Norton AV tech claims that all of their program CAN'T be removed????

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
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After being infected with a virus while running Norton AV, we uninstalled it and downloaded Avast v4.7 home. We kept getting infected by spyware…5 infections in one day AND we had Avast running. We ran other programs suggested by MS virus techs and cleaned ourselves up…repeatedly, as Avast continues to not stop or find new infections until they are already found and contained in the quarantine files created by the anti-spyware programs we are now also using. After some help on this forum, we used MS’s add/install programs to remove more of the Norton still lurking and then ran the Symantec removal tool, twice. Then we did another search and found more Symantec files still on the computer, were reinfected a few more times by spyware and Avest was still not catching any of it until after the fact. Yesterday, I tried to download my MS updates and MS disconnected me, yet again, with a warning that we were being attacked by spyware. This happens every time we go online now. Avast never caught that infection either. I cleaned it again. Then, I ran a search for Norton files. I had always searched for Symantec files and knew there were still 3 of those left that denied me access when I tried to delete them. I found a Norton 2004 (we were using 2007 when this all started) firewall still on the computer, which was already installed when we bought the computer from HP. We just spoke with a Symantec tech who helped us finally remove the Norton AV firewall files and all but 1 of the remaining Symantec files. She then read from a manual for about 3 minutes, explaining that the last Symantec file, which contains the quarantine file (which is empty…contains 0 bytes of info) can NEVER be removed as it will stop our windows XP programs from working. The file is in C:\documents and settings\all users\application data[b]Symantec[/b]\SRTSP\Quarantine

My questions are:

Could those hidden Symantec and Norton files have caused Avest to download improperly in the first place and make it as useless as it has been?

Will that 1 last Symantec file, that they claim can never be removed, continuously cause Avest (and any other AV program) to malfunction?

Should I try removing Avest and reinstalling it again? How do I do it? Do I need a new reg key?

We are getting DSL from our phone co. next week and there will be a firewall included. How do I set it up so it’s compatible with Avest?

This is getting ridiculous.

Thanks again for everyone’s help so far. I now know more about my computer than I ever wanted to know!!

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I suggest:

  1. Remove NAV through Add/Remove programs from Control Panel. Boot.
  2. Use Norton Removal Tool for Windows 2000/XP/Vista. Boot.
  3. Install avast! (or repair the installation) and boot.
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:slight_smile: Hi :

There has been a recent article about trying additional “steps” AFTER
uninstalling Norton from “Add or Remove Programs” AND using the Norton
Removal Tool" titled “Symantec uninstaller may not finish the job” at
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/080207 .

Avast is NOT designed to detect every piece of malware floating around on
net, which is WHY there are antiSPYWARE/antiTROJAN programs, HIPS
programs, firewalls, etc . IF you keep getting “re-infected”, it means either
you have unsafe surfing habits and/or you have a very serious piece of
malware that can ONLY be removed by use of “speciality” tools utilized by
experienced, trained, certified “Malware-Fighters” that staff many such
Support Forums .

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Tech:
We have already done everything you suggest, except to repair the Avast installation. How do I do that?

Spiritsongs:
We have had Avast installed for 2 weeks now. It didn’t stop or catch the trojan horse virus we were first infected with and has never found any of the malware infections. When we get MS warnings and it disconnects us from the net, we reboot, run an Avast scan (it always finds nothing), then we run a Super Anti Spyware scan, it finds spyware, we delete it and scan again. For some reason, Avast can only “find” the virus or malware when another program is run and puts the offensive files in a quarantine folder. Avast then finds the quarantine folder. As for unsafe surfing habits, since this all started, we only come to this site and the MS site for updates. We’re afraid to go anywhere else, as it seems we are getting NO protection from Avast at all. How do I fix it?

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Go to …

Control panel > Add/Remove programs > click on avast! antivirus > click on Change/Remove > scroll down the left pane and click on Repair > click on OK and follow directions

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CharleyO answered :wink: