T42 Antivirus Security Advice Please

[chrisnyc]

My T42 is now 3 months old -- it's up and running great and I'm very happy with it. It came with Norton Antivirus 2004, with which I've had no problems, and the complimentary subscription has just expired, and I'm worried about what to do.

I've already purchased a retail boxed edition of the brand-new Norton Antivirus 2006, but I'm afraid to install it. There's not a whole lot of information or feedback on the 2006 version, but I've read a couple of disaster stories on other forums.

My inclination at this point is just to put the box aside, maybe use it in the future, and just renew my Antivirus 2004 subscription for a year (which costs $34.95 ; I paid $39.95 minus a small discount for the Antivirus 2006).

Has anyone on this forum installed NAV 2006 over NAV 2004 on a T42 Thinkpad ? The Symantec website does NOT tell you that you have to UNINSTALL the 2004 version, but does have information about problems that require uninstalling and reinstalling, etc.

It would be really awful to mess up my perfectly functioning new T42 trying to install Norton Antivirus 2006 !

So should I just keep NAV 2004 and pay for an updated subscription ?
I think that's my best option ; would appreciate any comments and advice from those of you knowledgeable in this area.

Thank you.

[simscitizen]

I'm a part-time computer tech for my dorm (I'm also a student...) and personally I hate the consumer-level stuff Norton puts out. (We put them on Symantec Corporate, which has less junk in it.) But since you already bought it, you might as well use it. Definitely uninstall 2004 first (make sure you uninstall all the Norton/Symantec stuff), even if it says you don't have to. Then install 2006. If 2004 doesn't uninstall cleanly you can use a brute-force removal tool called SymNRT that Symantec (Norton) provides off their own site.

[Kyocera]

I have been using Norton System Works on one of the OS on my t42 with no big problems, bought a new linksys wireless router the othe day and Norton Internet security comes bundled with the software. Just for the heck of it I installed it, a few moments later I uninstalled it, what a resource hog! On my work Laptop I've been using AVG, freeware and every once in a while doing a free Kaspersky on line scan. No bad guys yet. There is quite a lengthy thread in the Windows forum (I think) about AV software, check that out.

[ariadgr]

I wouldn't recommend Norton Antivirus. It uses too many system resources. Would recommend Symantec Antivirus (corporate) version 9 or 10, if you can find it (it is not sold to individuals).

[kyrotech]

Symantec Antivirus Corporate 10.0.1.100 is what we use

[DIGITALgimpus]

I use NAV05 (I always wait until it's available for $0 after rebates, and is well tested before I upgrade... it's the definitions that matter). IMHO no problem.

Of course I wait several months until it's nice and debugged

[juancferrer]

Symantec Antivirus Corporate 10.0.1.100 is what we use

same here. I was using Nav 2004 that came with my T42, but it just seemed to slow for me. Once i started school at the uni., i downloaded symantec corporate (8.0 at the time), and have never looked back.

[thedonnybrook]

if you are looking for something that is good and free, i recormend AVG free, i use it with all my machines without any major problems.

[cruzlite]

I've used norton for five years with good results...
Got '05 on my TP41 now...[Like it much better than '04]...
Looking forward to '06...

You need to remove '04 before you install later version...
Use add remove programs in control pannel...
Norton has more than one element; you need to remove anti-virus 1st...
restart/remove remaining elements [Anything marked symantec or norton] one at a time, restarting after each...

Never remove any shared files...if it gives you a choice.

[chrisnyc]

Thanks cruzlite. I'm still holding on installing NAV 2006 (box is unopened). I'm afaid 2004 etc. won't uninstall correctly and that 2006 won't install.

Reviewing Add/Remove Programs, in addition to Norton Antivirus 2004, I see three other Norton/Symantec programs which can be removed:

Live Reg ; Live Update 2.6 ; and Norton WMI Update.

I also have Norton Partition Magic installed.

It just seems too complicated ; Norton should automate the process of removing prior programs and installing the new ones.

I haven't made my final decision, but I'm leaning toward just renewing my subscription to NAV 2004, and maybe installing NAV 2006 at a later date.

Thanks for your advice.

[matyst]

If the box is still shrink wrapped, return it to the store or sell it on Ebay and invest in Kaspersky or NOD32, you won't be disappointed. The biggest problem with Norton is that you have to activate like Microsoft or latest Adobe products and it writes activation data to some sector on the disk. You can do it only once and if you need to reinstall it, it won't let you do it. Some people reported that Symantec support is far from friendly and you have to pay to talk to them (!) and maybe they would let you reinstall it. Avoid.
I am using McAfee 8 Enterprise which I got for free from my university and it's very good too, but avoid the 'home' version of this software. I also have a subscription for BitDefender which is supposed to be light on resources, but I don't use it due to high CPU usage (scans every file almost every time you access a folder bumping up CPU usage).

[GomJabbar]

The biggest problem with Norton is that you have to activate like Microsoft or latest Adobe products and it writes activation data to some sector on the disk. You can do it only once and if you need to reinstall it, it won't let you do it. Some people reported that Symantec support is far from friendly and you have to pay to talk to them (!) and maybe they would let you reinstall it. Avoid.

The above information "You can do it only once and if you need to reinstall it, it won't let you do it." is incorrect.

I have reinstall Norton several times up to and including NAV 2005. About 3 months ago I transferred a Norton System Works subscription (which includes NAV 2005) from a 600E to a desktop PC. I called up Symantec Technical Support and had no problem with this. See the following link.

FAQ: Symantec program activation

[matyst]

That's what I read on some newsgroups, luckily did not have to deal with Symantec customer service myself, maybe I am wrong. Anyway, I tried various versions of Norton AV in the past and it was the biggest resource hog of all antivirus programs, and this is a general consensus. Funny, they do know how to make a decent AV, since their corporate version is very good. But as for the home version, better get something lighter on resources.

[pae77]

I've been using the free version of AVG anti-virus for many years now and highly recommend it. The program has improved with each version (now on version 7). It is not a resource hog compared to most of the others and the virus definitions are updated almost daily and are very quick to download automatically (usually less than a minute even on dial up).