Norton or Symantec Discount

petshopgirlemma

I had some problems with my Norton 360 (shock! horror!) and after filling in a customer survey about the service I received after I contacted them (very good actually, btw, very helpful and comprehensive) I got this back, hope it is of use to somebody...

As a token of our appreciation, we would like to offer you a 25% discount off your next purchase from our online store. To benefit from this discount, please go to www.symantecstore.com/global and enter coupon code fmj8sh62u when purchasing a product. This coupon code is valid until 1st September 2008. You are welcome to share this code with your family and friends!

moneypooh

petshopgirlemma wrote: »

You are welcome to share this code with your family and friends!

I bet they don't realise how many friends you've got :T

JohnnyB

A word of warning, however, once you have had your Norton product for a year (I have Norton System Works 2006 bought in 2007) you get a permanent error message and frequent pop-ups reminding you that you need to update the anti-virus which requires you to repurchase the whole programme for just under £40. To me this is equivalent to extorsion - they deny you the proper use of the programme whilst demanding the complete replacement of a perfectly functioning programme. The help desk people are jolly polite but keep telling you to pay up - even with the 25% discount, which I received for complaining bitterly in their feedback (same code as above) this is still too much. I have had Norton for years and you used to subscribe to the virus updates for less than £5. Once I have exhausted the complaints procedure I will uninstall Norton and go for one of the freebies that Martin recommends in the related article.

John

jedismurf

JohnnyB wrote: »

A word of warning, however, once you have had your Norton product for a year (I have Norton System Works 2006 bought in 2007) you get a permanent error message and frequent pop-ups reminding you that you need to update the anti-virus which requires you to repurchase the whole programme for just under £40. To me this is equivalent to extorsion - they deny you the proper use of the programme whilst demanding the complete replacement of a perfectly functioning programme. The help desk people are jolly polite but keep telling you to pay up - even with the 25% discount, which I received for complaining bitterly in their feedback (same code as above) this is still too much. I have had Norton for years and you used to subscribe to the virus updates for less than £5. Once I have exhausted the complaints procedure I will uninstall Norton and go for one of the freebies that Martin recommends in the related article.

John

To follow on.....I bought this product last year, and have also noticed the incessant pop-ups reminding me to renew. I noticed on my bank account today, that Norton have charged £39.99 to my card, presumably as my renewal!!! Didn't even have the cheek to tell me they were going to do it. I will be cancelling, and also going for the freebies.

If you are a current Norton subscriber and coming to the end of your subscription, keep an eye on your bank account....

Hannah2809_2

JohnnyB wrote: »

A word of warning, however, once you have had your Norton product for a year (I have Norton System Works 2006 bought in 2007) you get a permanent error message and frequent pop-ups reminding you that you need to update the anti-virus which requires you to repurchase the whole programme for just under £40. To me this is equivalent to extorsion - they deny you the proper use of the programme whilst demanding the complete replacement of a perfectly functioning programme. The help desk people are jolly polite but keep telling you to pay up - even with the 25% discount, which I received for complaining bitterly in their feedback (same code as above) this is still too much. I have had Norton for years and you used to subscribe to the virus updates for less than £5. Once I have exhausted the complaints procedure I will uninstall Norton and go for one of the freebies that Martin recommends in the related article.

John

Hi, Where can i find Martins list of Freebies as mentioned above?!

Thanks,

Hannah

superscaper

Hannah2809 wrote: »

Hi, Where can i find Martins list of Freebies as mentioned above?!

Thanks,

Hannah

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/free-anti-virus-software

I wouldn't use Norton even if it were free. It's bloated, has poor detection rates and can cause conflicts.
Use AVG, Avast or Antivir for antivirus and something like Armour or Comodo or Zonealarm for the firewall.

If you want to actually pay for an all in one internet security package (I admit I do), then get something that's at least better than the freebies, so that's basically either Kaspersky Internet Security or Eset Smart Security (the one I use). Any of the others are no better and in some cases worse than the free alternatives.

Plenty of threads about the subject on the techie board.

JohnnyB

Hannah, you can find Martin's article here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/free-anti-virus-software

By the way, after another very polite but utterly useless reply from the Far East I will uninstall (it is so bloated -see above- that even uninstalling requires special procedures) and never touch Norton again with the proverbial barge pole!

superscaper

JohnnyB wrote: »

Hannah, you can find Martin's article here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/free-anti-virus-software

By the way, after another very polite but utterly useless reply from the Far East I will uninstall (it is so bloated -see above- that even uninstalling requires special procedures) and never touch Norton again with the proverbial barge pole!

Yep removing/uninstalling isn't enough, it leaves so much crap behind you need to use Norton's own removal tool. Available from here: http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

JohnnyB

You may be interested to know:

I used the removal tool (see above) and it took about 20mins to complete!

I have installed Avast (I preferred their front end because AVG were very quick to recommend their upgrade for £39.99!) and the difference is quite amazing. Norton took about 3 mins of chuntering at start up before you could use any programme, now starting up is virtually instantaneous.

Lesson: avoid Norton!

Best wishes,

Xstyle

But doesn't Norton 360 give you peace of mind... all in one package?
trusted brand (ok, yes you pay a slight premium for this)

superscaper

Xstyle wrote: »

But doesn't Norton 360 give you peace of mind... all in one package?
trusted brand (ok, yes you pay a slight premium for this)

Why? It's a well marketed brand, nothing more. It gives you no more peace of mind than the freebies which are just as good. If you want to pay for an all in one package then get Eset Smart Security (personally just renewed for 3 years) or Kaspersky Security Suite. They're the only ones really that are worth the money for being significantly better than the freeware. I think they're even cheaper than Norton as well.

Don't confuse a well known name meaning the same as "trusted".

Take a look at the lab tests and reviews yourself:
www.av-comparatives.org
www.pcpro.co.uk