It's November, so it must be time for my annual anti-Symantec rant.
I needed to renew my subscription for Norton Internet Security, so (after finding my way through their badly-designed website) I discovered that for a few dollars more I could upgrade to Norton Internet Security 2006.
Well, why not? It seemed like a bargain.
One reason is that when I placed my order I couldn't download the product. Should be so straightforward - the email said that I could download the software from "my order page", and (like an idiot) I kept trying to find the download icon, assuming that maybe I'd done something wrong. No, I hadn't - they had.
I complained, and a few days later they informed that there was a "problem", and my credit card had not been debited (hmmm...) and suggesting that I could order again. I did, and (amazingly) this time it worked.
I have discovered one 'gotcha' already. When you install the software, it changes your homepage, and then the software refuses to let you change it back because it might be a hacker doing this. Amazingly, the way it does this is to create a warning window that it doesn't actually display. Brilliant.
And which company didn't find the Sony root-kit bug?
Posted by: HKMacs | November 23, 2005 at 07:00 AM
Dude, buy a Mac ... that's how I solved my disgust with Symantec (whose software I suspect cause my last [and I mean that in the literal sense] Windows laptop to crash). I am happily virus and virus protection software free.
Posted by: Yuen Long Lo Fan | November 24, 2005 at 01:51 PM
Avast (http://www.avast.com) is a good free virus checker, with regular updates.
Posted by: dave | November 24, 2005 at 05:44 PM
Another good one is ClamXav
Posted by: Yuen Long Lo Fan | November 25, 2005 at 12:35 AM
The Mac versions of their software are positively dangerous and I advise people to remove all traces of anything Symantec on their drives (including ALL the invisible files).
Posted by: HKMacs | November 25, 2005 at 07:12 AM
the only idiots in this world are the ones who insist on installing any symantec product in the first place.
waste of money!
I'd say symantec aren't idiots if they can convince people to buy their shit in the first place.
Posted by: henry | November 25, 2005 at 05:37 PM