Previously used mcafee without problem, but got recomended 360 so i thought i’d give it a whirl. Uninstalled mcafee and then rebooted ok. Then proceeded to install 360 - then rebooted - all ok up to this point, but then it all went VERY wrong. Live update received ok, then i thought i’d run the PC Tuneup - BIG MISTAKE. All appeared ok until i turned on PC next day to be welcomed with the error /system32/hal.dll is missing or corrupt - please reinstall. No Windows, No computer, no Keyboard and one VERY hacked off Norton customer. Refusing to pay the £5.95 cost of phone support, i (very reluctantly) installed their chat program, waited for an hour for an analyst to be told ’sorry mate … got nothing to do with Norton - it’s a Windows problem’. Analyst was about as much use as a chocolate ashtray. DON’T RISK IT !!!!!

Hello Don’t RiskIt,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Love it. Blame Windows. And if you called Microsoft they would blame Norton. It’s a no win situation.

Regards, Ron

PS You may wish to read this article and comments:

http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/2007/04/02/another-norton-horror-story

The response was overwhelming negative about anything Norton or made by Symantec.

Also just purchased Norton 360.
As instructed I de-installed my expired version of McAfee Security center.
Within 24 hours computer was hosed.

Same error as Mr. Riskit: system32/hal.dll is missing or corrupt

I am seriously PO’ed at Norton and Symantec. I figure what has happened is much worse than any virus it could have protected me from!!

JG

Hi John,
Sorry to hear you also had the same problem. You may wish to give AVG a try. It is Free and I have used it on my personal systems for over 3 years and have installed it on over 200 client machines without a whimper.

Just a thought. Thank you for your comment. Ron

Same here - hal.dll missing. Also problem on Vista with 360 becoming non-responsive a few hours after boot, blocking IE and Outlook access to web. I hav now gotten a refunf from Norton and bought AVG Internet Security Suite which is working fine (and is cheaper)

Been running Norton 360 for a month now. I installed it, did a online back up then on my next system restart windows would not start. I had to format my disc and reinstall windows and everything else I had. Since then its been running like a dream and I am even quite impressed with Norton 360. However, I have been unable to recover the documents I originally backed up online. I’ve been backwards and forwards with Norton 360’s customer service and all I can say is ‘they are USELESS’ as much use as a wet paper bag. So in other words a good program as long as you encounter no problems and require assistance from Norton.

I have been a user of Symantec products for years. I am an IT consultant and have recommended Nortn to anybody that asked for advice on Virus protection. That has all ended after I installed Norton 360 on several client’s machines.

As other forum users I de-installed expired versions of McAfee Security center and within 12 hours all the computers had the same error: system32/hal.dll is missing or corrupt.

I am never going to use or recommend Norton or Symantec products again. And as for their support email or telephone helpline - forget it!! A virus would be easier to rectify.

Hello Steve,
Thanks for passing this information on to us. I was hoping that Symantec was finally get their act together but that doesn’t appear to be the case. I am sure you are aware from this blog, forums and other sources on the Internet that Symantec has had problems with their software even before 360.

I use AVG of home client systems and recommend NOD32 f or business systems to my clients. Just a thought.

All the best, Ron

just wasted 70.00 euros .I spend most of my time rebooting the system trying to get the damned thing to work. Norton 360 is a completeb waste of time and money. Don`t bother with it

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the information.
Ron

Installed Norton 360 2 days ago. Problems accessing LiveUpdate, problems accessing the anti-spam add-on files that really should come as standard on the disc considering this is a basic function. Repeated contact with Technical support in both chat and email only temporarilyb fixed the problem. This is because the MAIN problem is that the whole Norton system keeps reverting to NOT SAFE messages right across the board and the only option is to UNINSTALL/REINSTALL. THat works temporarily. THem more LiveUpdate problems and anti-spam add-on access problems that are temporarily resolved by Technical Support until MAIN problem 2 hours later returns….UNINSTALLL/REINSTALL..
ETC ETCH ETC ETC ETC ETC
I’m returning the package tomorrow. No more Norton for me. I’ll try your free recommendation and if I need more protection tha that I’ll shop around…but never with Norton. And 360 is an expensive package, too - you would think they would get it right. Cowboys.

Hi Gary,
There are some very good freebies out there. AVG and Avast are very good.
Ron

Just printed my return form out for 360 more problems then fixs

I have just installed Norton 360 and it’s a bit of a nightmare… I can’t access my hotmail account cos it’s just told me that the hotmail web page’s certificate has been revoked!!!! What do I do now?

Hi Trent and Norniron,
Thanks for your comments.

Trent - I hope you get your refund. Symantec actually has a fairly good return policy.

Norniron - Check on Symantecs site in the support section and see if there is a workaround for your problem.

Try this and see if it helps.
http://service1.symantec.com/support/norton360.nsf/docid/2006113022291475?OpenDocument&lg=en&ct=us&seg=hho&src=hot
Hope this helps.
Ron

I’m an MCSA, MCSE, A+, Intel Certified, HP Service Professional, Accredited Platform Specialist, and I’m a Network Administrator in my daily job. I represented Symantec here many years ago. Normally their stuff is fine, but usually resource intensive. Norton 360 is awful. I’ve got a client that installed it (nothing to do with McAfee), and a few days later hal.dll was missing. I spent 3 hours re-loading Windows, installing drivers, repairing resulting problems with Windows Update, when Norton’s decided it would do a system clean-up. I did not initiate the clean-up, and it didn’t give me the option to say “No” to the clean-up. Well, the clean-up put me right back to ground zero! Hal.dll is missing again! That’s a heckuva clean-up! You’re very safe if you CAN’T USE YOUR COMPUTER! Now I have an angry customer, 3 more hours (non-billable), and a severe pain in my neck and terrible headache! Avoid Norton 360 like the plague!!!

Hello Thomas,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I hear you about non-billable hours!
Regards, Ron

Installed Norton 2007 (three machine license) last year. Two crashed with corrupted windows registry. Made the same mistake this year. Purchased a three machine Norton 360 and the days of nightmare started. Every day is a surprise. Most of the days Windows says the registry was successfully recovered from a backup. Today Norton popped up a message that a component stopped functioning, please restart. Since then Norton is failing to load and stopped responding on manual loading. I have decided not to go for Norton ever again.

Pallab Ray

are the scans safe to download? what anti-virus software is the best?

Norton 360 is a P.O.S. Tried removing it and it and although it uninstall stated it had completed successfully there were norton files and registry items still loaded throughout computer. Could not connect to network, nor use DVD or USB drives. Tried everything. Called Norton and Windows support - same results as noted by other posters here (I like the chocalate ashtray comment from an earlier post). System was completely corrupted and this apparently is a common occurence based on prolifieraiton of internet posts on subject. Had to completely reload system and lost current files because I could not run a backup before reloading. Norton and Symantec have sucked for years and are the only manufacturer that has special programs to fully remove their software after an uninstall. Micsorsoft Vista is an abomination as well. Both Microsoft and Symantec/Norton are examples of everything that is wrong with the commercial software industry - crap products, poorly tested, horrible outsourced tech support to barely qualified “engineers” - don’t buy Vista and definitely do not buy Norton products.

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