Norton Internet Security for 5-PC's

For the last few years, Norton has offered a 3-PC license (meaning you could legally install Norton Internet Security on 3 computers).  This is a huge help to folks who own more than one computer.   And as amazing as it sounds, many users now need a 5-pc license (especially if you have kids in the house with laptops)! 

Buying Internet Security software for 5 computers can get expensive.  But thank to Norton's 5-PC license for Norton Internet Security, this is no longer a problem.

A single PC license for Norton Internet Security costs $30-$40 (depending on where you buy it)
The 3-PC license for Norton Internet Security costs $70
And the 5-PC license for Norton Internet Security only costs about $109 (which is a huge savings).

To downnload the Norton Internet Security 2012 - 5 User Pack, click here.

Beware of New Email Virus (Here You Have)!

A new computer virus started causing havoc yesterday with several corporation (including NASA).  The virus was in an email with the subject line, "Here You Have" or "Just For You".  Both subject lines have been spotted on the virus containing email.

The actual name of the virus varies depending on which company you check, but it has been called the "Here You Have" virus, the VBMania virus, and it's official designation is W32.Imsolk.B@mm by Symantec.

The email contains a link and the virus is activated when you click the link.  Then the virus sends the infected email to everybody in your address book.

According to Symantec, the virus has not infected any machines running Norton software yet.  So if you use Norton, it would be a good idea to make sure your anti virus software is up to date.

As usual, don't open any emails from people you don't know (especially if they contain attachments).

Beware of Norton's Automatic Renewal Feature

If you use Norton Software, you probably have a Norton Account (which is usually created the first time you install Norton software). Having the account is nice because it keeps tracks of your product keys (which many of tend to lose) and other important information about our subscription.

However, Norton has recently started incorporated an "automatic renewal" feature in these accounts - which has a tendency to charge your credit about a month before your subscription ends. By default, this feature is enabled.

Norton will gladly disable this feature in your account if you ask them too - but YOU HAVE TO ASK! There's no way for you to change turn off automatic renewal yourself.

The easiest way to contact Norton is to use their online chat support. The link is listed below.

http://www.symantec.com/norton/support/productdetail/contact_ts.jsp?pvid=nav_2009

I love Norton products, but I'm not a fan of the auto-renew feature since it's not something I can turn off myself by logging into my account.

By the way, if you have noticed that your credit card was charged by the auto-renew feature, you can request a refund using the online chat support.

Updated 19 September 2009: It appears that Norton has once again changed how they handle the auto-renew feature.  You used to be able to turn off auto-renew in your Norton account, but this is no longer the case.  Now if you want to stop Symantec (or Norton) from automatically renewing your subscription, you need to fill out an online form and submit it. You can also get the feature disabled by chatting online with one of the support reps.

To disable Norton's Automatic Renewal Feature, click here.

To chat with a Norton rep, click here.

To read what Norton has to say about it's auto-renewal feature, click here.

Updated 13 April 2010:

Symantec has made it easy to enable and disable the Auto-Renewal feature now.  Below are detailed instructions.

1. Log into your Norton Account.  If you don't know how to get to this web page, go to Google and type in "My norton account" and search.

2.  Click the link that reads, "Automatic Renewal"

3. By default, the box is checked.  Click in the box again to uncheck it.  If the box is checked, auto-renewal is enabled.  If it's uncheck, auto-renewal is disabled.   Click the Update button when finished.  

4. Be sure to click the "Turn Off" link on the yellow window that pops up next.

Beware of New Computer Virus (Conflicker Worm)

There's a new computer virus going around called, Conflicker (a.k.a. "Downadup" or W32.Downadup") that is perhaps one of the most dangerous computer viruses ever created. This computer virus is a malicious worm, meaning it replicates itself and causes harm to PC's and networks.

Like most computer viruses, one of the first things it does is turn off automatic updates (for Windows and Antivirus software). It also deletes previous restore points and prevents PC's from accessing certain security sites. Once it has the computer pretty much disabled so that it can't remove this virus, it then configures the PC to connect to the malicious virus server so that it can receive further malicious programs and wreck havoc from there.

This worm is hyped to be far more serious than any other to date and as such is something to pay close attention to. Make sure all Windows Updates are performed and that you have a good AntiVirus software program installed and that it's up to date.

If you do get the Conlficker Worm (or W32.Downadup Worm), Norton has a special tool you can use to remove it. To get Norton's removal tool for W32.Downadup Worm, click here.


For more information about the Conficker worm, click here.

Known Problems with CA Security Suite

If you've recently purchased CA Security Suite to handle your AntiVirus and AntiSpyware needs, then you should check the software carefully to make sure everything installed correctly.

One of my clients recently purchased the 2009 version of CA Security Suite and had several problems getting the software installed properly. Things appeared to work okay, but following installation there were several errors and they were not able to "secure all" the items listed.

Several attempts to uninstall and reinstall the software did not fix the problem. Turns out there is a known issue (or software corruption) with the firewall portion of the software that was causing all the casc.exe errors.

After chatting online with CA tech support for a couple of hours, it they directed me to a link where I could download a good version of the software. However, in order for that installation to work, CA tech support had to first run their removal tool remotely to remove all trace elements of the previous installation. Without doing this, the 'fix' won't work.

The easiest way to talk to CA tech support is through their online chat support (that way you don't have to deal with heavy accents when talking to folks in India) and they can easily connect to your computer remotely to run the removal tool.

Once you're CA Security Suite subscription is up, I'd highly recommend switching to Norton Internet Security!

Are You Protected from the Facebook Virus?

Computer viruses are typically designed to target popular programs ... and as such, there is now one targeting Facebook users. This virus was first discovered in August 2008 and is known by its technical name, "W32.Koobface.A" (and W32.Koob.face.worm, and Boface.A).

The best way to protect yourself against this worm is to make sure your antivirus software is up to date.

If you don't have an Antivirus program on your computer, I highly recommend Norton Internet Security (not Norton 360).

For more information about other viruses found on facebook, click here.

AntiVirus Software vs. Internet Security Software

In the old days when you bought Antivirus software, that's pretty much all you got - a software program that help protected you from known computer viruses.

But with the advent of adware, spyware, and phishing scams, you now need a program that can handle these threats as well as protect you from computer viruses. This where "internet security" software comes in.

Unlike Antivirus software, internet security software is designed to help protect you from all threats (including computer viruses). Most of the top Antivirus companies offer you the choice of buying Antivirus or Internet Security software ... and given the choice, you're better off buying internet security software.

While Norton Internet Security is still my preferred choice, there are others available for those aren't fond of Norton. Below are links to some of the other alternatives that folks are using.

The Best AntiVirus Program

One of the benefits of my job is that I get first hand experience with all the different antivirus programs out there. That's because my clients use different programs and so I get to see how well they perform when the latest threat is making the rounds on the internet.

And I still personally think Norton Internet Security is the best program on the market today. Sadly, folks either love Norton or hate it - there isn't much middle of the road on this subject.

Norton's biggest competitors are McAfee, Trend Micro, Panda, Kaspersky, and AVG, AVast, and Zone Alarm, to name just a few.

I don't like these other programs because they tend to be a lot more buggy than Norton (let's face it, Norton probably has the highest number of folks on staff next to Microsoft). This means they have a lot more money and personnel than most of the competitors to work on problems and perfect their software.

I've seen many viruses slip through the cracks with many of Norton's competitors, and in all the years I've been Norton, I haven't seen one virus slip through (knock on wood).

Ask folks what they hate about Norton, and you'll hear two primary complaints .... "they slow down my computer" and "they're tech support stinks".

A few years ago, the tech support argument was valid. But since Norton started using the online chat support, this argument has been eliminated. I've used this chat support system a lot and love it. You may still be talking to folks in India, but at least you can understand them when chatting online.

And as for slowing down the computer, it's true that Norton can slow things down a little. But much of that depends on which Norton product you're using and how old your computer is. If you have an older computer that has 512 MB of RAM or less, you will notice some slow down. But if your computer is newer and you have at least 1 GB of RAM, chances are you won't notice much slowing if any.

Norton has several different products, and the big one they are pushing these days is called Norton 360 ... but I'm not crazy about this product. It doesn't appear to be as stable as Norton Internet Security, and I don't think it's as user friendly. Another thing that annoys me about Norton 360 is that although you can disable the automatic backup feature, you are still plagued by messages telling you to set it up (which defeats the purpose of disabling it).

By the way, it is worth noting that there is a difference between "antivirus" software and "internet security software". Given the choice today, the preferred software is an "internet security" program.

When asked by clients what product I recommend, I still say, Norton Internet Security (not Norton 360).