norton posts

Nice try, Symantec! Cheesey video warns against free antivirus

by Lee Mathews Sep 29th 2009

Back in July, a Symantec exec predictably talked down free antivirus apps. This week, the cheeky devils behind Norton Antivirus have turned out a real tour de force. Seriously. It's a flippant look at the old adage "the best things in life are free."

The spot starts by mentioning love. Yeah, that's free, right? Sure, except for weddings says the straightman - those could cost as much as *gasp* $10,000! I'm not sure what year Symantec thinks it is, but I'm pretty sure many weddings run well in excess of three to five times that amount.

What about kids, those are great - and free! No, jackass, that's another bad call on your part. They're expensive too, says Unfunny Guy. Really? Thanks for pointing that out.

Tags: free-antivirus, norton, symantec

Filed under: Security, Windows, Commercial

Sunbelt offering a lifetime of Vipre antivirus for $99

by Lee Mathews Sep 25th 2009

Sunbelt's Vipre might not be as well known as Norton or McAfee, but it's definitely a solid choice in desktop malware and virus protection.

Now, thanks to the fine people at HSN who also bring you products like Tony Little fitness gear and Carol Alt's line of cosmetics you can score Vipre's protection until you're stone dead for a mere $99.90. Plus $6.95 shipping and handling, of course.

For added craziness, you can even cover the tab in three equal installments of $33.30.

Let's put this into perspective: a three-year sub for Norton Internet Security will run you $164.99. At that price, you'd be able to buy Vipre for this entire lifetime and 65% of any additional existence you luck into afterward. That's pretty sweet. A little new age, perhaps, but still an excellent deal.

[via Sunbelt Blog]

Tags: antimalware, antivirus, AV, budget, deal, lifetime, malware, norton, sunbelt, trojan, vipre

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Symantec, Commercial, Windows x64

Symantec release 2010 Norton security products

by Paul O'Brien Sep 14th 2009

Little in the Windows world seems to polarize opinion like a Symantec product, and in particular one from the Norton range. Seemingly equally loved and hated by users, Norton products in recent times have grown in both functionality and size, leading many to categorize the applications as 'bloated'.

Fanboys and haters sit up and take notice, Symantec have announced the release of their 2010 range of security products, including Norton Antivirus 2010 and Norton Internet Security 2010!

In the list of new features in the 2010 range, it does seem that Symantec have taken note of the concerns of users around the size and performance of the applications, as they state:

"Symantec has made an ongoing commitment to delivering security products that are fast and light. The Norton 2010 products have maintained an eye on performance, in spite of adding significant new protection technology to the release. Independent 3rd party test lab, PassMark Software was commissioned to benchmark Symantec and top security software competitors' performance impact on key metric."

Long story short: NIS 2010 is faster than previous versions and it's less resource-intense (idling at a reported 10Mb). The once painful install has been addressed as well -- NIS installs in about a minute. Test scans under NIS turned out solid results as well: 61 seconds on an HDD and 31 on an SSD.

Tags: Internet Security, InternetSecurity, NAV, Norton, Norton Antivirus, NortonAntivirus, Symantec

Filed under: Google, Search, Humor

Google suggest proves that a lot of people want Norton, McAffee, and AVG off their PCs

by Lee Mathews Aug 20th 2009

Google suggest - sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's way off the mark. For the guys at Sophos, it's a source of mild amusement. Why?

Well, take a look at the YouTube clip they generously shared with the world. Among the top suggestions when you type "remove" in for the first word of your query? Apart from annoying pests like Antivirus 360 and Antivirus 2009 (both fake antivirus malware) you'll also notice AVG, McAfee, and Norton.

What does it all mean? Obviously a lot of people are searching for information on how to get rid of those programs. Norton and McAfee - well, those two are apps we love to hate. But AVG? Really?

Sure. It's a not-uncommon problem with AVG that something gets bunged up with the installer and you need to remove your current version completely in order to install the new version.

Tags: avg, google-suggest, mcafee, norton, removal, search, uninstall

Filed under: Business, Security, Symantec, Freeware

Avast responds to Symantec's jaded criticisms of free antivirus

by Lee Mathews Aug 5th 2009

Last month, Symantec Product Manager David Hall ruffled some feathers when he blasted free antivirus software. Avast's Vincent Steckler has since had a look at the interview, and believes Hall "erroneously concludes that free products cannot be trusted, are not sufficient, etc."

He continues, "But then again why should a firm that makes a billion dollars a year off of paid anti-virus conclude that a free anti-virus product is good..." Many of you echoed that sentiment in the comments.

Steckler has plenty of good counterpoints, which you would expect from a guy that works for a free AV provider.

Hall slammed free programs for lacking targeted indentity theft protection. Not so fast, says Steckler. "Malware focused on stealing identity information is just malware." What about that "big gap" between the changing threat landscape and the defense provided by free apps? "[Hall] is wrongly assuming that antivirus products do the same as what they did 10 years ago," but they don't.

Yes, Mr. Symantec, Even free antivirus like Avast and AVG now use much more sophisticated methods to thwart potential threats.

Tags: avast, free-antivirus, malware, norton, propoganda, spyware

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Commercial

Symantec introduces Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection for Mac

by Simon Kerbel Mar 11th 2008

Symantec has introduced Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection for Mac, a new software package that combines Norton AntiVirus 2008 for Windows with Norton AntiVirus 11 for Mac.

This package was designed for Mac users who have Windows installed on their machine, either as a separate partition (Boot Camp) or through the use of virtualization software such as Parallels and VMWare Fusion.

You've got to hand it to Norton: like some sort of Corporate Kamasutra, they position themselves in every way imaginable in order to suck up the bucks in the ever-competitive anti-virus market. While this is really just a shrewd repackage of existing products, the marketing and the sticker price (a reasonable $69.95) should convince a lot of users to pony up the dough.

If only Macs needed an antivirus solution...then this product would be invaluable (okay, we were just trying to rile a few feathers with that last remark).

Norton Antivirus Dual Protection for Mac requires OS X 10.4.10 or higher on the Mac side, and XP or Vista on the Windows side.

[via Macworld]

Tags: antivirus, mac, norton

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Security

Win $10,000 by looking like an emoticon

by Brad Linder Aug 17th 2007

This is a little bit twisted. Emoticons started out their lives as text-based characters designed to resemble human expressions. They've evolved into cartoon smiley faces and in some cases, even 3D figures. Now Symantec wants to take things full circle by finding people who can emulate emoticons with... facial expressions.

Symantec is holding a contest allowing you to submit a photo with a facial expression. Looking at the demonstrations, we have to say, it's a lot easier to replicate a pissed off, winking, or tongue-out emoticon than a smiling one. You know, because people are always smiling in photos.

You can submit your photo up until September 30th for the chance to win a variety of prizes including $10,000 in cash. Just entering the contest will get you a 15% off coupon for Norton 360 or Norton Save and Restore, so don't go thinking this is an altruistic contest and not just a publicity stunt. The logic behind the contest is a bit baffling though, as emoticons are somehow supposed to remind you that it's important to back up your data.

Tags: contest, emoticon, norton

Filed under: Security, Windows, Microsoft

Microsoft Anti-Spyware targets Norton Anti-Virus

by Jordan Running Feb 13th 2006

The Washington Post's Brian Krebs is reporting that a recent update to Microsoft Anti-Spyware "flags [Norton Anti-Virus] as a password-stealing program and prompts users to remove it." If the user removes the files as instructed by Anti-Spyware, Norton Anti-Virus ceases to function and cannot be reinstalled without some dicey registry editing. Oops. Microsoft says it's working on a fix for the problem.

Tags: anti-spyware, anti-virus, antivirus, microsoft, norton, spyware

Filed under: Google

First look at Google Pack?

by Jordan Running Jan 6th 2006

Some people have reported being able to download and install Google Pack, the eclectic bundle of apps that Google announced today. I'm unable to get in, but one Italian blogger has posted a supposed screenshot of Google Updater (Babelfish translation here), an app that downloads and installs the Google Pack apps and (I assume) keep them up-to-date. It looks pretty legit. Intriguingly included among the apps in the screenshot is "Google Pack Screensaver" and the post includes this English snippet from the (now inaccessible) Google Pack site: "The version of Norton Antivirus in the Google Pack includes 6 months of protection updates that enable the program to identify and remove new threats. If you’d like to continue receiving these updates after 6 months, you’ll need to purchase an update subscription from Symantec. Purchasing a subscription is optional."

Update: The blog author has posted an English version of the post here.

[Via Digg]

Tags: antivirus, google, google pack, google updater, norton

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