Norton removal tool (for NAV 2003)

[Saussure]

I am not sure whether I should first run the Norton AntiVirus 2003 deinstaller and THEN the removal tool which you can download from the Symantec website, or whether you can run the removal tool directly, without doing anything beforehand?...
Also, I have been reading not-so-good reviews about NAV 2008, which I want to install. Is it really as bad as it sounds? Worse than earlier versions? My computer was/is never slow with 2003, and I believe Norton products are CPU hogs...? I have got 512 MB of RAM and about 15 GB of free hard disk space.

[dammit]

You do not need to do anything before using the tool. I would shy away from using Norton for all the reasons you say, plus a few more. AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition) is a much better option, and it's free. ;)

[Slinx]

Same here, I do not like Norton for the fact that:

1- it takes a big useless icon on the bottom right
2- Slows down your computer way more than any other anti-virus
3- It has problems updating itself not frequently, thus making viruses easier to infiltrate your pc.

[Saussure]

I checked AVG just now. The free version does not allow rootkit removal. I tried McAfee once (under Windows 98). It was dreadful. I have read so many awful things about NAV 2008 that I'll just have to, hm, throw out the boxed version I got. So...What about Kaspersky? I've never tried that one before.

[geohen1]

Saussure,

I actually work with Symantec, makers of Norton, and I wanted to throw my two-cents into the ring here.

The entire 2008 product line demonstrates considerable performance improvements. Much of the code was rewritten (about 80%) in order to achieve the goal of hitting some of the most competitive system impact benchmarks in the industry. If you're curious to read some independent third-party performance testing data, check out how Norton Antivirus 2008 fared against the competition according to leading software testing group, PassMark: http://www.passmark.com/ftp/Antivirus-Performance-Testing-Ed2.pdf At the same time that the program has gotten faster and leaner, it still is the only antivirus on the market to achieve over seven years of consecutive VirusBulletin 100 detection awards. This is all to say that if you were happy with NAV 2003 then you'll be extremely happy with NAV 2008.

For uninstalling NAV 2003, if you're oversinstalling NAV 2008 on top of it, it should remove the older version automatically. If it doesn't, you can opt to uninstall the older product through Add/Remove Programs. The Norton Removal Tool is great -- but it's kind of a nuclear option. It will remove any and all traces of Norton from your machine, including any shared Norton components. It's up to you, though.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.

Best,
George

[Saussure]

Hi George,

Thanks for your message.
I got instructions from someone else who also works with Norton (in another forum), and I was not told to run NAV 2008 over 2003. On the other hand, he suggested the same alternative as you did - remove the program via add/remove programs and then run the removal tool twice, rebooting each time after the tool has finished. I have recovery discs which came with my computer, but the instructions say that they're to be used only if the computer is still new. It's four and a half years old. Also, since my XP Home came preinstalled on the computer, the machine did not come with an XP disc.So that's why I'm worried about the deinstallation corrupting files or something. I can only create a manual system restore point (which I have already done). Anyway, now I've got both NAV 2008 and Kaspersky. If one does not work, then I'll try the other...provided my computer has not melted down by then due to such brutal surgery. I'll try it out this weekend (if I can keep a whole evening free) and nip back here.