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Norton Internet Suite is bugging the hell out of me
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:17 pm
by Ambush Commander
I have Norton AntiVirus installed on my computer, which works rather nicely and I haven't gotten any virus infections in a long time (although that might be just me). However, I use ZoneAlarm for my Firewall needs and don't like antivirus applications peeking into my email, so I have all of Norton's Internet Security Suite's options disabled. Now, I can deal with the fact that it claims that my computer security is in "Desperate Need Of Attention" because it's not in my face, but recently, it's started bugging me about the disabled firewall, and whenever I close the window, it respawns a few seconds later. I ended up killing the process.
I am now looking into uninstalling the Internet Suite. I don't use it, I don't need it, although I would rather keep the AntiVirus on board. The fact that I'm interfacing my computer through VNC currently makes doing this job even harder though. Has anyone ever had this happen to them before?
Oh, and Apple Updates Installer sucks. Stop loading up my quick launch with icons I don't want!
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:20 pm
by feyd
My Apple Updater hasn't touched my quick launch.
As for Norton, I don't run it, (nor ZoneAlarm) sorry.
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:58 pm
by matthijs
Not too long ago I asked about alternatives to mcafee and got good responses,
viewtopic.php?t=66381&highlight=virus
And you are on a PC are you? Is the apple updater for iTunes?
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:11 am
by phpdevuk
both norton and mcaffee are normally failry good products, I've had problems with them from time to time, had one disable javascript in a webpage with a nice popup telling a client it was malicious code, not easy to explain to someone who is about as computer savy as a brick. I've always been told I should use nod on my pc as its apparently much better, been trying out kaspersky labs atm which seems fairly good at stopping stuff, tho it did claim my ftp server was under a tcp attack the other day when I used it to copy files from my laptop.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:04 am
by matthijs
phpdevuk wrote:both norton and mcaffee are normally failry good products, .
Well, according to seodevhead (self-proclaimed) expert in these matters, they are both not good.
As my Mcafee has never found a virus, I can't say if it's good or not. Maybe I didn't have any malware, maybe McAfee couldn't find it...
One thing I do know for sure is that you should plug in an extra Gb of memory to run Norton, and to be able to upgrade McAfee you need to hire one or two very good system admins.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:49 am
by seodevhead
Yep, Norton and McAfee are about as bad as it gets. The only thing those companies have going for them is brand recognition. I wouldn't trust a clean bill of health from either of them... they simply don't detect anything.
From a pure detection standpoint (and removal for that matter), Spyware Doctor 5.0 cannot be beat. However, it's prevention features cannot even come close to that provided by ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Because the two applications cannot run side by side anymore (this may have changed recently), I have since dropped Spyware Doctor and am using ZASS as my main line of defense. On a 1-10 scale, it's virus/spyware detection is probably an 8 (..with spyware doctor being 10 and Norton being 1), but it's effectiveness at stopping the spyware/virus before it grasps onto your system is top-notch. And ZoneAlarm is about as "system friendly" as you can get. Very lean, very few pop ups and when you do get a "notification" pop-up... it clearly explains what it is, what it's trying to do and offers you all the options. But a monkey could use ZASS effectively. You get the award-winning firewall and all the great spyware/virus stuff as well in one nice package.
Just remember, just because your virus/spyware scanner says "zero infections", doesn't mean you are clean. I can't tell you how many times I've had friends tell me this. They always say, "I've been using Norton for years and I've never had a virus". Whereas my response is always, "well, you've never had virus detection so how would you know?"...lol.
GET ZASS!
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:18 pm
by alex.barylski
Nothing beats human reasoning.
In the two decades (not really counting the first) of being an avid computer geek I can count on one hand how many times I've had a virus and it was cleaned quickly (through a reformat) and my system restored to 100%.
I reformat about every 3 months (just to clear clutter) and I try not to download potentially malicious files (pron, musac, hacked software, etc). Visit questionable sites with everything disabled (using FireFox webdev bar) so all you see is text and photos.
As for firewall protection, honestly just invest in a router (which acts as a NAT firewall)...cheap, perpetual and impossible to circumvent unlike a software firewall like ZoneAlarm. I only have interest in firewalls when I want to control which applications are calling home.
AC do you share a computer with a younger sister/brother or something? Unless you share the PC you should really just follow strick policies on keeping your computer clean and <span style='color:blue' title='I'm naughty, are you naughty?'>smurf</span> on AV software.
If you MUST use a virus checker I suggest AVG downloaded here:
http://free.grisoft.com/
My brother in law is constantly removing viruses and has used everything extensively (Norton, McAfee, etc) and he swears by it that AVG is the best. Perhaps you should ask some friends of yours who have kids, because those people are likely far more experienced in working with AV software than someone that is the sole user of a PC. My bro in law has two kids so I'm confident his AV software is well tested
Little monsters
Cheers

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:50 pm
by Ambush Commander
My Apple Updater hasn't touched my quick launch.
And you are on a PC are you? Is the apple updater for iTunes?
I believe it only does this for iTunes. Maybe I'll uninstall it, since I've stopped using it do to performance and maintainability issues.
GET ZASS!
While the package does seem quite appealing (And ZoneAlarm Firewall has served me well, although occasionally upgrades will break things), it costs money.

The AntiVirus I'm running actually comes from a company subscription, so we don't have to pay anything.
Nothing beats human reasoning.
As I mentioned before, I'm quite good at avoiding questionable stuff. But remember: defense in depth!
I reformat about every 3 months (just to clear clutter)
I wish I had the leeway to do that. Over the years I've customized my computer a lot, to the point where I'm not even sure how to reconstruct them. I need to do a reformat sometime, but I need to be very careful about doing something that drastic.
As for firewall protection, honestly just invest in a router
I have one running too! However, I do perform port forwarding and I am interested in outbound access, and once again, defense in depth, so keeping a firewall around is still a good idea.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:52 pm
by matthijs
Hockey wrote:My bro in law has two kids so I'm confident his AV software is well tested
Little monsters
Cheers

haha
So how does the headquarters of R&D of an AV-software company look like? A room with 60 kids surfing and downloading stuff?
Serious though. I wonder if any real, hard scientific facts exist concerning how people get infected. The few times I got infected (as far as I know) was by a Word-file from someone else in college/university. I know for sure that the AV companies spread a lot of nonsense around to make sure everyone is scared as hell and buys their software. On the other hand, I know how vulnerable browsers can be (even Firefox) so just browsing a website at the wrong time can infect you.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:46 pm
by seodevhead
Hockey wrote:As for firewall protection, honestly just invest in a router (which acts as a NAT firewall)...cheap, perpetual and impossible to circumvent unlike a software firewall like ZoneAlarm. I only have interest in firewalls when I want to control which applications are calling home.

I run both a hardware (router) and software (ZASS) firewall.. and the two really can't be compared. If I had to pick one of the two, give me ZASS any day over a NAT firewall. I'm not pooping on NAT, but it doesn't help one bit in keeping your system safe from malware, which is inarguably the most critical to protect yourself from. And NAT is not impenetrable... but it's great and you have nothing to worry about if you're not the CIA.
The ZASS firewall is much more than hiding ports and blocking intrustions, the OSfirewall is one of the greatest features that protects your operating system from system changes caused by malware. For instance, it won't let malware put a startup registry key in, or take over a host file, etc. If you run a NAT firewall and you get a virus from a buffer overflow in WMP.. it's too late... you're infected. With ZASS's OSfirewall, it will stop it dead in it's track... infection prevented!
If I can remember correctly, ZASS costs about 59 bucks or something. WELL WORTH IT!
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 1:14 am
by matthijs
seodevhead, do you know of any tests or reviews of AV software, or good sites I can read more about them? I found
http://www.av-comparatives.org/ but in it's tests, ZA isn't tested.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:11 am
by phpdevuk
I get viruses with a fairly high regularity, avg failed to spot one at the start of the year, norton internet missed a root kit that was on my laptop, and spyware is just a pain. Not really sure where they come from as I really don't do anything dodgy like download mp3s, if I turn the router off my pc gets infected in about 5mins
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:28 am
by RobertGonzalez
Not for protection but for detection... does anyone use adAware?
Re: Norton Internet Suite is bugging the hell out of me
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:59 am
by AKA Panama Jack
Ambush Commander wrote:INow, I can deal with the fact that it claims that my computer security is in "Desperate Need Of Attention" because it's not in my face, but recently, it's started bugging me about the disabled firewall, and whenever I close the window, it respawns a few seconds later. I ended up killing the process.
Are you sure it isn't Windows XP doing that and not Nortons? Windows XP SP2 always loaded up their damned security center and bugged the hell out of me all the time about not being secure because I didn't use the things it said I should be using. So I eventually shut down and disabled the services dedicated to the XP Security Center.
Also, I have hated the newer versions of Zone Alarm because they keep adding more stuff that really isn't needed for a firewall.

This site has been a life saver in that respect.
http://www.oldversion.com/ ZoneAlarm 4.5.538.1 has been the best version of Zone Alarm because it is lean and does everything a firewall should while giving you complete control over programs that access the internet.
Finally, Nortons Internet Security Suite is... well... crap... in every way except for Nortons Antivirus. If you want NAV you should just buy Nortons Antivirus by itself and never touch the Internet Security Suite package. Even though you tell it not to install some things it will install portions anyway causing all kinds of weirdness. NAV is a fantastic product and I have been using it for 6 years upgrading to the latest version each year. It has never let me down. Unfortunately their Internet Security Suite has been a horrible mess.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 11:02 am
by AKA Panama Jack
Everah wrote:Not for protection but for detection... does anyone use adAware?
I use it every once in a while. Fortunately it only find things if I resort to using IE. Since I use
Opera for everything it never finds anything because nothing is ever there.
