Norton internet security updates

ravenlooney

Hi,
Ive got Norton internet security 2002 and my subscription has run out meaning I cant get any updates. I really cant afford to pay for a new subscription but really need to have my pc protected. Does anyone know where I can get the updates without buying a subscription?
Mods - if im not allowed to ask this on here, feel free to remove the post!

peter_the_planter

If you don't want to pay for Nortons there are firewalls and antivirus(free) download at start of thread. Whilst you are at it download Adaware, Spybot S&D, Spyware blaster as essentials and Ccleaner,Hijack this if wanted.
Oops I forgot, stop using Internet Explorer and download Firefox. Just as quick, prettier and much more secure, has its own pop-up and ad blockers.

finmore

The other alternative that I have used in the past is to fully delete norton off your pc and reinstall it, type in your id codes from the original package and you should get another 12 months free subscription, the disadvantage is you will have to do the complete updates again since the programme was written. Up until last week I was still using an original Norton 2001 family edition, I had reinstalled it 3 times and it was still working

shrek101

A removal of Norton may work however some technical knowledge is required to remove Norton completely unless of course you do a re-format. What is involved is a clean up of files belonging to Norton (a simply add/remove wont work) and then a registry scan removing symantec references. This involves regedit which is part of windows.

It may also be the case that as its than quite an old version of NIS that update MAY still not work due to differences between NIS2002 and 2003,2004.

I have had on several occasions removed NIS from a computer because updates wont work due to bugs so I have got quite use to reinstall of Norton.

Nobby_Nomates

There are still some very good free firewalls avalable on the net, try this link

http://www.free-firewall.org/

Zone alarm is one of the best free firewalls, along with Sygate, they have some of their features disabled, (avalable in the full version at a cost) but they are both still a very effective firewall.

and best of all they are FREE

ravenlooney

finmore wrote:

The other alternative that I have used in the past is to fully delete norton off your pc and reinstall it, type in your id codes from the original package and you should get another 12 months free subscription, the disadvantage is you will have to do the complete updates again since the programme was written. Up until last week I was still using an original Norton 2001 family edition, I had reinstalled it 3 times and it was still working

When I bought the package I (stupidly) downloaded it instead of buying the disc. So if I remove it from my system I cant get it back on. Can I just copy it to disc and then remove and put back on?

If I cant then i'll just do the free thing as suggested by Peter the Planter. Are the free ones just as good as what ive been paying for?

peter_the_planter

Lots of people swear by them, I'll be going over myself when the sub runs out in July.

blinky

ravenlooney wrote:

When I bought the package I (stupidly) downloaded it instead of buying the disc. So if I remove it from my system I cant get it back on. Can I just copy it to disc and then remove and put back on?

If I cant then i'll just do the free thing as suggested by Peter the Planter. Are the free ones just as good as what ive been paying for?

Yes you can back it up onto CD.
You should have some emails with the licence keys in. I would back those up as word documents. You might also have a downloaded key file.

I had to migrate a clients stuff to a new machine last week. There Norton was due for renewal but when I installed it on the new machine it reset the licence to run for another year.

Against Norton: Heavy on resources

As for the free ones: Try AVAST https://www.avast.com - it's getting some good feedback at Wilders Security forums ( https://www.wilders.com ).

Paid ones to consider:
KAV (Kaspersky Antivirus) - generally considered the best at catching virii but can be heavy on resources.
Mcafee is supposed to be getting better.
NOD32 - light on resources, good at detection, particularly because of it's excellent heuristics which means it can catch virii which aren't covered in the signatures. Having said that by default it is setup to check for updates once an hour.

ravenlooney

blinky wrote:

Yes you can back it up onto CD.
You should have some emails with the licence keys in. I would back those up as word documents. You might also have a downloaded key file.
.

I dont have emails with the licence key. I only have 1 mail I received from them when I bought which is the order confirmation. Being thick again, but where would I find the downloaded key file? Ive looked through all the files in NIS but cant seem to find it! I know that I shouldve noted all this down when I downloaded it, but at that time I was brand new to computers and didnt know any better!
Anyway, while im feeling like a dunce, to back up Id just go into my c drive and copy all files related to NIS? Im looking at them now and ive got a folder for norton antivirus, norton internet security, and 2 for symantec (one is called SymNetDrv - whatever that means) do I copy them all?
Thanks for your help!