Problems with Kaspersky

[Gadgie]

Hi

 

I recently had a problem updating databases for Kaspersky 2012 and it became corrupted. I followed the help instructions and un-installed the program and then re-installed the latest version 2013. I then get the blue screen of death every time I booted up. I managed to uninstall it and contacted Kaspersky via e-mail but they have been rubbish (and very slow) in trying to sort out the problem and they haven't answered my last 2 e-mails from several days ago. I have installed a free trial version of Avast in the meantime as I need the computer for work. Not sure if someone can help me with this here? Otherwise can someone recommend another ant-virus sortware package? (ideally with better support & NOT Norton) I was looking at Bitdefender and found a site that was giving a big discount but don't know if it is a legit site or not, does anyone know: http://store.downloadcrew.co.uk/?act=search&brand=325

 

Many Thanks

[Starbuck]

Hi Gadgie

 

I was looking at Bitdefender and found a site that was giving a big discount but don't know if it is a legit site or not, does anyone know:

I checked the Web of Trust rating for that site:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v708/starbuck50/webcheck_zps19bda9fa.png

 

It gets a good rating as you can see..... so the site is legit.

 

I managed to uninstall it and contacted Kaspersky via e-mail but they have been rubbish (and very slow) in trying to sort out the problem and they haven't answered my last 2 e-mails from several days ago.

Sounds about right for some of these companies.

I suggest you try the Kaspersky Forums...... You may well get a quicker reply from them:

 

http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showforum=4

 

It's just like any other forum, which means that you will have to join to post about your problem. ( but as usual, it's free)

Or a search of the forum may well fetch up a topic related to your own problem.

[wellies]

I can tell you of my experiences with some programs for what it's worth. Maybe it will be useful:

 

I tried Kaspersky a while back (still got a paid-up subscription) but found the System Tray icon was slow to show. Opinion on the Kaspersky forum was that the system was unprotected until icon showed. This put me off the program.

 

I'm using Bitdefender at present and it is working well for me. However, there have been complaints on the Bitdefender forum that support is not so good if you do get trouble. This may be worth knowing about when making your decision of what program to choose.

 

One of the best support forums I have come across in recent years is Norton's. Norton staff post there regularly, as do many regulars. I'm sure they have a failure rate when it comes to help but support via the forum seems good to me. I never had any trouble with Norton until the 2013 version was released (hence the quest for a change). I don't rule out going back to it, perhaps by reverting to the 2012 version for the time being.

 

But you don't want Norton anyway, so I guess that one is out and you are already in trouble with Kaspersky.

 

The only other protection programs I have had experience with is the Pro version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Comodo Internet Security 6. CIS 6 is perhaps not so good at detections (according to some opinions) but it majors more on protection than detection. This being done by virtualisation and sandboxing. Always a strong method of protection in my opinion.

 

I have a system running CIS 6 and MBAM Pro. I feel that the vigilance of MBAM Pro will possibly make up for any lack of detection that CIS 6 may have. With CIS 6's sandboxing and virtualization, further protection might not be necessary but good protection involves layers and MBAM Pro provides one. Another is Comodo DNS.

 

I'm using Bitdefender for Windows 8 and Sandboxie at present and am a bit undecided as to which arrangement is better. Maybe 'CIS 6 + MBAM Pro' and 'Bitdefender + Sandboxie' are both strong in their different ways.

 

My wife's computer has Norton Internet Security (+ Sandboxie) on it but I have downgraded the Norton suite to the 2012 version. She never has any problems with that.

 

I think one problem that could be encountered is that systems don't like being subjected to too much changing of security programs. Nearly all of them leave vestiges behind after uninstallation and I believe this can lead to trouble no matter what program the computer is changed to. I think it's important to thoroughly track down leftovers and remove them before installing the next realtime security program. I do it all using various disk images, always starting off with one that hasn't had any other security program installed (apart from Windows Defender that the system comes with).

[Gadgie]

Hi thanks for the replies, still have not got my problems resolved with Kaspersky and they are so slow to respond its so frustrating, also did a scan with SAS and found a key logging trojan so not happy about the situation. Reason I won't touch Norton as when I upgraded to their latest version of 360 couple of years ago it killed my computer so had to buy a new one. Was going to go for bitdetector but have since seen a lot of bad reviews from people whose computers have been damaged after installing and coupled with poor support don't think I want to chance it. I'm a fish out of water when it comes to these sort of things but need my computer to be as secure as possible as I use internet banking every day. I'm happy to go with a recommendation as I need to get my computer sorted asap. I also have free version of malware bytes on my computer which failed to detect the trojan so dont know what too think about paying for full version. What is CIS like? Are there any other options with good detection rates? Typing from phone is no fun, cheers

[neill10]

Hi Gadgi, I used to use Eset nod 32, never had a problem, not system hog like Norton, first rate detection and pretty fast scans. The only reason I now use MSE is it's free ( got to love a bargan!)

Neill

[Gadgie]

Hi

 

In the end I decided to return my computer to factory settings. On starting up the missus signed up for 60 day free trial with Norton when I was out of the room. I wanted to retry Kaspersky first. Can I ask if there is a safe way to remove Norton so I can install Kaspersky that will also allow me to continue free trial with Norton if Kaspersky does not work?

 

Also the version of Norton is really old as it was on the computer when I bought it. Even though I ran all the updates the interface is really old so will this cause any security holes/problems?

 

Many thanks

[Anonymous123]

HiIn the end I decided to return my computer to factory settings. On starting up the missus signed up for 60 day free trial with Norton when I was out of the room. I wanted to retry Kaspersky first. Can I ask if there is a safe way to remove Norton so I can install Kaspersky that will also allow me to continue free trial with Norton if Kaspersky does not work?Also the version of Norton is really old as it was on the computer when I bought it. Even though I ran all the updates the interface is really old so will this cause any security holes/problems?Many thanks

I don't understand why it would be unsafe to uninstall norton ? Should be fine... Please correct me someone if I'm wrong.

[maynardvdm]

Hi

 

Use the Norton removal tool to uninstall Norton.

 

You can find it here: https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/kb20080710133834EN_EndUserProfile_en_us

[KenB]

I don't understand why it would be unsafe to uninstall norton ? Should be fine... Please correct me someone if I'm wrong.

The un-install tool ( posted by maynardvdm ) is usually the way we recommend to remove Norton from your system.

 

If you use any other method you may be left with remnants in the Registry etc

These are not particularly "unsafe" but can cause problems.

 

Just as a note ........

It is not recommended to have 2 AVs on your system.

These will often conflict and cause problems.

[wellies]

The un-install tool ( posted by maynardvdm ) is usually the way we recommend to remove Norton from your system.

 

If you use any other method you may be left with remnants in the Registry etc

These are not particularly "unsafe" but can cause problems.

The Norton Removal Tool still leaves leftovers in the file system and Registry. I think these shouldn't make any difference to the incoming security solution but I've always preferred to search for and remove them once the Removal Tool has been run a couple of times (rebooting after each run of the tool). I've never had any trouble with manually removing the leftover files/folders but best to steer clear of searching for and removing leftover Registry entries if not confident with editing it.

 

This isn't a purely Symantec/Norton thing. I've found that removing other security programs using the dedicated removal tool can also leave behind some files and Registry entries.

 

I wish computer manufacturers/sellers wouldn't bundle software with the OS. It makes a clean start with anything else difficult.

[Gadgie]

Hi. Thanks for the replies.

 

Can anyone clarify my second question:

 

Also the version of Norton is really old as it was on the computer when I bought it. Even though I ran all the updates the interface is really old so will this cause any security holes/problems?

 

Many thanks

[wellies]

As far as I know, you should be on the latest version of the Norton software but I'm not familiar with trial versions of it. Have you tried running Live Update repeatedly? If not, it might be worth doing that. Reboot a couple of times and run Live Update each time to see it the update servers pick up on the fact that the software is not up to date. The latest engine version number according to the Norton Forums is 20.3.0.36, for the 2013 versions and 19.9.1.14 for the 2012 versions, so you could open the Norton interface and look in 'Support > About' to see what the number is.

 

I have to say that I don't know the state of the 2013 version(s) of Norton at present. I thought Norton Internet Security 2013 not so good as the 2009 to 2012 versions, and so looked elsewhere.

 

However, did you still want to remove Norton? If so, it should remove as described and you need not worry about what version is running.

[Gadgie]

As far as I know, you should be on the latest version of the Norton software but I'm not familiar with trial versions of it. Have you tried running Live Update repeatedly? If not, it might be worth doing that. Reboot a couple of times and run Live Update each time to see it the update servers pick up on the fact that the software is not up to date. The latest engine version number according to the Norton Forums is 20.3.0.36, for the 2013 versions and 19.9.1.14 for the 2012 versions, so you could open the Norton interface and look in 'Support > About' to see what the number is.

 

I have to say that I don't know the state of the 2013 version(s) of Norton at present. I thought Norton Internet Security 2013 not so good as the 2009 to 2012 versions, and so looked elsewhere.

 

However, did you still want to remove Norton? If so, it should remove as described and you need not worry about what version is running.

 

Hi, just checked the product code and it is 17.9.0.12 so must be well out of date will this cause any problems do you think?

 

Many thanks

[wellies]

Yes. If you want to keep Norton, then it is best to run the latest version of it (or the one before). I can't think why it won't update. If you want to keep using Norton, it might be best to ask on the Norton forum what to do about it not updating automatically. It may be necessary to reinstall it.