Norton AV/IS 2012 BETA Get started!

I decided to try it out, but I immediately removed it. However I do like the improved GUI and I am sure the program will be more powerful yet lighter. I encountered one serious bug which has to be adressed, namely that the LiveUpdate fails everytime. I am sure they will address that really soon.
I still think their product is great, but it just doesn't fit my needs.

Reasons for removing:
-an downloader dropping files everywhere, I just want one .exe or .msi to be downloaded and saved where I want it to be saved;
-nagging for Norton Account, I don't want to register or get nags about registering after I closed the registration process down;
-the silly Activity Map and links to Safe Web, Online Family and Online Backup; they should make it possible to remove that whole bottom bar.

On top the uninstaller is the worst I have ever seen, doesn't remove all the files which get downloaded and saved in Public Downloads, My Documents etc (first reason). And it leaves around multiple drivers around (removed them through Device Manager). I am not even announcing which other files and registry items are leftover.

Summary: the product itself was great (2011), and will probably be better now (2012). But not my cup of tea, I hate how Symantec market, price, distribute, install and uninstall their products.

 

See first post in this thread.

 

Having a "Norton Account" addresses an important problem, which is people lose their documentation/license key over time. Since the license typically supports 3 PCs it's important to have an easy way to retrieve the key - the Norton Account is that easy way. This doesn't exactly apply to the beta, but the beta registration process just mirrors the regular process.

The uninstaller is designed to remove the specific product without disturbing elements needed for other Norton products. There are shared components, such as LiveUpdate, needed by Norton Ghost, et al and you don't want to break other programs when you uninstall NIS. There is always the Norton Removal Tool which does remove everything and it's probably a good thing that you have to make an effort to download it separately.

It seems to me that you're evaluating this as if it were a finished product instead of a beta - that's premature.

 

I used the Norton Removal Tool, and it detected Norton 2012 before I deleted them through Windows Add/Remove Program, so I guess it should have worked.
The exact same leftovers were there in 2011, also after running the removal tool back then.
About shared objects, I guess Norton should be able of detecting other installed Norton products I guess? If none there, why not remove everything?

I am not evaluating this as a final, I had the same annoyances with version 2011 like I said before. Also I said in my product that it is a great security product and this new version will be better. I just have too many annoyances.

 

This link is on the first post. It describes in detail what's new for 2012:

http://community.norton.com/t5/Nort...-in-Norton-Internet-Security-2012/ba-p/433160

 

I'm aware that uninstalling Norton products has a problematic history. I feel the uninstaller has greatly improved - certainly much faster - but from what you describe still not perfect. I understand it's an important issue for you. For me as long as it's fast and uninstalls "functionally", by which I mean it removes auto-loading components,un-registers from the Security Center and doesn't interfere with the system or the installation of another product, that's good enough.

I agree with you that NIS has become a good product. Since the major improvement in 2009 I've been willing to put up with the minor annoyances.

 

I agree about the nagging of norton account.
you cant expect a beta to uninstall 100% properly. if you willing to try a beta you should have a system image to revert back to. i dont see how the links on the interface are a problem.

I would like to say I like the product overall but I still dont like the company very much.

 

Finally, Chrome support:

"If Chrome is your favorite browser, you are in for a treat. 2012 comes full circle on the Chrome browser by supporting Identity Safe and Safe Web features. This means you will get the password and form-filling capability from Identity Safe, industry-leading phishing protection and SafeWeb site safety ratings for Web sites and search results. You can choose to view the toolbar in full, or close it and continue to get a Norton icon on the top right indicating the safety of the page."

 

When 2012 is released you should have the option between an offline and online installer depending on where you download.

You should not expect Norton Removal Tool to remove something that is not officially supported, even if it does detect it.

LiveUpdate is integrated into the later Norton Internet Security versions and, as far as I believe, does not share it with other Norton products.

 

Like I said before, the bad uninstaller (also the Norton Removal Tool) was already there in version 2011. That already left 8 drivers around on your pc, which CAN ONLY be manually deleted.

 

Sorry, I couldn't discern from information visible, but, does the Safeweb aspect
of NIS/NAV 2012 function now in Firefox 4.0?

 

There is a hotfix for NIS 2011 that makes it compatible with FF4. Without the Hotfix, Norton Toolbar,Identity Safe, and the Safe icons in searches will not work. I do not know if the Hotfix will also work for NIS 2012 although I suspect it does since the Hotfix seems to act as an add-on extension to FF4

 

Thank you for that info hawki, I'm running NAV 2011, and really like it, and feel
they've made a lot of improvements over past approx 2 years, so I'm curious to
try this beta also.

 

For the average user unfamiliar with such things would this cause a problem with a subsequent install of another AV ?

 

Then it's not worth installing on anything other than test (virtual) machines.

 

Agreed.

I'm not running other Norton products at the moment and so can't confirm, but I thought Norton Utilities and Norton Ghost for instance both update through LiveUpdate. Maybe this has changed? (or maybe I was wrong to begin with )

 

No problems here.

 

Hard to say, but that is not a reason not to improve the uninstaller. Most other vendors do that way better. Except AVG for example, they leave many drivers behind too.

 

Guess if I'm gonna throw this on my ride.

 

I agree entirely.It's long been an annoyance to me when software uninstallers leaves behind loads of remnants,especially drivers.

Am I understanding correctly that the NRT doesn't entirely remove all traces either? If so is this merely because it hasn't been updated yet.

 

Thanks for that.

 

From one of my (unprofessional testing)

25 malware samples,

Blocked 24! and not completely deleted the 25th for which was leftovers in System32, but every starting of the application (manual) was instantly blocked by the Sonar.

So imo probably one more awesome product coming from Symantec

 

So Basically a Performance Update, GUI update, and a slightly tweaked SONAR.

In terms of changes it is definitely smaller then 09, 10, and 11. But its performance...... It installed in secs..... !!!

 

This is a pic comparing NIS 2011 results with 2010,


http://pic.mk/images/nis2011vs2.png

 

Very nice new and improved features.

Sonar 4 will be better and Chrome support is awesome, my fav browser is Chrome.

I like the idea of rating applications stability, i try and use a lot of software. Performance improvements are always welcome.

I dont want to try the beta because i dont have a test machine at the moment but im looking forward to the final release.