doing better in detecting viruses. but that's just my opinion, others here only go with AVG and have no problems. best choice you can make thou is NOD32 but you have to pay for it.

[ghanwani]

ryengineer,

Thanks for the response.

I'm basically worried that the security chip will provide "security through obscurity" which means I'll have to do things differently than I normally do and I won't know where to look when things don't work.

Thanks also for the pointer to the Norton removal tool. I think I'll give it a try shortly.

Anoop