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.

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).