Alerts are turned of folks as I have no time presently. I may reappear again on Ciao but not for the...
Alerts are turned of folks as I have no time presently. I may reappear again on Ciao but not for the forseeable future. Take care and have a great Summer
Member since:27.10.2006
Reviews:289
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I feel I should give a little background here . I am also sure that many of you reading will rate or think this review is 'off topic' but I felt I wanted to express my opinion so here goes .
THE BACKGROUND ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We have had Norton Anti-Virus on our system for a few years now and always been satisfied with the results . When we got our new computer 18 months or so ago there was a 60 day trial of the current Norton included on the system . When this expired as we had been completely satisfied with the product we renewed our subscription .
Although we orderd on-line I asked for the option were we received the discs in case there was ever a problem . We ordered Norton Ghost and System Works in the same package for 50 something pounds . All went well and then a couple of weeks ago we started getting warnings that our subscription was about to expire . Here is where everything starts to go wrong .
NORTON 360 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Although we accessed via our renewal link I fear we ended up paying as new subscribers . Whether this is true or not we were charged £99.99 for a two year subscription to Norton 360 .
We thought this was expensive but as it was for two years so we thought maybe at the end of that time the renewal would be more competitive . Anyway about two weeks ago we downloaded our new Norton . I decided this time I would just download rather than wait for the discs to arrive in the post as our subscription was almost
at an end .
Downloading was time consuming but fairly straightforward . When you have downloaded the files the Norton 360 will prompt you to remove all of the old Norton products from your system . The Norton 360 actually does this for you and then you need to restart your computer .
When you restart your computer you need to make sure all files are closed and then you can run install . I had downloaded mine onto the desktop to make it easy to find . Click on install and Norton 360 goes through a system scan and installs . As you install you will be given a product key in case you have to install which you can print off . You can also set up an account where this key will be stored . I did this . Part of the set up requires you to make a back-up which can restore your system . Initially although I have an external back-up I did this on a DVD disc .When you have finished installing you will need to update the Norton 360 via the internet .
After you have completed this your Norton 360 will have an icon in the desktop toolbar . There were two icons left on my desktop also one to install Norton 360 in case I had to again and the actual product . Clicking on either of the Norton 360 icons brings you up the main options .
Update Tune up PC Back-up Scans
You can also access your account and settings from this page . The timings for scans can be altered or set to manual and there are help and support functions . Apologies if I have missed anything .
MY EXPERIENCES WITH NORTON 360 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Well what a tale of woe .
Everything seemed fine . I did a little work on the computer and switched it off for the night .
Next day I turned on the computer and after a little while I noticed a flashing Norton symbol on the toolbar . On opening this it said basically that there was a problem and norton needed to unistall and be re-installed . Bummer I thought and ignored it for a while . However it carried on flashing at me so I took a proper look .On opening Norton 360 all four functions were flashing red for danger and said they needed attention . A message said Norton need to fix 3 or 4 problems and must be uninstalled and re-installed . What a pain I thought but okay . An hour or so later all was back showing ok so I did my work and signed out .
You've guessed it next day I turned on the computer to Groundhog Day . The only difference this time was the amount of errors . This time I thought right I won't mess about I'll do it straight away . Uninstall , re-install , all okay blah , blah and back to square one .
Each day I have turned the computer on I have had this problem . Since the weekend I have been liasing with Norton in attempt to sort the problem .
Initially I followed the help in Norton 360 , rang a freephone number and ended up speaking to Mohammed in India . This lovely guy could not entirely understand my accent nor I his so the call went on forever . Never mind he asured me I was only being charge local rate . DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY . GAWD.
After going through an uninstall and reinstall with him he assured me everything was ok . He even used remote access to take over my computer to sort the problem out . I am never entirely happy with this . However this seemed to do the trick . That was until the next day of course .
Groundhog Day , yesterday . The day I blew my top .Today there were 19 fixes needed to make my computer safe . This time I downloaded something from the symantic site which enabled me to chat to the analysts via a messenger on-line .
With the utmost apologies I was assured he could fix my problem . The conclusion he drew was that I had a corrupted download . Nowhere near good enough say I . The guy assures me he will send me an e.mail with everything necessary to fix my problem . By now I am saying I think I'll just have my money back . However I agree to try the fixes he is sending me .
Ten minutes later a long e.mail arrives . I start at the beginning where it tells me to download an uninstall from symantec which will be needed to begin to cure the problem . I download this and when I click on it a message box tells me 'Link has expired please contact --- here there is another link ' The other link is unaccessible to copy and paste or anything .
I have a look at the rest of the e.mail and realise he has sent me detailed instructions of how to access my computers registry , alter lots of things and clean things up before reinstalling . I was nether prepared to do all this nor felt competent to . Also of course I couldn't uninstall anyway as the link did not work . I decided then I wanted rid of Norton and my money back . Looking on the website it seemed as if that would be a mammoth task also . Forms and codes etc etc .
I finally found the number to ring if you are an English customer . You've guessed it again I was back to India . A nice young guy called Dustin could not apologise enough . He could tell I was at screaming point and so he offered my money back , which he has assured me will be back in my account between 5 and 10 days . You will hear about it if it is not , and so will he .
CONCLUSION ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Norton 360 may be a great product . What I had seen of it I had found some things lacking such as ad blocking but maybe I would have sorted that out eventually .
My gripe is that when you pay almost £100 or even if you pay a lot less , you deserve the product you have paid for . It should not involve this waste of time ,effort and money . I dread to think what my phone bill will show .
Although it has put me off downloading from Symantec I have downloaded from another provider and touchwood all seems well plus it only cost me about £30 for two years .
The customer support cannot be faulted for the effort with which they tried to solve the problems but they failed miserably . How I yearned for the good old days when I could just have rung someone up in England and got the problem sorted .
I recently received a joke e.mail about Indian Call Centres from a Ciao member and laughed but thought it was a bit mean . Now however I too can say 'I've spoken to that guy'
Thanks for reading I hope this cautionery tale has helped . If in doubt get your money back sooner rather than later . Copyright Eiley 2007
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I don't blame you for losing your temper....how very frustrating that sounds! I wouldn't feel that competent about removing things on my pc either...would be scared in case I removed something i needed! x
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Jul 24th, 2007
(Jul 25th, 2007)
very helpful by (100%):
