Removing Nortons

My subscription to Nortons Expires in 30 days. Overall I have been happy with Nortons but if I can get just as good a protection or better and not have to pay for it, I'll go for that. A couple of years ago, I submitted a thread about options for different anti virus programs and I got a lot of replies. And I did a little research. I have decided to go with AVG Free. My question is (after reading a lot of other posts) how difficult will it be to remove Nortons from my computer.

I have already downloaded the Norton Removal Tool. Will it actually be that simple? Or will I need to do more.

 

Hi, Ranger.

Norton Removal Tool has worked very well for me every time I used it.

I have always used it after the normal uninstall procedure failed and it always did the trick as far as I know. I'd be inclined to use it even after a "successful" uninstall just to be sure all remnants are removed. Symantec/Norton products have a reputation of integrating themselves very deeply in the operating system.

 

Then can I ask a question? Do I need to use Add/Remove in the control panel first and remove all Symantec programs then use the removal tool to get rid of what remains or do I just need to use only the removal tool?

 

Use Add/Remove. I agree with mailman as well .... run the removal tool when you're done in Add/Remove.

BTW, some Symantec products have to be removed before others, so don't be surprised if you try uninstalling something and get notified you can't. Just move on to the next Symantec entry and come back to it.

 

Norton Removal Tool

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I had Norton and switched to McAfee and I used the same removable tool. It worked fine for me . Just to be sure it went "bye-bye ", I went to add/remove programs" tool in the control panel. Being a "doubting Thomas ", I ALSO checked C:/Program Files for any folders left over. Isn't that removal tool referred to as "Symantec Removal Tool???" If you need to assure yourself, you can always email them through customer support.

 

Yes....Your explanation is very well put!! You are exactly right!! It couldn't have been said any better.

 

That went really smooth. Almost scary.

Micheal47, I did go to C:/Program Files as you suggested. There was no Symantec Folder there. So Nortons might be completely gone. The only glitch was that Windows Firewall turned off and would not turn back on. A reboot fixed that.

AVG is doing a complete scan right now. It found something in C:/!Killbox. They are files (trojans) that noahdfear help me remove a while back, so I am assuming they are Quarentined and not a threat.

I'll make sure they get deleted later

 

Error on my part for not making sure to have you delete the !Killbox folder. As you suspect, they are not a threat. Empty the AVG vault and the Recycle bin when done too.

Check your services to make sure all Symantec entries are gone. That's one of the few things I've seen as a straggler, even after the removal tool was run. Happy to hear it went smoothly for you too!

 

I didnt have to remove them, AVG did it for me. It just finished the scan and those three files are gone.

Services what services, where do I look?

 

Click Start>Run type services.msc and hit enter. Look for Symantec in the list.

 

Further steps

After using the programs own un-installer and making sure that it did not run from a shortcut somewhere I use PowerDesk to search the HD for ( for sake of this post ) Norton folders.

8 times out of ten times the folder(s) will still be on the HD. I then use PowerDesk ( a file manager ) to delete the folder(S). Then hit the restart button.

In the next step I use RegSeeker. At times it is ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING what is left in the registry. So at this time knowing the the program has been removed it is safe to delete the entry.

Make a restore point.

POWER down and restart the machine.
Remove any and all System Restore points and make a new one.

Defrag the HD.

As a last thouhgt. I also do this ( before the 2ndd try ) if something did not go properly with an install of software.

YES ! It does take a bit of time. Bit over the years I have found to to SAVE time and aggrevation. ( especially with a 2nd install )


BillyBob

 

There is one Symantec service there. The Name is "Symantec Core LC" I'm not sure I need to remove it. My computer has a hidden partition on it that allows me to restore it to when it was new. All I need to do is Press "Ctrl" + "F11" during boot up. The partion and the restore function is a Symantec/Dell installed program.

Is this service that program? Or is it something else?



So can I delete it? How?

Its past my bed time and Star Trek is on SciFi so it'll be tuesday before I'm back

 

The service is related to the Symantec AV product. Nothing to do with the ability to restore to a factory install.

Click Start>Run and paste the following commands, 1 at a time, hitting enter after each to stop and remove the service.

sc stop Symantec Core LC
sc delete Symantec Core LC

Done!

 

Tbank you Ranger SVO

I will now add a step that I forgot.

Check dirve folder/names to be sure yoiu have the right ones before deleting.

I also learned that from a mistake. Restore point bailed me out.( that time lol )

BB

 

Its still there. The only thing that changed from the link to the picture is that it says "Disabled" under "StartUp Type ".

I have tryed to remove it twice including 2 reboots. Its still there.

 

Just to be sure, you did copy and paste the commands above? You can also manually remove it from the registry. If you're comfortable doing that, let me know and I'll point you to the proper place.

 

Yes I did copy and pasted both commands one at a time and pressed enter after each.

My thinking is like this, it says Disabled and if its not bothering anything we can leave it alone.

 

Works for me too.

 

I'd go a little further. BillyBob suggested using RegSeeker to clean things up and that's certainly going to be helpful but here's a bit more that you can use to supplement where you already are with getting rid of Norton.