Norton Security Discussion Thread

This thread is dedicated towards all Norton products discussion, troubleshooting, etc.

 

Google shames Symantec for security issues

 

The security bulletin to see which Symantec / Norton products are affected:

https://www.symantec.com/security_r...pvid=security_advisory&year=&suid=20160628_00

 

Norton 22.8.1 Product Update available now

 

I run a test of Norton Security Deluxe for some two weeks and it seemed quite OK, apart from several issues which were serious enough to make me give up on it.
For one thing full scan took twice as long as it did with AVAST or NOD32.

Secondly I've had some unexplained memory leaks from something - no idea how that worked, but neither private bytes nor working set of all of the processes could explain the total amount of used RAM.
Third issue - which seemed to be related to the second manifested itself by the computer running out of virtual memory (and thus probably physical memory before that) for not apparent reason. It happened several times in the middle of the night when the computer was in sleep mode.
I admit I haven't investigated it fully, but I somehow didn't feel like it, having been woken up at 4 a.m. - by what must have been a hundred separate windows opening with this annoying sound Windows use for error.
EDIT: Same thing happened (at 4:35 a.m. ) after I uninstalled Norton, so it's not its fault.

I have replaced Symantec with another suite for testing. If the above-mentioned issued stop from now on, it's safe to assume Norton was at fault. If they don't I'm going to edit this post and retract these statements.

 

Love your detailed reviews man. It's always good to get such user experience reviews rather than those inflated online reviews that we say which only give us half of the picture (ie. detection rates)

I also tried it recently, while it was super light before I kinda felt its firewall slowed down my internet a bit although it may be a placebo effect but what I did not enjoy is the constant nagging to install its Norton Toolbar, having to disable Norton Identify Theft which is useless because when I did try to use it, yes it saves my logins and all, but it never auto fills them like last pass. I hate that we cannot custom install it without the bloat like system optimizer and Identify Theft, you also may see parts not relevant to your subscription like the Online Backup and if you click that option it just prompts you to upgrade! Why! I bought the license that I want because that's all I want! don't throw your other features in my face!

Another big pain which you may or not have noticed, when you wanna add all your exclusions you have to do it in both the file scanner then do it again in the Norton Insight or whatever that reputation based thing is called. To add insult to injury, after I've setup 10s of exclusions which was a pain since Norton doesn't display system hidden files by default like NOD32/EIS does, and you have to do this one at a time, there is no option to save all your settings like in NOD32/EIS so when you reinstall it, enjoy another hour of configuring your firewall rules and /or exclusions.

Great product spoiled by a horrible UI

 

@Phoenix You are right about the UI - in fact you reminded me about one more complaint. UI is too slow - double clicking on a tray icon or loading a history of recent events takes too long (keeping in mind that I've only tested this suite for two weeks or so, so there was not that much history to load to begin with).

 

Norton Internet Security v22.9.0.71

 

Why do most mainstream sites give great reviews to Norton yet it is often despised and even called malware on this forum? Not saying people here are wrong, just want to understand the disconnect.

 

Yeah, I've wondered about it myself for years

There was a time, like 10 years ago now, when Norton came out with Norton Security versions / architecture updates that did hit performance hard, and I stopped using it for a while too.

Since that got fixed I have never had trouble with Norton Security / NIS / AV at all, and used it on lots of desktops / laptops.

I now use Comodo too, and have used a number of other AV/Firewall tools over time on Windows / Mac, and UNIX server versions too.

I also use plugin's in Firefox, Chrome, Opera for privacy and ad blocking, and so far nothing slows down even Vista running PC's using 2010 hardware. Of course new hardware has no negative impact when running security software.

I do configure the settings to ignore folders and volumes that hold already vetted files, to reduce the run time of full system checks.

I don't use SPAM filtering on the desktop / mobile, but I do use ad-blocking.

If you like Norton, keep using it, if you haven' used it for a while, give it another shot, it's had good results for me over the years.

Comodo is good too:
https://www.comodo.com/products/free-products.php

 

Norton detecting its own files as a virus, seen this a few times now on Wilders Security Forums:

 

Well, the Norton scans also have a "clean up" phase, and the lines don't give a specific Viral threat assessment, so it's probably just a convenience cleanup during the virus scan rather than a specific viral catch.

 

still, doesn't give me confidence using their products. If the AV itself is buggy, I look no further

 

I've always considered Norton malware in itself, so it's fitting

 

Norton AV has not been "buggy" and it's not "malware", it's highly rated, and gets improved on a daily basis with new detections loaded frequently, like up to 10x / hour at high points in new activity.

Especially on new CPU's, newer than say 15 years ago, the % of usage is tiny, and Norton does a good job of providing a "Game mode" to stave off background scans to avoid disk contention based lag. The memory usage is also small.

I turn off a lot of the features I don't need like SPAM protection - it's done at gmail / work - and I don't have URL injection enabled - I don't need them checking on my site usage - and I turn off scanning on area's that don't change - since they've already been checked when created and I still manually right click check folders before archiving them.

I do the same with every Firewall / AV I install, I take the time to go through *all* the options and change them for privacy and to reduce resource usage.

Right now I am using Bitdefender on Vista, and Comodo Internet Security Premium Vista, Win 7 and 8.1, and these are good alternatives to Norton.

Bitdefender has a 90 trial from the first URL, 30 days from the normal landing:
https://www.bitdefender.com/site/Facebook/redFreeDownload
https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/security-for-xp-and-vista.html

Comodo Free Internet Security Software Complete protection against viruses and attacks.
https://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/free-internet-security.php

Norton Security Deluxe Download the 30-day free trial - complete security and antivirus suite.
https://us.norton.com/downloads-trial-norton-internet-security

FREE Norton Antivirus and Internet Security 2017 – 90 Days Trial
https://www.geckoandfly.com/8523/free-norton-antivirus-and-internet-security-2011-90-days-trial/
Look around on this site, there are several links for free AV/Security products, with longer trial times.

 

Norton Security 90 day trial for students
https://us.norton.com/student-discount

 

I have Norton Antivirus Basic, no firewall or anything else, just the built in Trend Micro Antivirus in my ASUS router. Norton AV caught this bad connection attempt while I was on a site that converts YouTube video to MP3, pretty neat that the Antivirus only was able to intercept this bad connection:

PS: the site I was won had nothing to do with that attacking computer domain that appears below, I was on a totally different site.



@downloads

 

@hmscott I am not having a problem with my browser redirecting me to that domain bro. It's just when I visited this YouTube to MP3 Converter site ( Vubey) did I notice this happen

But I will do another scan on my system with MBAM just to make sure I'm clean.

I'm gonna also add that domain to my HOSTS file

 

@hmscott

MBAM scan came out clean so it was that site trying to redirect me to that domain which Norton caught.

 

That's great!, I thought as much, but it doesn't hurt to double check.

How to remove Deloplen.com redirect (Virus Removal Guide)
Published on April 19, 2019 at 3:53 am | Filed Under: Adware
https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-deloplen-com/

I use these browser extensions to keep the baddies away: ScriptSafe, ublock Origin, PrivacyBadger (/ Ghostery ), Youtube (Facebook) AdBlocker

Multiple layers of protection, just in case.

 

Here's my security setup bro:

Norton Antivirus Basic
Custom HOSTS file which has many known bad domains
AdBlock Plus with the Malware Domains Filter, Facbeook Annoyances, Tracking
NoCoin Extension for Chrome (to prevent sites from CoinMining)
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (On-Demand only)
ExpressVPN
LastPass
TrendMicro Antivirus built into my ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 router

 

That's all great stuff, and it looks like it is working too.

I've moved on from Adblock Plus to the combination of uBlock Origin and Scriptsafe with PrivacyBadger or Ghostery - depending on which browser I am using. Scriptsafe + uBlock Origin also allow custom host lists - with a large list of coin sites to avoid, along with other baddies.

The internet is constant change, tools upgrade, new tools arrive and old tools while still good it's nice to check out new solutions and change your POV from time to time.

You try new things and even move to them, even if the old tools are still around and doing well. They do more or less what the others do, I tried them and liked the interfaces and I'm used to them now.

What you've got works great too.

 

Norton 360 Deluxe (Online Protection, VPN, 50GB Cloud Backup & Dark Web Monitor) 5 Devices, 1 Year - Download
$24.99
Promo code : EMCTBVA43
Expires 7/1/19
https://www.newegg.com/symantec-norton-360-deluxe-5-devices-1-year-download/p/N82E16832377992

 

" Broadcom Is in Advanced Talks to Acquire Symantec

Broadcom Inc. is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, seeking a further expansion into the more profitable software business.

Broadcom could reach an agreement to buy the Mountain View, California-based company within weeks,..."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/broadcom-advanced-talks-acquire-symantec-233501138.html

 

Broadcom Moves Forward on Symantec Acquisition

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/broadcom-moves-forward-on-symantec-acquisition/d/d-id/1335162

 

Broadcom acquires Symantec’s enterprise business for $10.7 billion

 

Lovely

Windows 7: Symantec / Norton blocks SHA-2 signature updates
Published on 14th August 2019 by Günter Born

​

[ English ] Users of Windows systems that have installed Symantec Antivirus or Norton Antivirus are in trouble for the August 2019 Patchday. These antivirus solutions block the deployment of security updates that were only signed with SHA-2, at least under Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

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Windows 7 with Symantec or Norton must not install KB4512486 or KB4512506

 

Have they become good friends again or is this so called friendship only nasty smoke on the outside?

Microsoft removes August patch block on Win7/2008R2 systems running Norton, Symantec AV Computerworld.com | Aug 28, 2019
Symantec and Microsoft have come to an agreement about Symantec/Norton AV problems with the August Win7 and Server 2008 R2 patches. The block is gone, but questions remain. Nothing has changed, so why was it blocked in the first place?

 

I gotta say, Norton Basic is pretty darn impressive. Lightning fast scans and uses less than 50 MB of memory across just three system processes. It's a keeper for my desktop and laptop, but I'll stick with BitDefender for my wife and parents. Based on the security reports I see, it's saved both of them on a number of occasions.

 

Yeah, Aw, Snap

Symantec antivirus crashes something again. This time Chrome 78 browsers zdnet.com | Oct 24, 2019


For the fourth time in three months, a Symantec security product is crashing user apps, and this time it's the latest Chrome release, v78, which rolled out earlier this week, on Tuesday, October 22.

This is not the first time that Symantec has borked user systems or their apps. There have been at least three other major incidents in the past three months. Yeah, nice... Fits very well with the new and shiny OS from Redmond.

 

Broadcom's takeover of Symantec ends in license / support chaos
Published on March 3, 2020 by Günter Born

​

Another short message for IT service providers and people who need licenses for Symantec security products. After the takeover of Symantec by Broadcom, a lot of things go haywire - and the distributors cannot issue new licenses.

Bunch of people are complaining on Reddit r/symantec about being unable to extend licenses or buy new ones

"If I'm an ESET/Malwarebytes/Kaspersky/etc. sales person I know where I'm spending my next few days... wink wink, nod nod."