Anti--virus and spyware advice, please

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Originally Posted By: dkryan
..........

I can't wait to remove the NIS suite and use either NOD32 or Avira for my anti-virus program, plus a-squared or something similar for my anti-spyware.

.........

Be very careful during NIS product removal. Norton have ways to creep into every known crevice of your system and embed itself there forever.

If you've never removed an Anti-Virus product, I suggest contacting Symantec Support prior to doing so. They will setup special removal tools and instructions for use.

As example, I installed Norton A/V in September 2007 and painfully removed it shortly afterwards. I have seen vestiges of it to this day.
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lain,

Thanks for the "heads up" and less than good news. I think. So, using NIS's "uninstall" menu selection isn't going to "get it all?"

Should I trust Norton's support people to provide the needed removal tools or should I rely on a piece of commercial software to wipe it out? I'd prefer not to spend the $$$, but I will if I have to.

OVERK1LL: thanks for your patience. And let's face it, you've likely forgotten more about this sort of thing than I'll ever know! So, just sit back and laugh! :-)
 
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Norton/Symantec makes the removal tools available on their website.

They are only necessary if the uninstall fails. Which happens far too often.

Make sure you remove ANYTHING related to Symantec from Add/Remove programs. This includes LiveReg, LiveUpdate...etc.
 
Forget the "it's not a free download" for a moment.

I was considering purchasing NOD32's "Antivirus Home Edition 3.0" at MicroCenter and using it after my NIS uninstall. It includes A/V, A/S, and anti-malware.

I should be "good to go" with that product for my desktop? As opposed to selecting the above protection from various vendors, i.e, a-squared, Avast, etc.?
 
The free uninstaller from Revo will completely remove NIS.

Also, I agree with the others, NOD32 is a great product, very low memory footprint which is nice compared to NIS.

I went with Sunbelt software's, VIPRE AV/AS product .... the Black Friday special at $9.95 was too good to pass up!
 
Should I run NIS's uninstaller first, then Revo? Or just Revo by itself?

And is Revo designed for removing NIS only or other software I might select to be removed?

It's been made very clear to ensure that ALL NIS related software is removed from my desktop. I don't want any "conflicts" when I load NOD32.

Thanks.
 
I use Revo uninstaller as a replacement for the Windows add/remove program option.

I got rid of NIS by:
--launch the main Revo program,
--select uninstall NIS and
--select the advanced option.

The advanced option will run the normal NIS uninstall routine and then look for any trace registry/software/residual items and remove them. Pretty nice program.
 
I'm going to be the one to go against the grain here and suggest the following:

1. Go to Add/Remove programs. Remove NIS.
2. Reboot (it'll probably make you anyways)
3. Go to Add/Remove program. Remove LiveReg and LiveUpdate. Anything that says Symantec or Norton.

If #1 fails. Get the Uninstaller from Symantec.

Their installer doesn't ALWAYS fail.
 
UPDATE: (and please bear with me on this)

I purchased ESET's NOD32 and a registry cleaner (SmithMicro's Check-it, I believe) at MicroCenter.

I reviewed the programs listed under "Add/Remove" programs, noting NIS 2009 as being listed. I "removed" it via that option. I re-booted, then for some reason, I checked "Add/Remove" programs again. No NIS 2009. But guess what, Wally? NIS 2005 was now listed! Where did that come from?

I had used Trend Micro in 2005 and 2006. It was not listed under the "Add/Remove" programs list. Neither was the MS Live OneCare I had used in 2007 and 2008.

I used Symantec's uninstaller tool to remove the last vestiges of NIS 2005. It's not listed under "Add/Remove" anymore, nor is it listed under "Programs" on my C drive. But gee, Wally, Trend Micro IS listed under "Programs" on my C drive! How in the heck did that happen?

I found an uninstall tool within those C drive folders and "uninstalled" TM, re-booting afterward. Those folders still show up on my C drive.

While I'm not saddened by the deletion of NIS's 2009 from my hard drive, in fairness to them, if any part of T/M's A/V remained, then I can understand the conflict on my desktop.

I loaded and ran the registry cleaner, though being the skeptic that I am, I'm not sure why I purchased the cleaner. It reported 534 "issues" that needed resolving. I reviewed most of those by scrolling through the list. They did not appear to be too serious in nature to me, but I cleaned them up anyway.

I installed NOD32, registered it, then ran a manual scan. Two hours and ten minutes later (seriously!), it had found one infected file relating to my Real Player.

I double-checked my Linksys router to ensure I had enabled the SPI firewall. I had.

So, thanks to the advice from my fellow BITOGers above, I've cast off NIS, acquired and installed NOD32, and I'm using ALL of the features of my router.
 
Download Spy-Bot Search And Destroy and once installed change to Advanced Mode and run the Registry Scanner, this will clean up and left-over registry entries from software you no longer have installed and help to fix any security problems related to Trojans or Spy-ware. It's free from download.com
 
Questions:

Will Spy-boy "conflict" with NOD32?
NOD32 should be more than adequate to handle my Trojans or Spyware, no?

How is it the NIS 2005 did not originally appear in the Add/Remove Programs listing, then suddenly appeared after NIS 2009 went away?

Is is correct to assume that if the "files" appear on your C drive under "programs," (Trend Micro, in my case), some elements of that software still exist on your C drive?

Is having a registry cleaner and running it on a regular basis (weekly, for example) a positive move?

I had seen a thread that mentioned "CC Cleaner" or something like that. Not knowing which worked better than most, I went with Check-it.
 
Norton 2005 may have disappeared when 2009 was installed because it upgraded. When you uninstalled Norton 2009, it reverted back to an older one. That's the best idea I can think of. I've seen that before, but since I typically run the Norton Removal Tool, it takes everything off in one hit.

If he files are on the C drive but the program is no longer installed, then you can safely delete those files. The software can be removed//uninstalled, but some of the original files (especially if it was OEM installed) from the installation are located there.
 
1) Nope. I have used the two together... Now I use AVG with Spybot and AVG has built-in spy ware protection and it works with that too.

2) Sometimes a corrupt registry entry can cause the program list to do that... Happens occasionally, or sometimes it will show the program but will tell you it can't find the uninstaller.

3) Sometimes these are just dwarf files left over from an installer that didn't remove them during the uninstall... I would just rename the folder, reboot and see if it causes errors, if not then delete it. If it does then there are still registry entries that need to be removed before the folder is deleted.

4) I don't like registry cleaners unless you have a problem that you are trying to fix. If it ain't broke don't fix it... It has always led to more problems in my experiences... MS Software can be quite fussy at times and best left alone if it's running fine.

5) See answer #4
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Cheers!
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Sounds like you made some good choices.

I agreed with ConfederateTyrant's assessment that it was probably an upgrade scenario with NIS and it revered to the previous version.

If you download a lot of torrents, you may have an issue with SPI.
 
Well, I don't believe I have a choice with SPI in regard to the Linksys router I currently use. Linksys touts their "really great SPI firewall" in their product info.

I think I know what torrents are, but since I do little, if any, P2P downloading, I'm not worried about it.

Thanks for the advice.
 
dkryan I was able to turn it off in mine. If not you can see if you can reload your router with DD-WRT and I know you can turn it off in that firmware load.
 
Uh, 'scuse my asking, but why would I want to negate the only firewall I currently have, whether it be an SPI firewall or NIS's?

By the way, what the heck IS an "SPI firewall?" I know what a firewall is. What's with the "SPI?"

With OVERK1LL having enlightened me to the fact that my router WAS a firewall, as noted above, I ditched NIS 2009 for the router's firewall, plus NOD32 A/V and A/S.
 
SPI is a METHOD of firewalling. Disabling still keeps you protected via conventional means through NAT. Remember, a router is a firewall.

SPI is Stateful Packet Inspection. It analyzes the data coming through the router at the packet level. It can be used to watch for and intercept intrusions as well as controlling the types of data allowed to pass through it.

This is why torrents can cause problems. They amount of simultaneous connections initiated will overload the CPU on the router and cause connectivity issues.

Turning it off does not leave you unprotected.
 
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