[Martingale00]

Hello everyone. I know now that Norton is a resource hungry program that causes some problems now and then and if I had to do it over again I would have not purchased Norton. Anyhow, what's done is done and there's Norton on my AMD rig. My question doesn't involve Norton's impact on my system but rather if Nortan, as problem plagued as it might be, still provides adaquate internet security? :4-dontkno I don't want to go through the process of uninstalling Norton because I hear this is an issue itself. I will do it though if Norton isn't providing me with the protection that another program would offer. Simply put, does Norton provide the protectinon that other leading sypware programs like AVG offer? Or is their protection against adware, spyware, and hackers substandard to other products on the market? I have business related material on my PC that must be protected. Thanks!

 

[Glaswegian]

Hi

I don't have any knowledge of Norton's effectiveness, but would say that it appears almost as good as the rest. The key here though, is multiple layers of security. There is no one programme that will stop everything - you need a combination of programmes - if one misses something, the next programme will catch it, and so on.

Have a read of this article:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f174/pc-safety-and-security-what-do-i-need-115548.html

 

[Kalim]

Norton is reknown to cause system interference and instability - messing up foundation level resources, contro0lling them, and destroying OS's. That's the reason its hated by techs frankly, as many system erratic behaviors are caused by it.

In security terms, its supposed to be very efficient actually.

 

[Martingale00]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Glaswegian, that's a great article. My problem is Norton includes anti virus, a firewall, and spyware. When I try to add something it interacts with Norton in a weird way. One time I downloaded the free trial of ZoneAlarm and it worked fine but my Norton said "1 issue affecting status" and the details said something about the Norton e-mail protection not working. I uninstalled ZoneAlarm and the problem went away after the reboot. Do you know of anything that is Norton friendly?

Kalim, I had a system crash from an unknown cause in my AMD rig. The error message I got was: <windows root>/system32/ntoskrnl.exe Basically windows wouldn't load and i had to reinstall it. Previously I had shut down issues with Norton, namely the "shut down" command didn't work at all and I found that Norton was the cause. Could Norton have caused my recent system failure as well? Thanks!

 

[cjessee]

IMHO, A firewall does not belong on the PC itself. The reason? They are resource hungry and require some computer knowledge on the user's part to answer the onslaught of questions that the firewall poses.

What I do is this: I have a router on my network. Even if you have one computer to connect to the internet, go buy a router. It will cost you about 50 bucks (how much did you pay for Norton's?, and that subscription period is creeping up. So you have a one time investment of 50 dollars in a router that will most likely have a built in firewall (check the box to make sure). Then I would invest in an antivirus only. You don't need the spam guard, or watch dog or any of that... just get a good antivirus.

The router should take care of any potential outside threats as they will only be able to get to the router and not your computer... and the antivirus should do a good job checking your e-mail and machine.

Remember, this is just my opinion... but you will gain significant performance in your machine once you remove the Norton Internet Security package.

 

[Kalim]

Kalim, I had a system crash from an unknown cause in my AMD rig. The error message I got was: <windows root>/system32/ntoskrnl.exe Basically windows wouldn't load and i had to reinstall it. Previously I had shut down issues with Norton, namely the "shut down" command didn't work at all and I found that Norton was the cause. Could Norton have caused my recent system failure as well? Thanks!

I've personally never fully recovered from Norton on any attempt on a system, until doing a complete reinstall or wiping out much. It just leaves too much splattered around. Its also harbors the worst developmental strategy by providing no tech support or info.

Ntoskrnl.exe errors can be due to many reasons. The first I would expect nowadays is that the user had Style XP installed.

Glaswegians brief guide is perfect for your needs. A router firewall is excellent but cannot do the job of another line of products. You need a combination of tactics and approaches to stay safe and sound, efficiently. Hacking is now on the increase especially with many social sites already compromised. Some products are actually advanced in usability and require much learning/configuring, trial/error and take up a chunk in resources.
Personally I'm not fond of using ZoneAlarm, Panda or Kaspersky (norton is obvious no go). I Prefer others better, such as Comodo or Sunbelt Kerio for firewall, avast! or AVG for AV and the rest is the common well established bunch. I'm old at this, so I basically have around 15GB in amounts of Safety/Security software lying here and there (you don;t need no where near as much), and another not-so-free addition I always keep up to date is Trojan Hunter.

 

[cjessee]

I have a question. Why would a router firewall not do the trick?

 

[dorts]

One main thing would be program control. You will be notified when a program wants internet access etc. So in case a harmful file wants to connect to the internet. You can deny it internet access. :grin:

 

[Martingale00]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone. I am going to look into more spyware and security programs. Anyone know anything about "Advanced WindowsCare Pro 2?" I'm still debating if I should attempt to remove norton or not though. I am actually using a router. I'm not sure of the model number or brand or anything....how would I be able to tell if there's a firewall in the router? Also one time I was surfing the web and Norton said "an intrusion attempt on your computer has been blocked". Is that the standard virus block notification?

Kalim, what do you mean by the user had Style XP installed in reference to Ntoskrnl.exe errors? The reason I ask is that I have Windows XP and a day before the computer crashed my son tried to install "Oregon Trail" on the computer but it wouldn't work because it was made for Windows 95/98. Could that install have caused the Ntoskrnl.exe error? Thanks!

 

[Kalim]

I have a question. Why would a router firewall not do the trick?

Hi cjessee

Well as Doby mentioned, a hardware router monitors data packets in and out of your computer. A firewall, working closely with a router program, examines each network packet to determine whether to forward it toward its destination. The best and most efficient way is to have a router w/firewall and a software firewall. Viruses, BHO's, spyware, adware, malware; keyloggers, trojans etc cannot be scanned for, detected, monitored, scanned, filtered, removed and managed by a firewall, and especially not a router firewall. Real-time browser protection, real-time registry protection, enhanced site blocking (many more utilities) are also needed, such as provided by IE-SPYAD, MVPS HOSTS file, Spyware Guard, SpybotS&D Tea Timer etc. Port (& ad, cookie) management is mostly what the firewall does, but a router firewall will not be able to allow you the option to control net access by applications on your system such as what a software firewall does.

Anyone know anything about "Advanced WindowsCare Pro 2?"

Its very good for all else but not a firewall though.

how would I be able to tell if there's a firewall in the router?

Check your manual or your specs online, or enter the router config and check there if there's an option for Firewall enabling. There should also be a router firewall program.

Also one time I was surfing the web and Norton said "an intrusion attempt on your computer has been blocked". Is that the standard virus block notification?

Norton 2005 Internet Security is the last I had so I can't be sure there. Although yes, the blocking would prompt a window message of similar sorts I guess.

Kalim, what do you mean by the user had Style XP installed in reference to Ntoskrnl.exe errors?

Well it seems you didn't have Style XP installed. Its used to install themes, wallpapers, icons on WinXP systems. Ntoskrnl.exe is one of the files you have to swap inplace of the original in system32. If you swap the wrong file, such as one for SP2 on a SP1 system, your system will fail to load-up.

Since this is no more a problem for you, I don't see a point for dwelling on it further now.

The reason I ask is that I have Windows XP and a day before the computer crashed my son tried to install "Oregon Trail" on the computer but it wouldn't work because it was made for Windows 95/98. Could that install have caused the Ntoskrnl.exe error? Thanks!

Nope, it should have nothing to do with the system32 folder. Its a matter of troubleshooting such errors, as various reasons for it arising coexist. Here's a good start: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000646.htm

 

[Tumbleweed36]

HI,

Back to the original question:

> Norton Internet Security does a very nice job and I have never had problems with it after years of usage.

> The advice you have been given about multiple layers is the best advice.

> You can not (you mentioned problems with this) use multiple anti-virus programs at the same time.

> Here is the setup I use for my main computer:

Norton Internet Security (Firewall, Antivirus protection)
Spware Blaster
Sypware Guard
Spybot S & D
Ad Aware

Note: On my spare computer (works well also)

AVG - Antivirus
Zone Alarm
Spyware Guard
Spyware Blaster
Spybot S & D
Ad-Aware