Norton has long been one of the most widely used internet security suites, following the antivirus software well before that. I used many versions of Norton over the years, up until 2004 when I decided I would quit paying the annual subscription/upgrade fee and start using free software such as AVG Antivirus and Zone Alarm firewall.

I bought my wife a new laptop a few months ago that came with a version of Norton Internet Security pre-installed, but it was only good for 90 days. After that, I had to pay for a year subscription or delete it and install the free software I have been using.

I decided I would try the new version of Norton Internet Security, particularly since it now includes 3 licenses – you can install it on 3 different computers (it used to only include one). We have 3 different computers in the house, so I figured it made sense.

I completely removed the “free” version that was included on the laptop using Symantec’s (the company that makes Norton products) removal tool. Apparently removing it with the Add/Remove Programs item in control panel doesn’t actually remove all of it. The version that came with the laptop was the 2007 product, so I figured it would be better to start from scratch with 2008.

After removing the old one, I ran the installation program for 2008. It got part way through and then spit out an extremely generic error message that didn’t really say what went wrong, canceled the install and restarted the computer.

So I tried again, thinking it could have been a random glitch.

Start the install again, same error message at the same point.

I figured I would check Symantec’s technical support to see if they had any information about this problem.

Nothing in the knowledgebase on their website, so off to Google I went. I found several other people with the same problem, but no solution.

Back to Symantec’s website to initiate a chat session with tech support. After several minutes of installing some ActiveX stuff for the chat software to work, I got connected and was put “on hold”.

After about 15 minutes, a tech support agent connected. After going through the explanation of what happened, he had me run the removal tool (again, apparently the installer doesn’t actually remove whatever has been installed when it cleans up after the error) and download a newer version of the software.

Because I would have to reboot the system, I would lose the connection to the tech support chat, but he assured me this would solve the problem.

I ran the new installer I downloaded and guess what? Same problem again.

Back to the tech support chat, but now it wouldn’t let me connect for some reason. So I fired off a support request through the contact form on their website with all the details.

According to the support website, I should expect a response within 48 hours. Well, that was on October 22. It’s now November 30, and I haven’t heard back from them, even with several follow up requests I’ve submitted.

I’ve tried to connect with the tech support chat several times, but the wait was over an hour every time I’ve tried, with over 60 people ahead of me in “line”.

I never did get the software installed and have since gone back to AVG Antivirus and Zone Alarm firewall (both free) which are working perfectly.

I recommend you stay away from Symantec’s Internet Security 2008 product, and anything else they make for that matter. Whether or not they work, it seems that you’re not going to get much, if any, support if you have a problem. They have a “premium” level support that costs more, but why would you pay them more money when you’ve already bought a product that isn’t working?

So here’s the bottom line.

Pros

• Next time I need to let off some steam, I can shatter the Norton Internet Security CD into a thousand tiny pieces with a hammer. I don’t really think it was worth $40 for this though.

Cons

• No explanation of what caused the error on installation
• Couldn’t get the software installed
• Technical support is practically non-existent, and has long wait times if you want to use the chat service

Most of us realize there are security risks with things like web browsers and email, but there are plenty of other things that can put you at risk as well.

For example, when was the last time you updated your version of Microsoft Office? Not by buying a new version, but by checking for updates to the one you have?

A lot of people don’t even realize they can do this. It’s pretty much the same process as checking for Windows Updates, only you’re doing it for Office.

The SANS Institute (a leading computer security organization) just released their annual list of the top 20 security risks for this year.

The obvious ones are there, of course:

• Web browsers
• Email software
• Peer-to-peer programs (file sharing networks)

But take a look at some of the ones that might be a little more surprising:

• Office software
• Media players
• Database software

It’s a good reminder that you need to make sure everything on your computer is up-to-date, not just the operating system and internet software.

I got a bit of a chuckle from this article on ITBusiness.ca:

Spyware surge afflicts Canadian businesses

Apparently the spyware problem is going global…

I’m sure they didn’t intend it to sound as if it’s a new problem for Canadians – after all being a .ca site they’re obviously focused on Canada – but come on…

Spyware is a big problem for businesses around the world. We’re all having to deal with the problems that go along with it.

How much spam do you receive in your inbox every day?

10 messages? 50 messages? More?

Personally, I get well over 100 spam emails every day. My anti-spam filter gets most of them out of my inbox, but at some point during the day I need to scan the spam mailbox in case it flagged a message by mistake.

And then there’s the free email accounts I use. I’ve got a Gmail account and a Hotmail account that I use for things I don’t want in my main email.

I don’t check them as often, but I still need to scan the spam folder once in a while to make sure something didn’t go there by mistake.

Imagine how much time gets wasted by people around the world who have to deal with this junk every day.

What could be done with that time if it wasn’t spent dealing with email?

Something needs to be done to get rid of this problem and I don’t think it’s going to change until someone comes up with an entirely new system for sending and receiving email.

Ever since Napster came onto the scene back at the end of the last century (the original version, not the current incarnation) sharing music has been commonplace on the internet.

Over the last few years it has extended to sharing movies, TV shows and other types of content as well.

Many people don’t realize that this is illegal in most countries and if caught they could be facing some pretty hefty fines. Just ask Jammie Thomas, a 30 year old woman from Minnesota who was successfully sued by the recording industry for sharing music over the internet – to the tune of $222,000.

But aside from the legalities, another serious problem is that you don’t know what else you might be getting along with that song or that movie. Spyware, viruses and other security threats are commonplace on these file-sharing networks, and if you download something that includes one of these things, your computer could be wide-open to any number of hacker attacks.

Is it really worth saving a few dollars on that movie or music to potentially be fined a large amount, while at the same time having your computer invaded by some kind of attack that could lead to even more serious problems?

According to the FTC, almost 5 percent of all cases of identity theft filed last year were for children under the age of 18.

A sobering thought, isn’t it?

It’s not something that most parents would think too much of, and in many cases it may not even come to light until years later when those kids are old enough to apply for credit cards.

One of the reasons this can happen is because today’s kids are so used to communicating on the internet that they often reveal too much personal information.

They may have their own website, blog or even just an account on a website like Myspace or Facebook, where they post information about themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of that information is available to anyone on the internet so you need to be sure they’re not putting information on there that could be used to steal their identity.

Information like their name, address and birthday may not seem like a big deal, but if an identity thief can piece enough information together about them, they can steal their identity.

Make sure you educate your kids about the dangers of revealing private information. With the widespread use of the internet, kids often share information that you might not have even known when you were a kid, let alone shared with anyone.

Today is Black Friday – historically the real start of the Christmas shopping season. Over the next month or so, you’re going to be inundated with advertising for all the wonderful toys, gadgets and other things that you Just Can’t Live Without.

And spammers know it. They ramp up their “advertising” as well at this time of year. It’s easy for the people who receive their email to get fooled and click through since it’s just one more email among the throngs of ads from legitimate websites and advertisers.

Don’t let your guard down. In fact, you need to be even more watchful of what you’re clicking on in your email at this time of year.

Don’t open unknown attachments. Don’t click through to banks, Paypal or other websites from messages claiming your account is in danger of being shut down. All the usual warning apply.

You can find out how to protect yourself effectively from these scams and a number of other online security threats with my Online Security Toolkit.

If you take a look over in the right column, you’ll notice I haven’t posted here since (holy cow!) September 2006.

There are various reasons for that, but it’s about time that I reactivated this blog and started getting things back in motion.

So, you won’t see big breaks like that anymore. Starting from now, I’ll be posting on a regular basis.

If you’d like to receive an email notice whenever I write a new post, just enter your name and email address over on the right. You won’t get spammed – just a simple message to let you know whenever something new is posted.

Talk soon,

Paul