Norton Internet Security 2006 / Ghost 10.0 Bundle

List Price: $99.99

Features:

• A bundle of advanced security software to protect you from Internet threats and back up your files automatically
• Back-ups are done automatically and efficiently
• Automatically blocks hackers, viruses, and spyware
• Filters out dangerous phishing email and annoying spam
• Includes 12 months of protection updates to keep up with the latest threats

Customer Reviews:

Half and Half [Posted on 2006-01-30]
Half the deal is good. The Norton Internet Security is cheaper than on the Symantec website, so that's a good bargain. The Ghost, though, is really quite an annoying program. It does back up the data (supposedly), but there isn't a way that I could find to get it OFF the hard drive so I'm not sure how it will help, considering if the hard drive crashes, it is unusable. It also really slows down the function of other programs because it is constantly running in the background. I ended up deleting the entire program from my computer and hoping for the best. Therefore, I'd suggest that you just go ahead and buy the Internet Security alone.

Beware then be happy [Posted on 2006-02-26]
I recommend this only to experienced Norton users who are aware of the pitfalls (no support, labyrinth of looping phone menus and a web site worthy of any soviet bureaucracy). Uninstall any previous versions completely--even earlier Norton products--and restart before beginning the install. Don't put this on any machine older than a couple of years as each edition since 2003 dogs the speed and performance of the computer to a point you'd weigh the consequences of operating in the wide open without protection (not recommended unless you're a potential client of mine with lots of spare change). NIS does a great job when it's set up and running properly. I like Ghost and have moved many clients away from traditional backup programs to it and I appreciate that they include the older version for older operating systems. Symantec makes some good products and is that infamous 900 lb. gorilla, but it could be soooooooooo much more if had even an inkling of real support.

Fails out of the box [Posted on 2006-03-21]
I remember Norton from the mid 80's. He was the guy who figured out all the 8088 traps for the original IBM. It started with books. He did some magic low level programming and shared it with anyone who cared to buy his books. Somewhere along the lines he got involved with a bigger company.

Whatever.

The low-level elegant hacking has given way to activation, DRM, and other nonsense. Symantec is SO worried about protecting their profits that, while the activation worked just great, nothing else did. The product fails to launch on a standard install. This is a virgin installation of Windows XP. It's running on an Intel Pentium D and a 955 chipset server board. I can't imagine a more ideal system. What the friole, Symantec?

It gets worse. The uninstall program is apparently seeded by whatever won't work in the first place. So not only does the product not work, it won't install either. Luckily, Microsoft's system restore was written by someone more competent.

Ghost has similar problems. Gone forever is the low-level utility. Now it's all about personal backups (to where, the local drive??). It's about virtual disk mounts. And it's about dependency to Windows. Why? Activation.

Support is a joke. They do have a specific page for my error string. It says to uninstall all Symantec products and start over. Brilliant. I wonder if they have considered the fact that the uninstall program is broken. Bunches o' morons.

I'm glad Symantec supports America and capitalism. Maybe once they're done counting my $100, they can make the product work.

Norton Internet Security 2006 [Posted on 2007-01-09]
Seems to be thorough but it frequently slows down my operating system so that it is unusable. I need to temporarily disable Norton to be able to use other applications. I have been warned by others this is a problem unless you are using a higher performance PC. I would not recommend this product.

Good Reliable Software for Knowlegable people [Posted on 2007-02-07]
Here's the bottom line with EVERYTHING Negative on most software.
If you don't have the experience installing complex systems then please PAY SOMEONE to do it! Honestly I've installed this on 3 Drives after removing NIS 2005 with ZERO Problems but I know that my WINXP is perfectly fine and I don't have it filled with junk.
My only guess about all the negatives is the OS is already corrupted and this makes it even worst. It could be a little more user friendly but the simpler you make it the poorer it performs. Most people never reformat their drives let alone do the required maintenance and I usually do mine once or twice a year since everything that screws up will corrupt the OS.

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