For those who don’t know, Symantec is the company that makes the well-known, and respected, line of Norton computer security products. Norton Anti-Virus is probably the most widely used anti-virus program currently and for good reason, it is a very good product. While their anti-virus software is their flagship product, a wide variety of security and utilities are also published under the Norton banner for both PCs and Macs.

This most recent report highlighted flaws in several prevalent internet browsers and really drove home the point that, “there is no such thing as a safe browser”. Yes, its true, they all have flaws but Windows users are most at risk for virus infection or hacker infiltration. Truthfully, and don’t ever let anyone say different, there is no such thing as a 100% secure operating system. That’s not Symantec saying that, I’m saying that. Yet the Windows operating system is the most insecure of them all and since that is what most of us use, that is what Symantec’s focus is upon.

Symantec makes their paycheck making sure that your computer stays safe from the infections and intrusions that plague the vast majority of computer users – an important point to keep in mind when reading their report. I’m not against Symantec making a living but lets be real here. Their report says, “There is no such thing as a safe browser”, but fails to say the rest…. “so buy our products and you’ll be safe”. I hardly think that Symantec’s motivation is to encourage good surfing habits (although the best virus protection starts between the ears of the person using the computer).

I could go on but I think that I have made my point. It is very important, especially if you use your computer for any kind of financial transactions, to keep your computer secured with up-to-date anti-virus and security software. Then there is this thing called Norton Internet Security Suite.

Norton Internet Security Suite is a compilation of five Norton programs that work well enough as stand alone applications all conveniently wrapped together for the amazing low retail price of only $59.99. Seriously, not a bad price at all. ISS is bundled by default with new Dells and HP/Compaqs just to name a few.

It was first released in 2005 and has been followed up with an `06 and `07 version. The end user must pay a yearly subscription fee or the program becomes inactive. Par for the course with subscription based anti-virus/security software.

As a technician, I’ve had a lot of experience with this software, usually when things go wrong with it and clients call me up asking me “to come fix their internet”. That should give some clue as to where the problem starts out - their internet connection no longer functions properly.

When I see the gold and blue globe in the program tray, I head there first because a majority of the time, ISS is causing the problem. Generally, I’ve found that the program has become corrupt and very little that I do will actually fix the problem. For a fee and a phone call, Symantec will be glad to fix the problem remotely but I’ve never had a client pursue that solution. Usually, I just end up removing the program entirely. Re-installing it never seems to be a viable solution either.

To properly remove it requires another, completely separate application from Symantec. I’ve never seen a piece of software from an otherwise reputable company that couldn’t be removed from the Add/Remove Programs control.

Before writing this article, I looked up ISS on amazon.com just to see if my experiences were the simply the result of my being a technician. Such was not the case. Out of 216 reviews, ISS 2006 merited only 2.5 out of 5 stars. I know that such a forum is hardly considered a tech forum. Still, I found a wide spectrum of users ranging from people who could barely use a computer to technicians such as myself. Of those technicians that did leave comment, they were saying the exact same things I that was saying.

In summary, Norton products generally are stellar performers, worth every penny of protection you pay for. That is, with the exception of Internet Security Suite. Despite being a memory hog (more than likely the root of the problem), it just has too many applications under one umbrella that are seemingly held together with a piece of dental floss. When it works properly it does a fairly good job, and when it crashes, it crashes horribly and leaves you wishing you’d never seen it.

If it comes with your new computer, use it as long as you can, be glad it doesn’t break. When it breaks, get rid of it as best you can then go out and get individual applications to replace it. Having the individual programs keep track of their singular task seems to be well worth the extra money spent.


Richard Horvath, Infinity Prime Media, LLC or the Times SWLA are in no way responsible and do not accept any responsibility for errors, accidents, or computer or data failure or malfunction that may occur with the use of any of the software mentioned in the preceding article.