Why do Norton antivirus is so hated?
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
When Norton started, it made really good tools - because it was run by and employed only people who knew their way around computers, and knew what we needed to do, and how to make it easier for us. Then they were bought by Symantec. A company run by accountants that leave computers to their PA's. The good employees left, and they employed much cheaper ones. And sold any old cr@p for whatever the market would bear. Their AV software is bloated, slow, unreliable and nearly as difficult to get off a computer as AOL was.It's detection is frankly pants, and for the money they want for it it is a total rip off. (MSE is free, less intrusive, and better at finding actual problems instead of imaginary ones). Regrettably, McAfee went the same way. Allegedly. I would suggest that you try speed testing your PC before an after removing it, but since that normally requires a reformat and fresh install, that tends to skew the results! :laugh:
Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
1- Bloated software. At some point of time, the ratio feature/size on disk was dramatically tending to zero 2- System slow down. Up to it seemed you would have to help your AV scan the software by hand 3- Impossible to de-install properly. Until Symantec published a removal tool on their website ( so you need to install a de-installer), it was virtually impossible to get rid of the damn thing without leaving dirt everywhere on the HD. The removal tool was primary aimed at cleaning up older versions to install the newest, but lots of people, including me, used it to wipe every single bit of symantec software on the disk. 4- Arrogant marketing. Enough said.
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
I fully agree with Griff and Rage. It's a monstrous elephanting pile of *&^@#$E%$^. The only half-decent software Norton has produced in the last decade is the removal tool, which almost works. Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
It has a large 'footprint' meaning it is greedy on resources and there really are better solutions out there for free. Avg, avast and Microsoft Security Essentials are better choices(particularly the latter which is actually fairly good at its job). I think what makes Norton so popular is that it comes bundled with machines and, for many people, it is easier to pay the subscription than to uninstall Norton and install something else...
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
The problem description from Griff and Rage is completely correct. But I would like to add that those problems are to a large extent historical. Today it's not as big memory- and performance hog as it used to be, and it will occationally find a virus. So it's not the worst antivirus on the market anymore. The ones you get as popups on certain homepages are worse.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
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The problem description from Griff and Rage is completely correct. But I would like to add that those problems are to a large extent historical. Today it's not as big memory- and performance hog as it used to be, and it will occationally find a virus. So it's not the worst antivirus on the market anymore. The ones you get as popups on certain homepages are worse.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
You are probably right. But the history is so bad that I don't want to spend my time finding out if the latest version really is good. Because every time before that I have, I have had to waste inordinate amounts of time to get rid of it! :laugh: It's true what they say: A good reputation is hard to build, but a bad one can be established in minutes.
Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
In my opinion all commercial AV software has become a bloated pile of poo. And that happened years ago. Now I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, it's very lightweight and it works well (as in, it detects threats). You see, since Vista "kernel patching" is no longer allowed, and then commercial AV software completely lost their advantage because they had to play fair with the OS - and other AVs. I think Microsoft is not advertising MSE too much, otherwise they'd blow the competition away, and antitrust commissions would go and get them in no time. But obviously that doesn't change the fact that Norton and company are useless rubbish nowadays.
If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe, but not a personality. [Charlie Brooker] My Blog
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
So all of the above don't like the dammed thing, neither do I. It was a POS. Symantec has a history of delivering crapware that started in the 90s, they may have improved but none of the above will allow it anywhere near their machine.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
My own semi-recent experience: it came bundled as trialware with my laptop (Toshiba machine with Vista circa 2008). On my laptop very first boot, I was greeted by a crash window from Norton. I'm not kidding (and I've got a pic, somewhere, so it did happen!).
'As programmers go, I'm fairly social. Which still means I'm a borderline sociopath by normal standards.' Jeff Atwood 'I'm French! Why do you think I've got this outrrrrageous accent?' Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
Norton made some great stuff back in the early/mid 80's when Peter Norton first founded the company - Norton Commander, Norton Utilities. Ever since they sold out to Symantec their products have been bilgewater. It's bloated. It doesn't detect many things it should, and flags up far too many things it shouldn't. I've lost count of the number of support calls we've had that have been caused by Norton AV stopping perfectly valid products from running. About the only thing you can say for it is that the UI is pretty - very low on the priority list for an AV product. It cripples your system and it doesn't do the job it needs to do. Even worse, it comes pre-installed on far too many systems and it's an absolute b*tch to uninstall. Enough said? Stay away...
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The problem description from Griff and Rage is completely correct. But I would like to add that those problems are to a large extent historical. Today it's not as big memory- and performance hog as it used to be, and it will occationally find a virus. So it's not the worst antivirus on the market anymore. The ones you get as popups on certain homepages are worse.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
If it's biggest claim to effectiveness is that it's better than the popups you get on certain homepages, would you buy it? That's like saying it's better than my spam phone calls: "Meester Thomas, We have receeved a notification from your Windows computer that eet has a virus...".
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If it's biggest claim to effectiveness is that it's better than the popups you get on certain homepages, would you buy it? That's like saying it's better than my spam phone calls: "Meester Thomas, We have receeved a notification from your Windows computer that eet has a virus...".
I should've put a joke icon next to that sentence. But the fact that noone seems to take it as a joke tells us much about the perception of Symantec.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
For me, it goes way back to when they first started. Their background scan would drag a system down to the point where you couldn't use it. It was too much of a resource hog. I haven't used it since. It may be better now, but I don't bother with it for that reason.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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My own semi-recent experience: it came bundled as trialware with my laptop (Toshiba machine with Vista circa 2008). On my laptop very first boot, I was greeted by a crash window from Norton. I'm not kidding (and I've got a pic, somewhere, so it did happen!).
'As programmers go, I'm fairly social. Which still means I'm a borderline sociopath by normal standards.' Jeff Atwood 'I'm French! Why do you think I've got this outrrrrageous accent?' Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
Just the name symantech makes me shudder. I agree with most opinions that it is indeed a POS. Slows your machine, which I suppose I could live with if it did its job. I got viruses on two occasions which went undetected by an up-to-date symantech, which were a royal PITA to rid myself of. I tried MalwareBytes and MSE, both immediately found the issue. Attempting to uninstall symantech was another PITA. When you need to post a set of instructions on how to manually uninstall your product (which they do) you know somethings wrong. X|
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
I wouldn't classify myself as a NA hater, because it is what it is. But I'm not a fan, either, because it is what it is. I used to use it on all of my computers and it worked OK, however, the computers seemed to run slower. Finally I changed all over to Microsoft Security Essentials. No costs, works at least as well as NA, and it doesn't seem to get in the way of anything.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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The problem description from Griff and Rage is completely correct. But I would like to add that those problems are to a large extent historical. Today it's not as big memory- and performance hog as it used to be, and it will occationally find a virus. So it's not the worst antivirus on the market anymore. The ones you get as popups on certain homepages are worse.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
Don't know about the home versions (I use Avira, personally), but the enterprise version on my work laptop is the pits. >It sometimes blocks all network access during updates (seem the "Current Location" determination of Wired, Wireless, Other gets confused) >appears to set off a system restore point, which makes my system crawl because the hard drive is grinding hard for 3-5 minutes, even though I have System Restore turned off >has 3 or 4 different processes (not including the all the AV and policy update processes executed automatically) each taking up its unfair share of resources. Need I go on??? :-D Wish I could change my shop's mind, but I'm just a minion. :) -EM
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I've used it in my house computer (as it is my wife computer and it came with that AV installed (360 I think)). It works and it is not a problem having it there... In the other hand, I'm always reading posts that make it clear that the writer hates Norton... What happens with that AV software?
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
I used to use it, now I use Avira Antivir or whatever they call it now (free) -- which I think topped a list I saw recently. I used to install the latest Norton Antivirus when I built a system, let the subscription expire after a year, and repeat a few years later. NAV was happy to continue running on the old virus file indefinitely. But the last (and I do mean last) time I used NAV, it shut down and wouldn't do anything after the year expired. :mad: And don't try to uninstall; just build a new system and start fresh.
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I used to use it, now I use Avira Antivir or whatever they call it now (free) -- which I think topped a list I saw recently. I used to install the latest Norton Antivirus when I built a system, let the subscription expire after a year, and repeat a few years later. NAV was happy to continue running on the old virus file indefinitely. But the last (and I do mean last) time I used NAV, it shut down and wouldn't do anything after the year expired. :mad: And don't try to uninstall; just build a new system and start fresh.
I am especially pissed @ Norton because it interferes with my users' ability to install updates. If, like us, you only have a few thousand users or under 1 million or so downloads per year, it warns you that nobody is downloading this product so, ipso facto, it must be dangerous. If we had buckets of money we'd sue them. (Actually, it could make a nice class-action suit if all small developers got together. :) ) Symantec is in the business of selling fear so they block anything that they don't know about with huge, frightening warnings. These generate fear which generates income. McAfee is almost as bad. Give them a few iterations and they will be. Norton products are probably useful to protect your family and most clueless web users from the predators. Norton products are dangerous for businesses in that they can cause essential updates to do uninstalled because their messages arouse such fear. A large percent of our post-release support calls concern Norton and McAfee. These products also interfere with Registry settings and operations. Once we had to wipe a developer's machine because Norton had somehow permanently blocked access to the Registry areas that concern SQL Server. We have removed all these fear-mongering products from our operation - replacing them with Microsoft Security Essentials which is free, doesn't interfere, and effective. As to the gentleman who said Norton products weren't too slow, he must be running a multi-cpu overclocked box or dreaming in color. They are boat anchors in the real world.
Murray
