30 Responses to “Symantec sucks, so get a refund!”

1. # Simon Zerafa on January 24th, 2007 9:25 AM

   Hi,

   Does anyone have equivelent phone numbers for the UK?

   I would love to be able to get my customers to get full refunds on their Norton subscriptions :)

   Kind Regards

   Simon Zerafa
   Simon's PC Services

2. # jimmsta on January 24th, 2007 10:37 PM

   Ah, good... I have a bunch of customers that cannot seem to find any numbers for Symantec at all. I'll post these and give them out to pissed off customers. I'm currently looking to replace Norton as our preferred AV product. Honestly, it's gotten so bloated in the 2007 release, that even on a new Intel core2 duo E6400 w/1gb ram, with a clean install, takes anywhere from 15-30 minutes to install. Let alone the 15-20 minutes I have to spend updating it. Ugh. that's all I can say about Symantec's Consumer line of products. Ugh.

3. # DjLizard on January 25th, 2007 9:07 AM

   avast! (without skins and sound enabled) is our preferred product.

4. # spud on January 26th, 2007 1:54 AM

   I hate symantec & norton
   I also hate mcafee
   so in 2006 I started using trend micro pccillin 2006 for my customers
   however, 2007 version I have been having SERIOUS issues with
   I need a good antivirus with good spyware protection and possible antispam built in, firewall is not necessary as windows firewall is adequate for most people
   I like AVG, but as far as redistrubuting for them looks like a pain in the butt.
   I have a few customers with kaspersky
   anyone like to way in?

5. # Tarun on January 26th, 2007 1:36 PM

   Go with Avast as DjLizard said.

   Resident anti-spyware could be either Spybot's TeaTimer (v1.5 is going to be great!) or even Windows Defender.

   For a firewall, there is the always free Comodo.

6. # DjLizard on January 26th, 2007 7:13 PM

   I don't like things that ask my customers a bunch of questions they can't answer, and TeaTimer falls under that. Windows Defender is a good choice.

7. # Dr JD Azil on January 27th, 2007 1:08 AM

   As Mr Lizard said, Avast rules. But, If your client insists on a suite, then AVG is the way to go. Combining ewido and AVG AV in one product plus their firewall seems pretty good on the machines I've put them on.

   http://grisoft.com/doc/1

   Small... 2 minute or less install and effective. No bloat and only a few initial popups to deal with from the firewall.

   Funny how Avast and AVG are so much more effective than the flaming turds Symantec and Mcafee. I guess now that Symantec has MS's code they'll rewrite their code to be tight and compact. Yeah, right...they'll just buy Avast and AVG. Anyone remember ATGuard before Norton Internet Security?

8. # Tarun on January 31st, 2007 9:29 PM

   Actually, AVG sucks. They have really started to destroy what was once ewido. The memory scanning feature now "defrags" the memory, which is very poor since they know about it and have not fixed it for months. Sounds like CCleaner, getting bug reports and taking months to fix it or just ignoring it.

9. # Dr JD Azil on February 1st, 2007 7:18 PM

   Where can I find info on it defragging the memory? That could definetely be problematic but still, in my opinion, I would not group it into the "sucks" category...I leave that reserved especially for Symantec and Mcafee. I've yet to see the defragging of memory cause problems for anyone.

   I guess what I was trying to say is that if the client insists on a suite then avoid Symantec and Mcafee. AVG, at least in my experience appears to be small, quiet and effective.

   I mean no disrespect in my question, just curious...hadn't heard a word about it.

   What would you recommend for a suite if a client insisted on it?

10. # Tarun on February 2nd, 2007 11:27 AM

    It depends on if they want to pay or they want something free.

11. # DjLizard on February 2nd, 2007 2:29 PM

    What do you mean "defrags" memory?

12. # Dr JD Azil on February 2nd, 2007 5:26 PM

    Suggestions for pay and free would be good.

13. # rridgely on February 3rd, 2007 2:08 PM

    Dj can you take a look at/comment on this:
    http://forum.ccleaner.com/index.php?showtopic=8846

    Oh and AVG apparenly does "release"(probably a better term than defrag) memory after its done scanning. (I guess it does the same thing "memory optimizer" programs do.)
    This doesn't seem to be a big deal, much more annoying is the fact that it eats up ram like no other when scanning. But its still one of the best at cleaning so....

14. # DjLizard on February 3rd, 2007 9:21 PM

    Please refer all Dial-a-fix users to the appropriate support forum.
    http://www.lunarsoft.net/forum/index.php?showforum=33
    (I notice that he has posted there already, and I also see that Tarun already has it under control. He's having trouble even getting into Recovery Console...)

15. # TGlasovatz on February 19th, 2007 11:07 AM

    I am responsing because of my frustration with NortonSystemWorks and Symatec in general. My subscription was coming to an end so I requested to renew it. However, I was sent to a site to upgrade instead of renewing. Ok, that's fine, an upgrade is good right? WRONG! I downloaded the upgrade and my computer utterly stopped working! I worked with the problem for a week and then promptly asked for a refund. The refund process only took seconds and I eliminated Norton and Symated from my computer (however, I still found parts of it hiding and had to spend several hours removing more of it from the harddrive). I was sent an email from Symatec verifying my request for a refund - the email included the line, "if we can be of further assistance, please reply to this message." We I finally removed all Symatec products from my computer, I replied to the message - only to receive a reply that "Our contact information has recently changed....NOTE: Emails sent to symanteccs@DigitalRiver.com will no longer be
    reviewed by our Customer Support Team."
    I have wandered around the Symatec "Customer Service" website and have found no way to verify that I will receive a refund - even though I have kept my part of the agreement.

16. # mike on March 7th, 2007 10:37 AM

    Originally Vet was used by Air Services Australia (air traffic control),thats how I found out about it. The company then called their product, eTrust, Vet/eTrust started as an Australian product, now international, certainly in the US. The company calls itself CA (Computer Associates)
    The Internet Security Suite that I use has:Av,Firewall(it seems to be pretty darn good, Anti-Spam, Industrial-Loading, PestPatrol Anti-spy ware. The product was cheaper than the equivalent Mcafee and Symantec.
    It could be a possibility for the guy whose looking for something for his customers.
    I would be surprised if there was any come back from them.

    Mike.

17. # Linda on March 27th, 2007 2:28 PM

    For a week now, we have tried to un-install Symantec Worm Protection… No Luck! I have uninstalled Norton 5 times, plus looked in every file possible, and installed AOL’s Safety and Security, but the message keeps coming up.. “Uninstall Norton Worm Protection” After 6 or 7 calls to Symantec and as many to AOL, no-one can find an answer to my problem. The message is still there… Can anyone help?

18. # DjLizard on March 28th, 2007 9:02 PM

    Linda: Please read this post which is pretty much all you need to know to be able to uninstall Norton products:

    http://djlizard.net/2006/04/04/144#comment-1175

19. # mek on March 30th, 2007 6:21 PM

    Dear DJ- Can I call you DJ> YOU ARE THE MAN!!! I downloaded Norton from the website because we were having issues at work with viruses, so I wanted to "protect" my pc. I think you probably know what happened next- that's right- a virus! And a $150.00 repair and loss of all of my files because of the level of corruption!My pc now has the antivirus that YOU suggested! I tried to use the website to get a refund and it kept telling me the order number was incomplete.
    I am glad I searched and found the solution through you. They are processing the refund.. I will double check it to make sure they do credit my account... Thank you— YOU ARE THE NAN

20. # SLiCK on April 26th, 2007 11:52 AM

    NOD32 by Eset is the best antivirus program I have ever used (and I've used a few programs...) It isn't pretty or exceptionally user-freindly but it does it's job better than any other.

    Plus its cheap :)

21. # Simon Zerafa on April 27th, 2007 3:33 AM

    Hi,

    NOD32 is indeed a very good AV package and is recommended by many folks for it's low system overhead.

    However don't overlook some good alternatives including:

    Active Virus Shield - Basically "Kaspersky AV 6.0 Lite" and it's free. Not sure about Vista compatibility.

    Microworld AntiVirus Toolkit - Think of this as "Kaspersky Portable" and this is currently free also. Great for cleaning customers PC's and as a second on demand scanner. Annual fee for updates is quite pricey though at around £50. Works with Vista and x64 versions of Windows.

    Kaspersky 6.0 is of course not free but currently £24 GBP for the Antivirus version and this runs on Windows Vista. 30 trial available and having seen how Active Virus Shield works the UI is very good and options very customisable. Updates posted every 2 hours.

    NOD32 is slightly cheaper (£23 GBP) and also has a 30 day trial. I will test this shortly but also has a good reputation.

    If your PC's (or customer's PC) don't have any AV software they I would recommend Active Virus Shield as a good free package with the power of Kaspersky behind it.

    Kind Regards

    Simon

22. # lorre on September 19th, 2007 10:30 AM

    Thanks alot for the phone number. You did your good deed for a computer dummy. I got a quick and non-questioned refund thanks to you. Even though my computer crashed and I lost three weeks at least I didn't have to fight their email system to get my refund.
    I now have Avast! and you have a loyal fan.
    Thanks
    Lorre

23. # Charles Sims on October 27th, 2007 10:34 AM

    I've used many a symantec product over the years - antivirus, system works and, most recently, Ghost. I've removed all and, now that Ghost has expired, I'm looking for a replacement to it. Symantec has terrible customer service and it now looks as though they are looking at Customer Service as a profit unit because they charge on everything. I found the addresses of the topdawgs and started sending examples of customer service. The most recent was an inquiry lodged on 10/9. I got the response yesterday and it was poor response at that.

    I use AVG on several machines and am very happy with it.

24. # James Bond on March 17th, 2008 12:13 PM

    CA's internet security suite is one of the best pieces of software that I have seen in a long time. I have tried Norton - McAfee - Kaspersky and a lot of other crap but nothing comes close to this especially if youa re looking at something that is light on the system and help. Support is very easy to get.. Check out ca.com/consumer or use this link to download a trial version
    http://consumerdownloads.ca.com/consumer/apps/2008/2/na_issdm_ca_32_en_Store_trial.exe

    Cheers
    JB

25. # Maria Patrick on June 8th, 2008 7:34 PM

    I am desperate for some help, 2 years ago I took Norton virus for a 2 year term. Recently it expired and I got messegers saying I needed to renew it. After some time I signed up for another 2 years upgrade, the proble is I have beenunabel to download it and have not been able to contact anyone at Norton's for help. I am now very !!!!off and want a refund, but again Unable to find where to send email for a refund. Please can someone help.

    Cheers, Maria

26. # DjLizard on June 10th, 2008 12:02 AM

    Maria Patrick: Except for the phone numbers I listed above (which are probably U.S.-specific) I can't really help further except that you should contact your bank or credit card company and tell them that this company is scamming you by not allowing you to download the product. They will pretty much agree with you and put a stop to your payment (refund). Then search for "SymNRT" to remove Norton's crap from your computer and put your money towards Grisoft AVG, alwil avast!, or ESET NOD32, which are far superior products.

27. # Maria Patrick on June 10th, 2008 4:39 AM

    Thanks for your help, I live in Australia. I will contact my bank tomorrow and enlist their help. You mentioned Grisoft AVG or Eset Nod32 are these free down loads? What further information can you give me, would be greatly appreciated.

    Maria

28. # Software on July 18th, 2008 4:22 AM

    That's funny news hearing for the first time. Let me switch from avast to norton and ask for refund... Let me look for phone number which supports my country...

29. # angeline on November 23rd, 2008 4:31 PM

    thank you for listing these numbers! the first number took a very long time and eventually i gave up. the second number took less than 10 minutes to connect and contact a representative. i was worried that these numbers would be out-of-date but was pleasantly surprised to see that they weren't. thanks for all your help DJ!

30. # Dawn on December 6th, 2008 1:12 AM

    Thank you for the second number, worked great, they answered right away and were very helpful.

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