Currys, New Laptop and Norton!

aaroncaz

Hi brought new laptop last November, Windows 8, there was 10% of Norton so thought I would buy it:oNothing but problems since, won't scan(have posted abt this before) have to uninstall and reinstall it numerous times etc... took laptop into Currys last weekend, where they installed a new copy(though when I came back into shop, they said oh its fine and is scanning! It wasn't scanning, it can say it's scanning but isn't. seems they hadn't properly installed or renewed the old version?) anyway they said if this didn't work it (took it home and was working until today, same as before) was more than like Windows Registry which was stopping Norton from working and to reinstall Windows Reg would cost £49:mad: as the warranty/guarantee didn't cover software issues! Or I could just uninstall Norton and use something else! Guy in shop said I wouldn't need to reinstall the reg as it was only conflicting with Norton. Ok so today go to do another scan and not working(sigh) am really p***d off with wasting my money on this, is there anything I can do to get a refund or have I lost/wasted over £30?

lizzielist

I dont think they re-install windows registry, i think they just have to manually edit some of the keys within it, which if my memory serves me correctly is a case of opening a file and editing it....
This is what i would do....
uninstall norton, take it back to the shop get my money back
then look into free anti virus ... i use "spybot search and destroy" and "avg". both free and both better than norton

victor2

You've probably lost that money.
Just uninstall Norton and use one of the free AV systems, there's quite a few to choose from.
That'll probably sort it, but if need be, you could look at doing a system recovery back to as shipped. Bit more work involved there and you'll lose everything you've installed, created or updated. Plus you'll have to then uninstall whatever trial software it came with. You'll probably end up spending more if you go back to Currys, and it can doubtless all be sorted at no extra cost. You'll get help from here to do that if needed.

penrhyn

Windows 8 comes with a built in AV programme, no real need for a third party progamme.

On my PC the failure to scan problem has gone away with Norton ( bought before I upgraded).
The latest patches and updates seem to have fixed it.

aaroncaz

Thanks for your replies, I don't want to if I can help it do a system recovery, Currys did mention going back to the original settings. They did say it may have been something I did when I installed it! I've used AVG and Avast in the past.......... I will try to get a refund.

aaroncaz

penrhyn wrote: »

Windows 8 comes with a built in AV programme, no real need for a third party progamme.

On my PC the failure to scan problem has gone away with Norton ( bought before I upgraded).
The latest patches and updates seem to have fixed it.

Do I need an extra AV then? Plus will Norton uninstall fully when I do it?

macman

Running Norton on W8 will cause problems, as it will conflict with the built in Microsoft AV program. You can't run two AV's on the same system, and you didn't need it in the first place. Curry's make most of their margin flogging such add ons, so you've been either conned or just given poor advice by poorly trained staff, as often happens if you do business with DSG (widely rated as the UK's worst retailer).
Uninstall Norton via Control Panel and then run the Norton Removal Tool to flush out all the remnants.
Then, assuming that you registered it online, go into your online account and make sure that you cancel auto-renewal, if enabled.

aaroncaz

macman wrote: »

Running Norton on W8 will cause problems, as it will conflict with the built in Microsoft AV program. You can't run two AV's on the same system, and you didn't need it in the first place. Curry's make most of their margin flogging such add ons, so you've been either conned or just given poor advice by poorly trained staff, as often happens if you do business with DSG (widely rated as the UK's worst retailer).
Uninstall Norton via Control Panel and then run the Norton Removal Tool to flush out all the remnants.
Then, assuming that you registered it online, go into your online account and make sure that you cancel auto-renewal, if enabled.

I was told that windows 8 automatically disables it's built in AV?

penrhyn

Yes that is the case, Windows Defender will resume when Norton is uninstalled as Macman says.

aaroncaz

penrhyn wrote: »

Yes that is the case, Windows Defender will resume when Norton is uninstalled as Macman says.

There seems to be varied opinions on Windows Defender as being enough protection? I enter loads of comps and was wondering if it's enough for my needs?

waddler_8

aaroncaz wrote: »

There seems to be varied opinions on Windows Defender as being enough protection? I enter loads of comps and was wondering if it's enough for my needs?

Antivirus software is only one aspect of secure computing - Common sense is always touted as another.

If you feel what you have to go through to enter some competitions leaves you at risk of infection (visiting unfamiliar sites, clicking unknown links etc), quite simply trust your common sense and don't enter those competitions. Don't have a blase attitude thinking "this may turn out to be dodgy, but my AV should protect me", because there will be times when it wont - and that goes for any AV.