gHacks technology news » norton

How To Run Commercial Antivirus Software Without Paying For It

Martin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:54:20 +0000

This article is not about illegal methods of obtaining software products. But read on if you are interested in how you can protect your computer with the latest antivirus software without having to pay for it. The principle is simply. Most antivirus companies are offering test versions of their products. These versions can usually be tested for 30 or 90 days. All you need to do to protect your computer with antivirus software is to install a new product every 90 days. This means that you need four antivirus products, preferably the most reliable ones that are offering 90 days of testing. You start again with next year’s edition of the first antivirus software that you started with. If there are not enough 90 day trials you switch to 30 day trials instead or use a free antivirus software to fill gaps in the 12 month cycle.

The following links point to antivirus software programs that can be downloaded as trial versions. These trial versions can be used for either 30 days or 90 days without payment.

Which antivirus software developers are offering 90 day trials?

McAfee VirusScan Plus [link]
McAfee Internet Security [link]
McAfee Total Protection [link]
Norton Antivirus [link]
Norton 360 [link]

Which antivirus software developers are offering 30 day trials?

Kaspersky Antivirus [link]
Kaspersky Internet Security [link]
Bitdefender Antivirus [link]
Bitdefender Total Security [link]
Bitdefender Internet Security [link]
ESET Smart Security [link]
ESET Nod32 Antivirus [link]
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro [link]
Trend Micro Internet Security [link]
Panda Security Antivirus [link]
Panda Antivirus Pro [link]
F-Secure Internet Security [link]
F-Secure Antivirus [link]

Please let us know in the comments if we have missed a product.

Some notes: This article does not rate the antivirus software programs. There might be free programs out there that are comparable to the listed antivirus products. The only problem with this method is that users need to install different antivirus software regularly. This not only means more work for the user but also the requirement to get used to new software products.

Many antivirus companies are running promotions every now and then that offer longer trial versions for download. This will obviously help tremendously.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Tags: antivirus, bitdefender, f-secure, kaspersky, norton, panda, security-software, symantec, trend micro, virus

Norton 360 Review

Martin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:21:22 +0000

Norton was renowned back in the days when I started using personal computers for resource hungry security applications that could slow down computer systems significantly. I decided to skip Norton products for my whole life like many other users at that time. There are still many tech savvy users who avoid Norton antivirus and other software programs from Norton because of how they performed ten or more years ago. Norton software programs have on the other hand received lots of praise from computer magazines and reviewers. That’s the moment the idea for this review was born. I wanted to know if Norton antivirus and Norton 360 were as good as the press thought they were or if they were still the heavyweight security suites that would bog down a system noticeably.

I contacted Norton with my proposal and they were all for it. I quickly received a review copy of Norton 360 and started the test about a month ago. Norton 360 is Norton’s top of the line product that combines all features of Norton Antivirus, Norton Internet Security and some additional ones exclusive to this version. Users who install Norton 360 get among other features an antivirus solution that protects against all forms of malware (including bots, rootkits, viruses, trojans and spyware), a software firewall, email protection, web browser protection, identity protection, a file backup solution, secure networking and PC tuneup modules.

This can look like overload to some users but the first surprise awaits during the installation of Norton 360. The installation is quick and painless. A system restart is required after installation of Norton 360 which was not noticeably slower than before. One point of criticism that has haunted Norton products for years seems to have been taken good care of by the Norton developers. Both the system start and the system itself do not feel noticeably slower than before (startup and shutdown time is probably in the region of 1-2 additional seconds at the most). That’s great and somewhat unexpected considering the past.

Norton 360 itself runs pretty much automated. It is a good idea to tweak the settings at least once. This includes disabling modules that are not needed (e.g. if you run a firewall you might not want to run another one, same for the backup solution or web browser protection). The purpose of an all-in-one solution like Norton 360 on the other hand is to be the one program that is needed to secure the PC. Users who only need specific modules might want to consider the two other Norton products Norton Antivirus or Norton Internet Security instead.

The interface of Norton 360 on the other hand could confuse some users as it opens several modules and options in new windows. It’s not that seldom that two or even three Norton 360 windows are open at the same time. Uses who are looking for advanced options need to go into the settings of the security software program.

A click on any of the modules in the Settings of Norton 360 will open display advanced configuration options. No direct help or explanation is offered there which can be problematic if the name of the setting does not explain what they do (anyone want to guess what Early Load or Sonar Advanced Protection in Automatic Protection under Antivirus do?). A click on the question mark will open a Windows help file that explains the settings in detail. It would be more comfortable if at least some explanation was given directly in the menu (for example by hovering over a name).

These settings on the other hand are very detailed. It is possible to enable some modules that are not enabled by default (for example Microsoft Office Automatic Scan, Advanced Events Monitoring or enabling Silent Mode). Advanced users should take their time and take a detailed look at the settings provided.

Norton 360 is a security software program that is ideal for users who want an all-in-one protection that requires barely any configuration. It might on the other hand also be an interesting alternative for uses who like to configure their security software programs as much as possible which is something that Norton 360 offers as well. The best part (if you ask me) is the confirmation that Norton security programs are not slowing down computer systems noticeably anymore.

Tags: antivirus software, norton, norton 360, norton 360 review, security-software, symantec, windows software

Anti Virus Software Removal Tools Overview

Martin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:36 +0000

Uninstalling anti virus software on a computer system is sometimes not a trivial task as they tend to add their components deep into the system to provide protection from various threats PC users face these days. The need for anti virus software removal tools arises if the default uninstallation fails. This usually leads to a messed up computer system that could throw all kinds of errors at the user. It could also break other anti virus software either during installation or usage.

So called anti virus removal tools have been created to effectively remove traces of anti virus software from the computer system. They usually run a series of processes that delete files, Registry settings and other parameters or options that have been installed by the antivirus software during installation.

Below is a collection of anti virus software removal tools that have been created by the developers of the programs to aid their users if they encounter difficulties uninstalling it.

Did we miss antivirus software uninstallation tools in the list? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: anti virus, anti virus software, antivir, antivirus, avast, avg, kaspersky, mcafee, microsoft, norton, panda, removal, symantec, virus software, Windows

AVG Remover

Martin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:20:00 +0000

Software companies that release specialized tools to remove their software programs from a computer system are usually regarded with suspicion by many users. Many feel that there should not be specialized uninstallers as the regular uninstaller should be able to handle the uninstallation as good. The question that comes up is why they do not make the specialized uninstaller the default one.

AVG Remover has been specifically designed to remove the antivirus software program AVG Antivirus from a computer system. It will remove all parts of the AVG installation from a computer system including all Registry settings and files on disk. The program has been designed by AVG software developers as a last resort. They let us know that the AVG Remover tool “is the least option to be used in case the AVG uninstallation / repair installation process has failed repeatedly”.

The software program could therefor prove to be useful to remove AVG after a system crash or some other catastrophe that rendered the default uninstaller useless.

Similar tools exist for Kaspersky software in the form of KAV Remover and the Norton Removal Tool.

Tags: antivirus, avg, avg remover, kaspersky, kav remover, norton, norton removal tool, norton uninstaller, symantec

Norton User Account Control

Martin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:41:37 +0000

A few weeks ago I started thinking of who a company like Norton could overcome the image of producing heavyweight system slowing software products and one of the ideas that came to mind was to release something useful speed to the general public. The decision makers at Norton must have felt the same way because they released the Norton User Account Control (via Donation Coder) the other day.

Everyone that has worked in Windows Vista regularly has surely come in contact with the User Account Control, the pestering service that brings up a window asking for your confirmation if an application needs elevated rights. The idea of the UAC is in fact sound but Microsoft apparently did not think of that required elevated rights to run. It was not all Microsoft’s fault though, many elevated prompts were caused by applications that would not need an UAC prompt if the software developer put a little more thought into the process.

A positive side effect is the increase in engineering quality since the release of Windows Vista. Software developers are actually putting more effort into coding applications that do not need elevated rights. Can’t be done for all but many function just fine without.

Back to Norton’s UAC. It basically replaces the original Windows Vista UAC giving the user more options in hand when an UAC prompt appears.

The software adds a Do not ask me again checkbox to the UAC prompt which can whitelist an application so that the user won’t be asked again if the application needs elevated privileges.

One side effect is that the tool is sending meta data to Norton whenever the application is being used. Metadata including the file name and the hash. Norton apparently uses that data to build a whitelist on their own that could be shipped with Norton UAC.

Tags: norton, norton uac, uac replacement, user account control, vista uac, vista user account control, windows vista software, windows-vista

Norton Antibot Free 1 Year License

Martin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:01:15 +0000

I did not think that we would see more of offers like the free Kaspersky or AVG on the Internet which were intended for a local audience but spread widely throughout the Internet because of information leaks. It seems that even Symantec is not protected against this kind of leaks.

The offer this time was directed at the readers of the German computer magazine Computer Bild which would receive a free one year license of the software Norton AntiBot if they purchased the magazine. Unfortunately though the link to generate the serial number leaked and is now available on the Internet.

I discovered it at Raymond’s excellent blog. To receive the free one year license you need to visit this official Norton page. Enter your email address in the form field, check the Ich akzeptiere box and click on the Gratis Produktschlüssel Anfordern button which will send the serial number to the mail address that you entered in the form.

Now download Norton Antibot in the meantime and activate the product with the serial number that you have received in your inbox. The serial number works with the English version – and probably every other language version – as well. The link above points to the English version of Norton Antibot.

Tags: norton, norton antibot, Security, software, trojan, virus, Windows

Norton Removal Tool

Martin — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:32:37 +0000

I have been using Norton products in the past and was always astonished how resource hungry those products were. They surely looked professional which was the main reason why I did install them but they slowed down the system and were really hard to remove from the system.

Norton Internet Security 2006 for instance slows down system start of the average pc by more than 40 seconds which is one of the reasons why I think that it is not worth it. A lot of great, resource friendly applications exist that can fully replace most Norton applications and I would recommend to make the switch.

The Norton Removal Tool is helpful because it can remove a failed installation or damaged Norton product from your system. I would even suggest to run this application after using the default uninstallation process just to make sure that all files and settings are gone as well.

A lot of computers and notebooks ship with (trial) versions of Symantec or Norton products as well and I would suggest to uninstall them as well using the described method.

Alternatives vary of course depending on the Norton product that you are using. I suppose the antivirus software is the most common one which can be replaced by AntiVir for instance. Just write a comment if you are looking for a recommendation for another product.

Tags: norton, norton alternatives, remove norton, symantec

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