I once downloaded an internet security program on to my mother´s laptop. It wasn´t any good so I tried to remove it. That proved impossible, I posted a rant about it here, thinly disguised as an idea.

My own new laptop crashed because my two year old son threw it on the floor...

I had to get online for various reasons. Work was a good enough excuse to get a new laptop while I really wanted to get to halfbakery.

It has norton, 60 day trial installed. I do not want norton.

It is impossible to remove it. At least for me. I am only able to follow normal routines to remove programs and this does not work. I have no doubt some computer expert (like you guys) would be able to remove it, but I can not do it.

Every time I turn it on it keeps coming back saying I run a risk and please klick to use norton.

I hate that.

Recently I watched the godfather trilogy for umpht time and I started to realise the strategy is much the same.

So the idea here is to have an internet security program that actually does what it is supposed to do, BUT...

It is free.

But they get to use your computer when you are not using it, for their own purposes...

Once installed it can only be removed by burning the thing...

At least they tell you up front.
-- zeno, Jun 11 2011

Bleeping Computer http://www.bleepingcomputer.com
The forums there have helped me out quite often. [RayfordSteele, Jun 13 2011]

Somebody else has got to have dealt with this. When faced with things like this, turn to google. You may not get lucky, but you may.
-- normzone, Jun 11 2011


Turn to google my ass. I used programs specifically designed to wipe out other programs and still I get harrased.
-- zeno, Jun 11 2011


Back up your data. Wipe hard drive. Install operating system. No more "protection" racket.

To avoid this sort of thing in future, buy your computer with no software installed - not even an OS.
-- spidermother, Jun 11 2011


//No more "protection" racket.// except for the OS, OS updates and hardware drivers.
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 11 2011


//except for the OS.// You can always use an open OS.
-- spidermother, Jun 11 2011


What [spidermother] said.

In fact, the last time I bought a computer with Norton installed, that was exactly how I got rid of it (backed up data, reformatted hard drive, installed Linux). I have some Windows virtual machines with (free) AVG anti-virus installed, for when I need to do Windows things (e.g., do work for Microsoft-bound customers). No regrets.
-- pertinax, Jun 11 2011


I really wouldn´t know how to do those things.
-- zeno, Jun 11 2011


That's why Microsoft and Norton are such gangsters. They rely on the fact that most consumers are not computer geeks (and why should they be?) to enact their "use us and nobody gets hurt" tactics.

This is a strange case, where the free product (such as GNU/Linux or BSD) is in many ways superior to the one that costs money. Those OSs essentially don't need virus protection at all - except as a courtesy, to detect viruses that might otherwise infect a Windows computer later.
-- spidermother, Jun 11 2011


Agree with above. I ran ubuntu linix, no firewall, no antivirus for a year, no problem. It got eaten by crummy Japanese wifi NDIS wrapper stuff in the end..
-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 12 2011


What I meant was, see if somebody with more tech knowledge than ourselves has already fought, won, and posted instructions regarding this battle online.

Often tech-savvy folks take pride in spelling out in detail how to deal with specific problems that other folks post up and plead for help regarding. Had my ass saved more than once by dint of dogged searches.

Relentlessly.

Doggedly.

Ruthlessly.

"I wonder where Ruth is..."
-- normzone, Jun 12 2011


Drop Norton like a bad habit. Get MalwareBytes Anti-malware. And get either the free version of Grisoft AVG or Avira. And download Hijackthis. Use Hijackthis to upload reports to expert forums and they can tell you what exactly to do. Try www.bleepingcomputer.com
-- RayfordSteele, Jun 13 2011


As said, Norton can be removed, with enough comp-savvy and the brass ones it takes to frig around with the registry. What blows me away is how much processor speed it frees up once it's gone. An internet security app that uses 30% of your computing power when sitting idle, even when you're not online?! How in the hell is a product like this still on the market?!!

Don't answer. It was rhetorical.

Recently, somebody asked the Playboy Forum "what's the best way to secure my computer from internet viruses and malware?" PFs answer was the best I've ever heard: "disable your wireless, unplug the modem, throw your computer into the nearest lake, and walk away."
-- Alterother, Jun 14 2011



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