On Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:03:40 -0400, Jack McAfee wrote:
> I noticed yesterday that the icon for my Norton Anti-virus was showing an
> "x" meaning that auto protect had been disabled. When I right clicked on the
> icon it gave me the option of being able to "Activate" the software. And so
> I clicked on it and it supposedly went to the Norton server to activate my
> software and everything seems fine. I have since updated my virus database,
> ran a complete scan, have updated and run both SpyBot and Ad-aware and so
> far so good.
>
> The question is: what would have caused the Norton software to be
> de-activated? Would a Windows update possibly cause this to happen? Is it
> possilbe that I have encountered a maleovent attack to my system? BTW, the
> Norton support site is not very helpful in this regard. You cannot simply
> send them an e-mail message indicating what happen or at least I could not
> find a way to do so. And where would one begin to start to determine if any
> virus or worm attacks the system in this way. Help please.
Jack
Download and run HijackThis
(
http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.zip)
Read this Tutorial *before* first use
(
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtutorial=42)
Once done > run HijackThis > save a scan log and post it to /any/ of the
following (expert) forums for analysis.
*Note, //registration// *is* required prior to posting a log.
- Not listed in any particular order -
(
http://www.theeldergeek.com/forum/index.php?s=2e9ea4e19d3289dd877ab75a8220bff6&showforum=29)
(
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php?page=hijackthis)
(
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30)
(
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?&showforum=18)
(
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5)
(
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html)
(
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup)
(
http://forum.malwareremoval.com/viewforum.php?f=11)
(
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25)
(
http://www.atribune.org/forums/index.php?showforum=9)
(
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Malware_Removal_HiJackThis_Logs_Go_Here-f37.html)
(
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showforum=18)
(
http://www.techmonkeys.co.uk/forums/viewforum.php?f=8)
(
http://forum.networktechs.com/forumdisplay.php?f=130)
(
http://forums.maddoktor2.com/index.php?showforum=17)
(
http://forums.spywaretimes.com/index.php?showforum=2)
(
http://www.bluetack.co.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=172)
(
http://forums.techguy.org/f54-s.html)
(
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?showforum=27)
(
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7)
(
http://www.5starsupport.com/ipboard/index.php?showforum=18)
(
http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=7)
(
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26)
(
http://makephpbb.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=2)
(
http://forums.techguy.org/54-security/)
(
http://forums.security-central.us/forumdisplay.php?f=13)
(
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html)
(
http://gladiator-antivirus.com/forum/index.php?showforum=170)
A number of experts agree that the retail AV version of McAfee, Norton and
Trend Micro has become cumbersome and bloated for the average user.
The retail version of Norton can play havoc with your pc. Uninstall it
using Norton's own uninstall tool
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
and get a refund
As suggested on the site, you may wish to print out the directions before
proceeding.
While Norton's removal tool usually gets the job done, you may also want to
go to:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html
and download a copy of winsockxpfix just in case. Rarely, the removal of
NIS breakes the networking components in XP to the point where internet
access is impossible. This little utility will fix it back up.
If the Norton removal tool doesn't work satisfactory use this:
Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Remove unwanted programs and traces easily
http://www.revouninstaller.com/
and/or
RegSeeker
http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
RegSeeker will remove all associated detritus (registry keys,files and
folders) from any application. I found this application user friendly and
very effective but suggest *not* to use the 'Clean the Registry' option.
Click onto 'Find in registry' and in the 'Search for' box type *Norton*
The pertinent registry keys can then be safely deleted (just in case,
ensure that the 'Backup before deletion' is checked). Repeat the task by
typing in the Search for' box *Symantec*. You can then go on search and
remove associated files as well.
Then use NTREGOPT to compact the registry Follow instructions.
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt
Do not utilize more than one (1) real-time anti-virus scanning engine!
Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom
Installation on some AV apps.) as it provides no additional protection. In
fact, most of experts (incl. Norton) believe that scanning incoming and
outgoing mail causes e-mail file corruption.
Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic - Free
http://www.free-av.com/antivirus/allinonen.html
Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/
ESET NOD32 Antivirus - Not Free
http://www.eset.com/
Have you seen these "extra settings for NOD32"?
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=37509
On-demand AV application (add it to your arsenal and use it as a "second
opinion" av scanner).
BitDefender10 Free Edition
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html
Good luck