Are they all like this?

[doh_boy]

I bought norton 2003 and figured I'd be ok to not bother to buy 2004 and everything would be ok. BUT apparently I cannot get virus updates because I don't subscribe (around 30 quid year or something). Are all virus scanners now sold this way?

If so ..... shite

 

[Clowneh!]

You can get the virus definitions for a year after you buy Norton. Then after the year, you have to get a subscription to keep getting them. I think

 

[TheJkWhoSaysNi]

What's funny is if you format and reinstall, you get another year

theres probably a crack somewhere that will change the registry/whatever file that it's stored it

Also, my old "Norton antivirus" that came with a Time PC in 1997 can still be updated Funny.

 

[Tom]

For the amount of money it costs to subscribe/upgrade, and the grief saved in not getting infected, NAV is a bargain.

 

[Will]

Originally posted by doh_boy
I bought norton 2003 and figured I'd be ok to not bother to buy 2004 and everything would be ok. BUT apparently I cannot get virus updates because I don't subscribe (around 30 quid year or something). Are all virus scanners now sold this way?

If so ..... shite

AVG. Its totally free and it works.

 

[(Shovel)]

Originally posted by doh_boy
I bought norton 2003 and figured I'd be ok to not bother to buy 2004 and everything would be ok. BUT apparently I cannot get virus updates because I don't subscribe (around 30 quid year or something). Are all virus scanners now sold this way?

If so ..... shite

£30 - ouch!

I remember Norton AV 2000, you had to pay for another years virus definitions, it was about £3 iirc

 

[WPKenny]

You'll get virus definitions for free for life but what you don't get once your subs end is updates to the engine itself. So the software will probably pick up the virus it won't be able to disinfect it, just quarantine it.

 

[(Shovel)]

Ahhhh. So would a 2003 update update the engine to that found in 2004?

 

[doh_boy]

Originally posted by WPKenny
You'll get virus definitions for free for life but what you don't get once your subs end is updates to the engine itself. So the software will probably pick up the virus it won't be able to disinfect it, just quarantine it.

That's my point, I've been trying to get virus definition updates but can't do it. It's a bit silly really, yes tom it's cheap etc etc but the point still stands. I bought an anti-virus I expect it to be a viable protection against most virus' for longer than a year.

Anyway I'll ask around see what the other vendors have to say

 

[adams901]

it's no different from..

"buy my new wonderful game, but if you think your gonna play it without paying me another £10 a month your mistaken"

Norton is a lot cheaper and in my opinion a lot more useful than the above situation .

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by doh_boy
That's my point, I've been trying to get virus definition updates but can't do it. It's a bit silly really, yes tom it's cheap etc etc but the point still stands. I bought an anti-virus I expect it to be a viable protection against most virus' for longer than a year.

Anyway I'll ask around see what the other vendors have to say

3 quid for 12 months? Bloody hell, what more can you ask?

 

[Ch3tan]

Well he said it was £30 quid for a start.

 

[(Shovel)]

Ah yeah, sorry Tom, I should have been clearer: I was commenting on how cheap it used to be! Oops.

 

[Tom]

Well, I'm still on NAV2003, and my subs work fine. Last time it cost me £13.81 for a year (this was in September), which is pretty cheap. I know if I didn't pay it, and excluding warez, my computer would be screwed now.

If you bought your copy direct from the Norton site, I don't see any reason why they shouldn't allow you to subscribe for the same amount. Of course, it might be better in the long run to pay the upgrade price to 2004, you'll get another year with that.

 

[doh_boy]

I bought the box copy, system works. Thanks all for the info. It still sticks in my craw that I have to pay to ensure my software works properly. I will look around, I feel I need a better firewall so I will probably buy norton 2004 with internet security (I'm assuming firewall comes with this.) and the subscription should renew then the year after pay up for the updates. :/

 

[Tom]

So, you should have 12 months of virus upgrades (included in the product cost), and upgrades to the basic engine of NAV2003. If you don't, something's fecked up.

 

[Quige]

I've done the "buy another year" thing with mine and it certainly wasn't £30

so erm, if you go here http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html

and download the intelligent updater, rather than using Liveupdate, does that 'know' that you've 'expired'? I can't remember if it does or not. Maybe you've already tried that, so sorry if you have.

So I'm not clear if it has never allowed you to update via LiveUpdate, or it has for a year and now it's stopped.

It really shouldn't cost £30 pounds to renew the subscription for another year.

Last time I updated about a year ago it cost me £6.98 ... I've reinstalled since then and it seems to be perfectly happy to reset itself for another year as TheJkWhoSaysNi mentioned.

Have you run through the process here ;

How to renew your subscription services

Is this what gave you the £30 subscription fee?

Symantec's website seems to have quite a few links to troubleshooting subscription issues here;
Subscription Services Troubleshooter: All Documents

And as Will pointed out AVG is free, though they seem to update definitions quite slowly .... and I want definitions updated on a daily basis these days.

I use Internet Security 2003 and I think it's quite good as a firewall, and pretty amazing at blocking ads. (I find it quite shocking going to familiar sites at work now and seeing all these huge ads all over the place, of which I've been blissfully unaware at home.)

So I'd be tempted to upgrade to NIS 2004 myself at £34.99 as an upgrade. Then again they've included XP like product activation in the latest version, so you may want to bear that in mind and how you might feel about that.

Any McAfee users out there? They seem quite happy to allow virus definitions to be downloaded from their site, but I only know it from a corporate point of view, where the client is on a site license/3 year subscription, so they make the dosh there. Not sure how the home product is priced/licensed.

 

[Summo]

Re: Re: Are they all like this?

Originally posted by Will
AVG. Its totally free and it works.

Thanks, Will! Downloading now...

 

[Custodian]

I am using McAfee VirusScan, it came with the PC in 1999.
When I first connected to McAfee site I was able to get an engine upgrade, but after that I was only allowed definition files.

About 2 years ago I had to reinstall the software from the OEM system disk, and found that when I connected to the site I got another free engine upgrade... which was nice.

I can still get definition files as often as I want, but no engine upgrade unless I pay.

 

[smurkin]

For MacAffee click here to download an up-to-date super dat....I believe it includes an engine update and the virus definitions (not for virusscan 4.03 or earlier)