Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Norton

Cursed Ghost Haunting my Data

Jezztek — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:54:57 -0800

Any alternatives to Norton Ghost for fbf recovery? I've been using Norton Ghost 14 to create backups of several important folders full of random information on my C drive (where my OS and installed programs are stored) and saving them to drive D.

Late last night disaster struck and I had to format C and re-install the OS. So I awoke happy in the knowledge I had all the good stuff backed up. It turns out recovering large folders full of information is a total nightmare in Ghost. I use the "recover files and folder" option since the recovery points were lost in the format.

The backup is stored as one large folder (File Backup Data) with many other smaller folders (labeled such as fbfFiles_0cb) which each contains a number of fbf files. When I attempt to import backup data from the main folder it spends a while reading but ultimately fails. If I try to import from just one of the smaller folders of fbf files it seems to work (and since the data seems to be spanned it seems to import more data then whatever was just in that particular folder).

This is where the real frustration begins, instead of having a nice list of folders/files that have been backed up I have to do a search for what I want to restore. Now I don't exactly remember what specifically I had backed up, so I'm already going to be missing some data just by virtue of not remembering the details. But to make matters worse, where I do remember the folder I want to recover it doesn't seem to provide any way to recover entire folders.

Say for instance I want to recover my folder "webwork" which in itself has 10 sub folders each with hundreds of files in them. If I search for "webwork" it shows that folder, but doesn't seem to offer any way to recover the whole folder, instead I simply have the option of drilling down into some of the subfolders. But if a subfolder has a lot of files in it Ghost tells me something along the lines of this search returned too many results, narrow down your criteria.

I can't imagine any way I can possibly backup the data I need in this manner.

So the bottom line is that I'm hoping that there exists other software that can read and backup fbf files such as created by Ghost, and do a much better job of the whole affair. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks much!

I can't get online

ihavepromisestokeep — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:22:11 -0800

Norton detected a virus (?), Downloader.MisleadApp, on my laptop. According to Norton, the problem has been "fixed." But ever since then, I cannot access the Internet. How do I get back online? So, here is the story:

Some fishy computer activity made me think my laptop was infected. I ran Norton, which detected the Downloader.MisleadApp (which I think is some kind of generic term?). Norton says the security threat is "high" but doesn't seem to be able to resolve the issue. I download updates to Norton and run the scan again. I click "fix" on Norton and it seems to successfully take care of it. Ever since then I have not been able to access the Internet.

I have wireless internet, and according to my computer, the connection is excellent. I called my Internet Service Provider and they suggested that Norton caused the problem in resolving the virus issue by making my security settings extra high. They said I should "turn off" Norton and then turn it back on. I happily said "OK," thinking my Internet troubles were behind me and that birds would sing again. But after I hung up, I realized I didn't know what they meant by "turn off." Uninstall? I didn't do that, but I did turn off certain things for a few minutes. For instance, there is the option of turning spyware protection off. I tried that but still couldn't get online.

Argh. So, I'm frustrated and obviously naive about all this stuff and not sure what to do next. If it is relevant, I have a sony vaio and use Windows XP. What do I do now??

Help Me Protect My PC Please?

Lipstick Thespian — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:56:25 -0800

What Is The Best PC Anti-Virus Software? My subscription to Norton Anti-Virus Software is ending, and I read here on Metafilter in another thread that this may not be the best choice in PC virus protection.

They are going to auto-subscribe me for another year if I don't cancel, so would like the hive mind to recommend something better for me to use on my system.

I run an HP laptop with Vista Home Premium.

Norton stinks

gerryblog — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:01:19 -0800

Do I really need Norton installed? Last night my free update to Norton 2008 randomly killed my network connection -- from Google, it looks as though its firewalling may be a little overzealous. Uninstalling Norton brought my network back, but it also revealed how much faster my computer runs with no Norton installed: amazingly faster.

Do I really need it? What are my alternatives, if I leave Norton off?

It's a several-years old Toshiba laptop running Windows XP. Will I be clogged by viruses by the end of the day if I don't reinstall Norton 2007? Is there something else I can rely on instead that won't gum up my works?

I already use Spybot and AdAware, and I only go to "normal" sites. (I'm not downloading warez or porn.)

navapsvc

KRS — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:58:51 -0800

navapsvc.exe hogs 62-70% of processor time I use the 2003 version of Norton SystemWorks, since everyone says later versions are bloated. Lately, navapsvc.exe, the Norton Antivirus Autoprotect scanner, has been hogging a minimum of 62%, and up to 70%, of processor capacity, making everything run at a snail's pace.

I've turned it off temporarily and surfed only to places I know are safe, and everything is nice and snappy.

Is there a setting to limit the amount of processor time/capacity it uses? Is that safe?

Or is it time to switch to virus protection with a smaller footprint? And if so, which one? I want the best protection, even if I need to buy a commercial program.

Floppies have given up the ghost, but Ghost won't give up the floppies?!

Sinner — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:48:07 -0800

Floppy disks? Are you kidding me? I haven't used Symantec Ghost in a long time, but am forced to at the moment. Even back then, floppies were on the way out, and now they're flat-out gone. But as far as I can tell, Ghost still absolutely flat-out requires you to use floppies (which can then be transferred on to CDs) in order to function. Am I right? And if I am, isn't this absolutely insane?

Is this a computer virus?

misanthropicsarah — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 11:25:34 -0800

For the past few days, when I start up my computer or start Word, I get dialog boxes about Windows Installer and Norton that want me to uninstall Norton. This has to be some kind of virus, right? These are the boxes I'm getting. Windows XP(SP2).

I've run adaware, spybot s&d, and norton itself. They all came up with a few things, but nothing that got rid of these messages.

I'm very hesitant to uninstall and reinstall Norton (partly because I don't actually have the disk, and don't want to have to pay for ANOTHER two year subscription online to get another version) because just a month ago I had a computer crash that I'm still trying to recover from (and it was caused by a virus).

So, what are these boxes telling me? I can't find the virus (if it is one) to kill it, and I don't know what else it would be. I just want this to go away so I can go back to doing my work.

Norton Securities is a non-replicating virus:

Huplescat — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 18:55:12 -0800

Now that my subscription is approaching its final week Norton is going berserk on my machine. I want to put it out of its misery. I hate it now even more than when it killed Webroot Spysweeper. Of course I need to get good virus protection before I off Norton. I’ve been following the discussion here and it looks like McAfee offers a good alternative for someone like me who isn’t tech savy. By the way, I’m just now switching from a dial up connection to Bellsouth DSL.

Caught a virus.

astorias — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:01:13 -0800

Seeking help trying to find a virus. I'm pretty sure I've got a virus on my computer. Funny thing is that the only program that has identified it is AOL Spyzapper, and it identifies it simply as 'infostealer'. I've run Norton AV and AOL AV, and neither of them find the virus/location. Any suggestions on what to try? I'm running XP SP2, and I do apologize if I'm repeating a previous question (but I couldn't find anything speaking of 'infostealer'). Thanks.

Norton Antivirus for Mac question: What's the best way to configure SafeZones?

EmuBite — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:06:48 -0800

Norton Antivirus for Mac question: What's the best way to configure SafeZones? I just picked up Norton Antivirus for Mac (10.0). I needed an AV solution because my workplace requires it, so let's avoid the "Macs don't need virus protection" argument. As a project manager for a scientific journal, I have hundreds of files (mainly graphics and documents) come across my desktop on a daily basis. It would be very bad to spread a virus in my office. Enter NAV.

I have NAV set to Scan Everywhere (Universal SafeZone), but this is probably overkill and I don't want to unecessarily tax my system. Most of the files I'm worried about come from mounted CDs/DVDs and e-mail. In addition, all of the files I download are shuttled from my Desktop to Documents folder.

So, here's my question: How should I set my SafeZones? If I set my SafeZones only to scan my Desktop and Documents folder, will my e-mail (via Entourage) be scanned as well? How does NAV for Mac go about scanning incoming and outgoing e-mail, anyway?

Thanks for any advice.

Alternatives to Norton???

apark — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 11:59:07 -0800

Disk Repair tool similar to Norton Disk Doctor for Windows? I seem to have a corrupted disk. Because my son keeps turning off the computer without shutting it down properly, it seems to have developed a bunch of logical errors.

In the past, I would run CHKDSK and repair the errors, but all it seems to do is create a gazillion (*.CHK) files that I don't know what to do with.

In the days of old before Symantec completely screwed it up, I looked to tools like Norton Disk Doctor (NDD) that would seemingly do a better job of repairing the damage files/directories/etc... and then log exactly what was done even with option to undo.

What are some contemporary tools that can do the same? I haven't tried Norton since the 2004 incarnation, but everything I've read suggest that Norton has gone straight to h*ll quallity-wise.

What can you suggest? Freeware/OS is obviously preferred, but I'm willing to pay a modest amount for a decent tool.

FYI: Windows 2000 Server with NTFS partitions.

A ghost of the previous program

gregvr — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:17:14 -0800

I just bought Norton Ghost 10.0. It is complete crap, as far as I can tell. What can I do, either to make it work the way I want, or to actually return it for a refund? It has been a while since I've used Ghost. I remember it working decently before-- the problem has always been that the boot CD doesn't always support all of your devices properly, particularly USB devices, etc.

So I bought the most recent version, thinking, "Hey, at least the boot disk will be nice and up to date."

Strangely enough, they expect that the most common mode of usage is that you INSTALL it in WindowsXP, and it makes image based backups of your machine periodically. While you system is running, which seems insane.

This might be okay, except that it doesn't work. It continually fails with a CRC error. It appears that there is a way I can disable this error checking, but that doesn't sound like a good idea!

At this point, I feel that I didn't get what I expected when I bought the program. It is significantly different than earlier versions, with the main functionality (in my opinion) gone.

They obviously knew that this might be an issue, so they include a copy of Norton Ghost 2003. This one, however, won't load the USB driver properly, making it unusable.

At this point, honestly, I just want to return it! Can I?

Can Norton Anti Virus license be migrated ?

flyby22 — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 15:56:11 -0800

Is there a way to move Norton anti virus license from a trashed machine to a new machine or re-activate it on a rebuilt machine ? More than a few times I have been in a situation where I had to reinstall Win2k or rebuild the whole machine or replace a crappy machine with a newly built one. Does Norton AV allow license migration in such situations? I think their activation process normally does not like that if I remember right. Please correct me if I am wrong. Also any opinion on free edition of AVG anti-virus software from GriSoft ?

Bad Norton! Bad!

emptybowl — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 06:07:36 -0800

Bad Norton! Bad! Ever since my most recent LiveUpdate last Thursday, Norton Internet Security has been giving me some problems... Since the LiveUpdate, any program that has had its permissions changed cannot access the internet (this includes Outlook, so I am unable to get my mail, and World Of Warcraft, which patched yesterday). Also ccApp.exe is hanging up on shutdown, so the machine is taking longer to shut down than it should. I can't find anything about these problems on Symantec's site. (Well, I did find something about the ccApp.exe problem, and their solution is "just leave it")

Is anyone else having this problem after the most recent patch, or had this kind of problem in the past? And if I can't find a solution, what's the easiest/safest way to roll-back and/or reinstall Norton?

Oh, and it's Win XP Prof running Norton Internet Security 2005.

I am looking for specific computer backup software

curiousleo — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 12:43:34 -0800

I have True Image 8 and Norton Ghost 9.... They both do fine job in cloning hard drives.. but I can not trust incremental backup and images... I tried about a half dozen time trying to restore files using both software.. absolutely NONE of them was successful... damaged images, files... etc.. I already lost serveral pictures and data... So.. I am looking for file to file backup type software that can incrementally copy files/folders to another networked computer's harddrive without compressing or imaging.... This way... I can always have two exact copies all the time... SecondCopy was one that was suggested... Is there more popular well known.. proven software like this?

How do I remove this computer virus?

Servo5678 — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 09:16:27 -0800

My mother's computer has picked up a persistant trojan virus. She's over 1,000 miles away so I can't work on her PC myself, so I've been talking her through things on the phone. AVG Free 7.0 detects the virus and claims to remove it, but it always comes back the next time she scans. The only thing she can tell me about the virus is that AVG removes a file with a mixture of English and Cyrillic letters in it. Any idea how I can help her slay this thing once and for all?

Norton Pop-Ups

jdroth — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 14:49:41 -0800

Every day, Norton Antivirus pops up with an "Expired Subscription" message, asking me to "renew now" or "renew later". My only options for renewing later are one or fifteen days. How about never? How do I get this damn thing to not pop up anymore?

How do I get rid of viruses Norton finds but cannot delete?

Samsonov14 — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:44:13 -0800

I can't get rid of some viruses on my computer. Norton can find them, but can't delete them. They're in my c:\RECYLER direcory. Little help? (More inside) I can't find RECYCLER while in Windows, and although I can find it in DOS, I can't get a directory listing there. It tells me "volume (C:/RECYCLER) in serial drive has no label". Now everytime I reboot my computer, I get viagra sites in my bookmarks, and icons to go directly to those sites on my desktop. It's almost enough to make me stop visiting porn sites. Well, almost.