What is going on with Norton's forum?

Hi Longboard

I know I uninstalled NIS 09 properly
In Fact!
The one and only thing that I did like about NIS 09 ... Was that it uninstalled much cleaner that previous versions of NIS
I did still run the - NRT .. Just to be sure!
And.. Hunted Down & Murdered .. Any other left overs

So! ... It SHOULD Be 100% - Gone!

Should Be!

However!
One of the reasons I decided to get rid of NIS 09 ... It felt like - Spyware!
It seemed to spend more time phoning home than just simply protecting my laptop.
e.g.
Norton Community Watch
Norton Insight Submission

I Don't Know!
Just didn't like or trust NIS 09

 

Its contacting home so often as with the 2009 product set it does microupdates, updating definitions sometimes every few minutes. I haven't noticed them on any machine given their size, but no AV is for everyone.

 

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Norton Code-Signing Mistake Leaves Norton Users' PIFTS Off




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A friend of mine who uses Norton AV 2009 blocked PIFTS.EXE from trying to connect in the internet with CIS's Firewall.

And guess what. Norton screwed up his PC! This is very suspect, and he says he will report this to Norton's CEO ASAP.

I don't know about you guys, but never again will this overpriced piece of CRAPWARE ever touch my PC (well, maybe my virtual PC... maybe )

 

okay on the pc im on right now i have searched everywhere for the pifts.exe where would this file be located on a vista 32 machine? i would think it would be in the same place as always?

 

you are running NAV/NIS 2006 or 2007? Otherwise, as I read the articles, your search would be fruitless.

 

some people are saying they have still had to block it on the nis2009 though??

 

I'm running NIS2009 on 6 machines and have seen nothing of it. However, the 16.5 update, which I keep seeing mentioned in relation to this issue (don't know if there really is a relationship, it's mostly hearsay), is being distributed in stages and has not yet hit any of my PCs.

In any event, the statements directly from Symantec say on 2006 & 2007 products. I guess it's a question of who you think is making the most credible statements.

 

I had NIS 2009 on my pc for a short time.
After reading about this problem I checked my pc and found it in the registry.
This problem is not only with 2006-07 products.
Hugger

 

What, specifically, did you find, Hugger?

I did a search for the string "PIFTS" in my registry and came up dry.

 

correct thats what im trying to verify right now

 

Hello everyone,

I’m one of the administrators for the Norton Community Forums. First off, I would like to apologize for the removal of legitimate posts, and delayed response in acknowledging the PIFTS.exe issue. While the reason for merging like-posts in to a single thread was not intended to silence the voices of the users, we do understand that it ended up causing a lot of suspicions about the topic. We are sorry for the confusion that we have caused, and have developed new strategies to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

We launched the beta of the Norton Community Forums in April 2008. We’ve been very transparent with many issues that have come up on the boards, and utilized this opportunity to have more open discussions with those who use our software. We have also been very lenient with posts. There are threads on the forums that are critical of our products and discuss non-Symantec scanning software recommended by other users, as well as other non-relevant 3rd party software. I'm not saying this to get a pat on the back, but to acknowledge that we encourage open and honest communication on our forums. We strive to be transparent and give our customers the best information as quickly as possible.

We’ve spent the past 2 days compiling all the information regarding PIFTS.exe and detailing what it does. We’ve also included information regarding the timeline of events that happened on the forums. To view this information, please visit this forum thread: http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=39119

We also have a discussion thread for all things PIFTS.exe related at the following thread: http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=39123

Please read through the above two threads if you have any questions, as many questions have already been addressed (such as rumors that we sent personal information to our servers, rumors regarding sending information to Google, and other rumors that we were involved in a conspiracy or “cover up”).

We welcome you to join in on the discussion if you have any concerns that need to be addressed.

Again, we’re sorry for the mishap and all the confusion that this has caused.

Cheers,
Tim Lopez
Norton Forums Administrator
http://community.norton.com

 

I don't think this is a huge deal. I don't believe EVERY conspiracy theory - this seems like a public relations mistake rather than something nefarious.

 

Next time, make sure that the users are publicly aware of what you intend to install on their systems in each update.

Make an update history, or post a sticky in your official forum(s) that this or that EXE or whatever file is supposed to come with this or that update.

Also, may I ask you why Norton added the Ask.com Toolbar as an optional in the new update?
I see no particular reason why your company, who holds the majority of the stake in the AV industry, need to add such toolbars for revenue.
Just a quick clarification would be much appreciated. I'll be expecting a reply directly from you.

EDIT: Is your company even aware that Ask.com Toolbar has been labeled as 'MALWARE/SPYWARE' by many anti-spyware programs??

 

same question as above for me as well. we would love an answer regarding this.

 

Now I'm puzzled.

I understood that there would not be an ASK toolbar, but rather some ASK search functionality in SafeSearch, written in Norton/Symantec code.

So, what's going on ?

 

There is no "toolbar" at all, just a search box which uses Ask if you want to. Same as the Google search box in Firefox, etc.

 

I'm considering switching back to KIS 2008.

Is it SAFE to stick w/ NIS 2009.....or should I abandon ship (like some people here have)?

Between the 2 suites (KIS 2008, NIS 2009)....which one is better?

 

ive used both for very long periods of time and personally i like nis2009 better. but if this keeps up im switching to something else. but im not sure ill go back to kis yet though it was a very nice suite id really like to see the full vipre suite myself

 

I like Symantec better myself. Here is another example of a product I will never use again, KAV or KIS. After what they did with the file system tags and the chkdsk nonsense, I will never trust THEM again. So I suppose there is a reason to be skeptical towards just about every one of them at times...

 

I have been using NIS 09 for a few months now and I am really upset over all what has happened in the not so recent past and this was the first time I actually liked a product of theirs because it was not bloatware! Anyway I feel its time to move onto some other suite that does a better job presumably.

 

Just when I was thinking of using Norton again...another controversy. A very interesting thread with lots of links to read about this. Do be careful about google for the issue. More social engineering on a topic of interest...

 

Symantec has published an extensive account of the PIFTS.exe incident. Including their side of the story(ies) and even the supposed source-code of PIFTS.exe.
Those interested go to:
http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=39119