Virus Protection - Norton versus AVG

[Ronniebootwest]

I have been using Norton Anti-Virus for a few years now and have been more than satisfied, However, just recently I have been encountering problems with my system and in particular, with Norton virus scanning. I won't go into detail here but I now want to ditch Norton and switch to AVG and have some questions that I hope will be answered by members of this forum:-

1. I am told that uninstalling Norton can be tricky. Advice on what I need to do would be appreciated.

2. In the meantime, can I install and run AVG with Norton still on my computer?

3. Which version of AVG is recommended - the Free package or the paid version?

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Ron

[Conflow]

Ronnie,

The subject you just raised is sheer "dynamite" and with respect to others who may read the

responses to your 'questions' I would like to issue a GENERAL WARNING-UNINSTALLING NORTON.

Procedure

1)

Before removing Norton disconnect your PC from the Internet ~ pull out the Internet connection.

2)

Make sure you have an alternative Anti-Virus Program in Zip Format ready for Installation.

3)

Norton CAN NOT be removed with the Add/Remove Program Utility in Control-Panel) on your PC.

(This procedure purely disables the many exe.Files in Norton) and thereafter it "nags-you" about

re-installation.

4)

Norton MUST BE removed with a Norton Installation Disc or a Norton Dowload Utility.

5)

After running the REMOVE UTILITY then you run the Add/Remove Program Utility.

6)

SymantecFiles:-Somewhere in your PC there is a System Folder called 'Common Files' and

within that special Folder you will find a Folder called 'Symantec Shared' .

You will have to delete the 'Symantec Shared' Folder....extreme care needed.

7)

Clean-up:- You then need to do a 'Search' or 'Find' for Files named Norton and Symantec and

delete these remnant Files. Then you need to run a 'Registry Cleaner' like Win.IOBit to remove

the empty Registry Keys and enteries in the File of Types Folder.

If you DO NOT follow this procedure the PC will forever "nag-you" about missing this and that.

Readers have been warned ~ removing Norton Anti-Virus is NOT for the faint hearted and you

would be better advised to contact your 'Techie' ~ show him this and get him/her to do the job.

As to other AV.Programs, this is a matter of 'research' and personal choice with due consideration

been given to the amount of User Memory (RAM) available on your PC. These AV.Programs can take

anything rom 50.mB upwards to 150.mB to run in a singe session at the Start-Up Scan.

Then added to this is the start demands of the PC itself which can easily exceed 200.mB.

(XP Home takes up to 250 mB at Startup).

After 'Start-Up' you can be left with very little RAM which is usually evident with the remark.......

My Computer is running slow ??

~ Now you know why !

Hope this is of some assistance to readers of this 'thread'.

Brian.Conflow.

[fh1805]

Hi Ron,

Like you I've used Norton products ever since I first connected to the Internet back in 1998. Unlike you, I've had no problems. Out of curiosity: which Norton product(s) do you currently use? and running under which operating system? If there might be troubles ahead for me I'd like an early "heads up" on them?

Hope you get your current problems resolved to your satisfaction - by whatever route you finally choose.

[KyDan]

???

Thanks for the warning but I un-installed NAV a couple of months ago

while I was still plugged into my DSL line.

I used the NAV un-install file that came with the install.

I have not been nagged since.

I will follow your advice to clean up extra files and folders if

they are still there.

I'm using zone alarm firewall and av.

I'm happy so far and they have a user support chat board

much like this one!

Peace!

KyDan

[Ronniebootwest]

Ronnie,

The subject you just raised is sheer "dynamite" and with respect to others who may read the

responses to your 'questions' I would like to issue a GENERAL WARNING-UNINSTALLING NORTON.

Brian.Conflow.

Blimey Brian, your warning will put the wind up a lot of people I think but I will heed your warning because you have steered me in the right direction before. Interesting to note that at least one other forum member has uninstalled Norton with the 'Un-install facility' that came with his original CD. I downloaded my program (Norton Antivirus) from the internet so I do not get this un-install option. Can it be downloaded anywhere please?

Ron

[Conflow]

Dan,

Thats O.K you used the proper 'Uninstaller' ~ thank god, but you will have remnants floating

around the PC which in my experience pop up now and again but are more of a nuisance than

anything else.

The reason for 'unplugging' the Internet is quite simple depending on the version of Norton

which you are running on the PC. When one interfers with Norton it tries to make contact with

the 'Symantec Security Centre' behind you back (unknown to you) then all hell breaks loose

as it tries to maintain the 'status-quo'. In effect it thinks its being , "hacked" and this starts

a chain reaction against what you are trying to do, "uninstall it". Thats the reason why the

'Norton Uninstaller' must be used.

Hope this helps.

Brian.Conflow.

[jevans]

Ron,

Firstly just to say that I have had a great amount of excellent help from Brian in the past and, if he says "do this or that", I always follow his advice. However about a year ago I was in communication with him about the poor performance of my computer and one of the things he advised me to look at was removing Norton (I was using the latest version at the time). I followed his instructions and installed the free version of AVG which improved the performance considerably and I have had no problems with AVG.

HOWEVER.... I could not follow Brian's Norton removal instructions exactly as I did not have the "removal utility". I found a web site as follows :

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_i_ful..._my_system.html

and followed the instructions, always checking to try to follow Brian's instructions as far as possible. The procedure worked and Norton was removed ok and I have had not problems since. I have also followed this procedure on two more computers belonging to friends successfully.

[Conflow]

Ron,

The simplest way is to get your hands on any modern 'Norton Disc' and use its uninstaller.

The hard way is to get on to the Norton/Symantec Site and literally trawl through the Files

and find an 'Uninstaller' ~ there is no other way !

Brian.

[Conflow]

Removing Norton Anti-Virus

Jeff has suggested the "David Taylor Method" for uninstalling Norton, there are others like so

but a word of advice:- Unless you are proficient with Registry Editing techniques which should

always be done in "PC Safe Mode" I would not recommend these methods for ordinary Forum

Members who do not have the skills to complete the job.

Its O.K for Jeff and I to have a go at this daunting task but I would stop short at "XP-Sp2"

because now I am messing around within a powerful Security-Suite namely Sp2 !!

For the ordinary mortal here below are the "Uninstall Links" to various versions of Norton

but afterwards you should run a good Registry Cleaner like Reg-Clen or Advanced Win Care.

Brian.Conflow

Here below is the "Link" to the various Norton Uninstallers and a Screen-Shot of the various versions.

These are virtually identical to the 'Uninstaller' provided on your CD-Version of your Norton Anti-Virus.

They also work with all 'downloaded' versions of Norton.

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgen...lg=en&ct=us

[jfa]

Ron your question couldn't have been more timely. I had my hands, literately, on the keys to uninstall NAV from my PC at the time.

I was aware of most of the pitfalls this involves but it was great to see the process layout so well presented by Brian, (thanks heaps Brian), to help us through this minefield.

The decision to remove and replace NAV was prompted by the time and resources that NAV uses at startup and due to a general slowing of performance on my PC which I traced to NAV. Also a recent test conducted by a local PC magazine, (PC Authority Oct'07 edition), on Anti-virus software. They rated Norton AV 2007 at a low 68% effective. AVG came in at 83%, ZoneAlarm at 81%. The best was Kaspersky AV7 at 98% and the best free one was Avira AV Personal Edition at 92%.

This magazine has a very good reputation for the depth, quality and independence of the testing they do so I decided to take the plunge.

Thanks again everyone, this is just another example of how great this forum is.

[Conflow]

John,

Just in case you opt for "Kaspersky AV7" ~ yes it's extremely good and fairly fast

and uses much less resources than 'NAV' but here are a few pointers:-

1)

Its really designed for a PC with ++256.mB of Ram Memory.

2)

Its "dogged" about the Administrator (solely) doing the necessary updates.

3)

It can drive you mad with unnecessary 'prompts' about daily updates etc;

4)

It requires that you "refresh" your Personal Password every 14 days or so.

5)

It does check everything coming in and going out from the PC + Downloads

but it does make small 'irritating mistakes' like blocking some genuine EMails.

Would I recommend it for a 'Multi-User' Home environment ?...very much yes.

Would I recommend it for an experienced 'Sole-User'...sorry no, its too fussy.

Hope this shortens the List.

Brian.

[Ronniebootwest]

SUCCESS!!!

Thanks to all who have responded to this thread especially Brian Conflow. With heis helpful and detailed advice I have now been able to remove all trace of Norton from my computer - what a relief!

I have downloaded and installed the FREE version of AVG and intend running it for a short while to see how it goes o so far I am impressed with what I am seeing. I wonder if it is worth the small additional cost of purchasing the full 'pro' version, any suggestions???

I have also purchased a copy of the Registry Cleaner called 'REGCLEAN' and it has cleaned up my system registry a treat, my computer now boots up much much quicker and seems to be running at an enhanced speed too.

Thanks again for all the help and advice and I hope that other forum members will benefit from this thread.

Ron West

[Conflow]

To Ronnie & Readers,

Yes Ron your PC will run much faster after running 'Reg-Clean' ~ I fact you hit the nail on the head ~ keep it clean !

Its a little known fact that all versions of Windows create so much 'garbage' within an hours work that its a wonder

the thing works at all. Reg-Clean and others will count in excess of 80 Reg.Key errors and +20 File discontinueties,

and editing JPegs creates so many empty Reg.Keys its unbelievable.

What price this 'garbage'....??

It consumes so much Processor resources that most PC's rarely exceed 60% efficiency ~ and when the H.D is over

half full this drops drastically becomming evident as:- Slow Start-ups, Files opening slowly, Slow EMail and Web and

taking for ever to 'Shut down'-

So if you want it Fast ~ Then keep it clean !

Example:- It has taken 10 minutes to write this and edit it ~ below is what Reg-Cure (my cleaner) found after this

one hour session on this brand 'New Hewlett-Packard Laptop' 1 week old. Sure a lot of this will be corrected after the

next 'Re-Boot' but I can assure you a lot won't be removed and its the accumulation of those fragments over a few

weeks which will slow down the newest PC.

Brian (Conflow)

[Ronniebootwest]

So if you want it Fast ~ Then keep it clean !

Brian (Conflow)

We live and learn Brian!

I notice that you are using 'Reg Cure' as your registry cleaner - is this better than Reg Clean or much the same?

Ron

[JEB]

Hi,

I certainly don't pretend to understand half of what has been said in this thread but I am greatly in debt to those people have been contributing, particularly Brian, as he with others assisted me in getting rid of Norton a couple of years age. I have been with AVG free since that time and have found an increasing number of people out with this forum who have gone down the same route and are very happy.

Having run RegCure last night and having had a couple of very short visits to email and this site since, I thought I would run it again now. The result was 114 errors (17 Path File Refs, 95 Empty Reg Items). I have absolutely no idea what these things are nor, I suspect, do I need to know but clearly they are better not to be there.

Thanks again to all you folks who give your time, knowledge and experience. It is very comforting to us lesser mortals.

John

[baldsparky]

Hi Ron

what was the price for reg clean as I can't seem to find it on their website?

Is this the right website?

http://www.regclean.com/

Hi John

Is this the right website for reg cure and do you know how much it costs as I can't find it mentioned on their website?

http://www.regcure.com/

many thanks

Kind regards

paul

[Conflow]

Ronnie & Paul,

I have both RegClean and RegCure. The reason I now use RegCure is that it comes as a 'Twin-Pak Offer'

with Xoft-Spy both by www.paretologic.com ~ However RegCure is very 'incisive' and must be used with

care as sometimes it can remove a Windows.exe File if that File is actually running something it does not

like ~ they do warn you to close all Programs before running RegCure.

Having said that, 'RegClean' is more than adequate for most people running XP-Sp2 with its own Firewall

and with Grisoft AVG you are as well protected as can be. But do keep a copy of Ad-Aware and IoBit in

reserve as from time to time you will need them, particularily IoBit (Its SpyBot with an Organiser/Cleaner)

Brian (Conflow)

[JEB]

Paul,

I'm sorry but I can't be of much help.

Initially I thought RegCure was free, AVGFree certainly is, but now I come to think of it I may well have paid something but it can't have been a lot or I think I would remember.

I went on to the web site and couldn't find anything regarding cost. All I can suggest is you follow the registration links until it gets to costs (if any) and take a decision to proceed or opt out at that point.

Good luck

John

[Conflow]

Paul & John,

'RegClean' is not Free ~ They invite you to take a 'Free-Scan' of your PC and then they show the results.

Now if you want it to execute 'Repairs' you must pay for this or exit the Program ~ it does that cleanly.

As far as I recollect I think the price is $20 ~ $24 Dollars.

Brian (Conflow)

[Ken Cox]

"Now if you want it to execute 'Repairs' you must pay for this or exit the Program"

companies that practice sort of crap should be in the bait and switch category

ken

[Ednys]

Whoa!

Thanks for this topic, I did the free check with Regcure and found I have 943 problems in my registry... No wonder this machine runs like a ZX81!

Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, I will talk to my son tomorrow and see if he has any progs to clean it up. If not I may have to pay the asking price.

Glenys

[jevans]

Brian,

You did not mention "jv16tools" which you recommended to me some time ago and which I have found a very useful and secure means of registry housekeeping and well as other beneficial tools.

[Ronniebootwest]

Hi Ron

what was the price for reg clean as I can't seem to find it on their website?

Is this the right website?

http://www.regclean.com/

Hi John

Is this the right website for reg cure and do you know how much it costs as I can't find it mentioned on their website?

http://www.regcure.com/

many thanks

Kind regards

paul

Hi Paul,

You do have the correct links to both packages. I decided to buy RegClean on Brian's suggestion - I prefer it to RegCure.

I paid a total of $40.36 (including UK VAT) I also included 'Active Protection' which is why the price seems a little high. For the benefit of UK users, this price is equal to £21 (sterling).

Now my computer is protected by AVG (Free edition) together with RegClean, WsoftSpySE. Spybot, Iobit, AD-Adware SE.

This may seem excessive to some of you but it is well worth it if you want a clean and fast running computer free from virus and other threats.

Ron

[mightec]

I have been intrigued by this thread and I am now tempted to remove Norton from my computer. I run Norton Internet Security 2003, which includes Norton AntiVirus (NAV) and I have maintained by subscription and upgrades. I also have RegCure, WsoftSpySE. Spybot and AD-Adware SE, plus anything that comes with Windows XP and Windows Defender.

I think what we are talking about here is replacing NAV and not Norton Internet Security, is this the case?

I would appreciate some advise on how to configure my system given what I currently have available on my computer. If I removed the whole of Norton Internet Security 2003, could I easily make WsoftSpySE my default protection and if so what be the best AntiVirus option.

[fh1805]

Mike,

What ever decision you arrive at is yours to make. But there is a lot of sound sense in the old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"