This will not surprise anyone who knows about computer

[fpb]

How in the name of Hell and of every variety of evil did Norton Antivirus ever become the best-selling commercial protection software? The damned thing is as damaging as the viruses it's supposed to fight. It has just caused me the most elaborate and unmanageable computer crash I have ever seen, which even led to me being physically injured (as I was removing the battery and the power cable, the only way I could see to shut the machine down, it fell over straight on my ankle, where it cut right into the flesh). To misquote the old song, Norton is a moron.

Comments

[secularhermites.livejournal.com]

Good marketing. However, I would have to agree with you (and many others). I use it as well - and it causes me numerous problems. The most frustrating is it's conflict with Quickbooks Pro. Sorry about your toe :(

[patchworkmind.livejournal.com]

Part of it is marketing, and the other part is lots and lots of big licensing agreements with really huge companies and computer manufacturers. I detest Norton and have not used any of their products since the mid-90s. They are terrible and completely overrun your system and cause even the best systems to lag and do odd things.

I use AVG and Avast antivirus softwares.

[guarani]

Two options:

1- Migrate to Linux... it's become quite friendly and, unless you have very, very specific software needs, it may suite you very well.

2- Use Kaspersky anti virus (www.kaspersky.com). None is perfect, of course, but some are less intrusive than others.

[superversive.livejournal.com]

Seriously? Makework for IT departments. Almost every major corporation and public institution, in the Western world at least, contains a fifth column of technicians whose jobs depend upon the ridiculous difficulty of maintaining Windows networks and the Norton software that allegedly secures them. (Repeated studies have shown that an all-Mac network requires about one-third as many IT staff as an all-Windows network of the same size. Linux, too, is rapidly improving in this respect, as information about administering Linux systems becomes more widely disseminated.)

Many of these technicians, and perhaps most of the CTOs who make IT purchasing decisions, have extensive training with Windows and Norton, and virtually no experience of other systems. Some of them take shelter in protective ignorance. They think there are no alternatives, or that the alternatives can’t be any better than what they’re used to because ‘that’s the way computers are’. As Upton Sinclair said, ‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.’ Others, more informed, cheerfully acknowledge that their jobs should be unnecessary, but are not foolish enough to lobby for changes that would make them redundant.

The ‘good marketing’ that keeps Windows and Norton (the lesser flea on the back of the great one) in their dominant positions is largely done by keeping these fifth columns strong and well-indoctrinated. It’s a variant of the old IBM game, where the only people who ever touched the computer were salaried IBM men in white lab coats, and if a salesman ever lost an account, he had to pay back his commission. It’s a classic example of one monopolist learning from another.

I myself don’t use Windows unless I’m forced to use a specific application not available for any other OS. And except on those rare occasions, I don’t use Norton or any other anti-virus software, because I simply don’t need any. Nor do I have to contend with adware, spyware, or any other kind of malware, except, of course, that my inbox is clogged with spam just like anyone else’s. The number of people who find this incredible is a sad testament to Microsoft’s and Symantec’s success.

Forcing power off

[tapinger.livejournal.com]

With regard to shutting the machine down: You can often force a power-off by holding the power button down for 10-15 seconds. You might try it next time.

[headnoises.livejournal.com]

I've been using Trend Micro. I also disliked Norton-- it was worse than Itunes for taking over the computer.

So far, so good, with this thing.