Nis 2009

This is a question related to a deal on Frys.com. I will post it to the Tech Bargains forum but wanted to post it here, along with a question, given the major negatives reported on this forum about NIS 2009 of late.

Frys.com is offering NIS2009, Systemworks Basic and Ghost for 69.99 for the bundle. With 70 bucks in rebates (in the form of two pre-loaded Visa cards)...it comes to -.01.

Worth it? I have ESET Security (NOD32 and Firewall) and the one year is coming up. I was starting to feel tempted towards trying NIS2009, but since I was a Symantec hater, I held off and then read about the stuff Symantec was just found to be pulling (ie. Ask.com).

For the price, it might be worth just having. I know that many don't like rebates because it is sometimes hard to collect on them, but this one seems to be pretty straightforward.

I was shopping in Frys this morning and it looks like the "instore" offer only has NIS2009 and Systemworks Basic included in the bundle for the same price. I didn't have time to read the box but it was only two boxes, not three. Unless Ghost is in the same box as Systemworks, the in-store deal only has the two items, not all three.

Any thoughts? Worth it?

Has Symantec tried to fix the damage they have done in the last month or so? I am tempted...for the price...

http://shop2.frys.com/product/5778092?site=sa:Software%20Podod1

NORTON INTERNET SECURITY 2009 / SYSTEMWORKS BASIC 12 / GHOST 14
$70.00 Rebate

SYMANTEC:
For Windows
FRYS.com #: 5778092


Fry's Exclusive Norton Bundle!!!

Includes:

Norton Internet Security 2009 - 3 USER
Norton Systemworks Basic 12.0 - 3 USER
Norton Ghost 14
$189.97 if purchased separately! Bundle only available at Fry's Electronics


Limit 1 per Household.
(when purchased between 03/20/2009 and 03/27/2009)

Shipping: In stock, same day shipping


Store Pickup: Available



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Detailed Description | Rebate Info| Tell a friend| Warranty Info

larger view
Price: $ 69.99
After Rebate: $ -0.01



Rebate Info
Product Rebate: to receive your rebate, follow the instructions on the PDF below. You will need a printer and postage. No printer available? Then click the second link to receive the rebate form by .
Mail the form to me

$70.00 Rebate! Regularly $69.99
$50.00 Mail in Rebate valid from 2009-03-18 to 2009-03-26
Download the PDF

$20.00 Competitive Upgrade Rebate valid from 2009-03-18 to 2009-03-26
Download the PDF


Rebate PDF Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click Here to get it.
Rebate Offer Does Not Refund the Sales Tax Paid by the Customer



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detailed Description


Norton Internet Security 2009

Included:

Antivirus
Spyware protection
Two-way firewall
Identity protection
Antiphishing
Network monitoring
Bot protection
Rootkit detection
Browser protection
Internet worm protection
Intrusion prevention
OS and application protection
Web site authentication
Pulse updates
Norton™ Insight
SONAR™ behavioral protection
Antispam
Parental Controls & confidential information blocking

Proven fastest, lightest security suite available - Spend more time using your computer and less time waiting for your security software to perform.
Pulse updates for up-to-the-minute protection - Delivered every 5 to 15 minutes to detect and eliminate new threats. NEW
Intelligence-driven for faster, fewer, shorter scans - By leveraging a unique online intelligence system, Norton™ Insight technology targets only those files at risk. NEW
Stops viruses, worms, spyware, bots, and more - Keeps your system protected against all types of malicious threats.
Prevents virus-infected emails and instant messages from spreading - Feel secure while you keep in touch.
Blocks browser exploits and protects against infected Web sites - Surf the Internet with confidence.
Blocks online identity theft - Buy, bank, and browse online wherever and whenever you want. IMPROVED
Secure network connections - Monitor your home network and more safely connect to Wi-fis. IMPROVED
Blocks threats and hackers - Two-way firewall automatically makes security decisions for you. IMPROVED

Norton Systemworks Basic 12.0

Defragments, cleans, and repairs hard drive-Keeps your computer healthy and running at peak level
Diagnoses and fixes PC problems-Automatically detects and fixes Windows® issues
Removes Internet clutter-Cleans up unwanted cookies, cache files, and temporary files that slow your computer's performance
Speeds up system boot-Promotes faster PC startup by preventing the automatic loading of undesired applications

Enhanced performance

Defragments, cleans, and repairs the hard drive to boost performance
Removes unwanted cookies, cache files, and temporary files that slow your computer's performance
Speeds up your system by preventing the automatic loading of undesired applications at startup

PC problem repair

Diagnoses and fixes hard drive problems
Identifies and fixes problems with the Windows registry, system files, and software applications

Safe deletion and restore

Searches disks for deleted files and recovers them to their original state (available on XP only)
Safely and permanently removes unwanted files from your computer

Windows settings customization

Puts you in charge of Windows® by allowing you to control access to your Windows settings

PC maintenance

Performs a physical examination of your PC's hardware to determine its stability and capability
Maintains your PC with the click of a button

Tools

NEW! Evaluates the performance of your system and hardware and compares it with other systems
Enables you to easily see which software processes are running on your system and which ones are affecting its overall performance

Norton Ghost 14

Full system backup (disk image) - Backs up everything on a hard drive or partition
File and folder back up - Choose only the specific files and folders you want to back up rather than saving an entire drive.
Incremental backups - Backs up only those files that have changed to reduce backup time and save storage space.
Backwards compatible - Restores data from backups created with previous versions of Norton Ghost or Norton Save & Restore
Performance Throttling - Allows you to keep working by minimizing usage of system resources.
Event-based backups - Triggers backups on key events, like new program installations or sudden increases in data storage.
Advanced compression and encryption - minimizes storage space and helps keep sensitive documents safe.
Google™ Desktop integration ? Searchable backup indexes makes recovering your data even faster.
Storage management - Automatically monitors and optimizes backup disk space.
At-a-glance system status - Displays all scheduled backups-plus the degree of backup protection for each drive on your computer-in one view.
Remote management - Control other Norton Ghost 12 installations on your network. (Separate license purchase required for installation of Norton Ghost 12.0 on an additional networked computer.)
LightsOut Restore - Restore your system with on-disk software recovery environment - no bootable CD required.
Create a virtual disk - Converts recovery points to a VMWare Virtual Disk (.vmdk) or a Microsoft® Virtual Disk (.vhd).


Requirements


Windows Vista® Home Basic/ Home Premium/Business/Ultimate***
Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 Home/XP Pro/XP Media Center Edition
300MHz or faster processor
256MB of RAM
200 MB of available hard disk space

Email scanning supported for POP3 and SMTP compatible email clients.

Browser support for Browser Protection feature

Microsoft Internet Explorer® 32-bit 6.0 or higher

Mozilla Firefox® 2.0 or higher

Supported instant messenger clients

AOL®
Yahoo!®
Microsoft®
Trillian™

 

Just out of curiosity, what bull have they tried to put on us this time?

 

That would be my question, as well. I am tempted by the deal, only because of the price, but if there is a lot of nonsense behind NIS 2009 (like the ask.com debacle), I would just as soon pass.

So many people came on here and defended the new NIS 2009 that I started to get second thoughts on my being a Symantec hater. The ask.com nonsense kind of chased away any thoughts of getting NIS 2009. IF, however, Symantec backed off of their BS, then I would be willing to give NIS 2009 a second thought.

The problems with the new version of NOD32 (v4) make me realize that I may have to make the leap to another AV and Security Suite and this price seemed to be an enticement, but I'm not interested if Symantec is back to their old tricks...bloat, etc.

 

What I did was use the new NOD32 AV (no firewall) and use the free comodo firewall (free product). Comodo may be free buts its pretty amazing and it does a great job on both my XP and vista machines. I had the NIS 2009 on for a few weeks and the last update killed the right click shell extensions in my XP machine on windows explorer. It happened after the ask.com update.. that was enough for me. I found that the Norton seemed to be doing more automated scans for my liken. Although it was definitely a leaner product I felt the firewall was too automated and did not allow enough user control. Comodo is way better a firewall then what is included with Norton's suite. I'd strongly suggest staying with Esset and just grab the free comodo.. Great pair IMO. Just grab the trial for esset 4 AV and the free comodo and see for yourself.

 

Thanks, HIDesert. That is great advice.

I guess Symantec can't just leave a decent product alone. Your advice is much appreciated!

 

norton now give the user the option of using the ask,com thing or not. i persoanlly have not had any issues with nis2009 other than recent bs they tried to pull but it seems they are getting their head out of their.....well

but anyway i own a lic to ess3/4, avira, dr web, normans, vipre, nortons, birdefender etc and i am still using nis 2009 at this time it just runs that good

 

"I’ve seen the negative feedback here in the forum regarding Norton Safe Search, and have been carefully listening over the last couple weeks, and working with my team on the best course of action.

While we believe Safe Search is a valuable feature, many of you were surprised by the addition of the search box to the Norton toolbar, and expressed concern over not being given the choice of whether or not to install it.

Given your response, we’ve taken immediate action. Moving forward, Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 will now ship with the search box disabled by default. Norton Safe Web site ratings will still be available to users. We are starting this process immediately and will be rolling out updates over the next few weeks.

Also, I want to clearly convey that this is not an Ask toolbar. It is part of the Norton browser integration and it is easily disabled. Also, to be clear, there is no Ask code running on your computer – it is all Norton code. There is no separate component to uninstall or remove. Once disabled, it is completely shut off and inactive. When enabled, the only information we are sending to Ask.com is the actual search query.

Customers who already have the search box enabled will not be affected, but still have the option to disable it manually via the Norton Toolbar menu.

My team and I have worked very hard to deliver security products with superior speed and performance, and I want every aspect of our customers’ experience to be positive. The last thing we want to do is cause any frustration with our loyal, technical users.

We want our customers to have an outstanding user experience and are revisiting Safe Search to determine how we might deliver this feature in a more positive way in the future. There are customers who are currently using and benefiting from this feature and ultimately, we do want to offer this, but make sure we do it in the right way.

Thanks, as always, for your candid feedback here in the forums."

Regards,
Rowan Trollope
Senior Vice President

 

Good to hear they re-thought their boneheaded decision to sneak in the ask.com thing. I hesitate because who knows the next thing they will try to sneak in?

 

yep they have also now removed the ptfs thing from their updates as well it is no longer being distributed now

 

I'm tempted to go for the deal so I can try out Ghost, too.

 

i use acronis personally so i cant comment on ghost though i have never really liked ghost much

 

I'm using NIS2009 on my personal machine (version 16.5.0.135 which was just released this week) and I like it a lot. I've disabled the toolbar and don't see anything from Norton on my browser. This version also solved the Outlook retrieve error that some users were reporting from version 16.2. I'd say go for it.

 

I abandoned Ghost about two years ago. It NEVER restored a backup successfully for me, and I'm pretty sure that I am a fairly competent computer user. Acronis has rarely (if ever) failed on me.

 

I've had the opposite experience with Ghost. It has always worked for me. I do think the UI is dated and not intuitive at all (I remember having to go through Ghost's user manual at one point and it was a PITA - 200+ pages), but otherwise it does what it says very well imo.