norton background tasks

Will I Amnt

since updating to internet security 2010 from 2009 im having problems with my pc freezing all the time,if i leave it on and come back say an hour later its always frozen,cant open anything or shut it down properly,this is often accompanied by a message saying norton is performing background tasks,what exactly can it be doing that it needs all the power available on the pc? its an intel core2 quad cpu @2.33ghz 4.00gb ram,i would hav thought it was enough to handle everyday tasks like this.norton silent mode helps but do i really have to turn it on all day everyday to prevent this?

TheGobb

cambo2008 wrote: »

since updating to internet security 2010 from 2009 im having problems with my pc freezing all the time,if i leave it on and come back say an hour later its always frozen,cant open anything or shut it down properly,this is often accompanied by a message saying norton is performing background tasks,what exactly can it be doing that it needs all the power available on the pc? its an intel core2 quad cpu @2.33ghz 4.00gb ram,i would hav thought it was enough to handle everyday tasks like this.norton silent mode helps but do i really have to turn it on all day everyday to prevent this?

NAV 2010 runs an idle time scan when the pc is idle. You can turn it of in Settings/Computer Settings/Idle time scan. Also note if you want to run a scheduled scan this must be off.

I cannot see it freezing the pc though?

More NAV support at http://community.norton.com/

death1234567

Tip: Uninstall Norton and install a good free anti-virus solution like avast!. You won't look back...

Will I Amnt

i already had idle time scan turned off,i think ill go with the post above as its obviously a norton issue never had a problem till i got this,thanks for the replies

dun79

AVGfree is another good free anti virus program

Komplett: Marc

Do tell us how it goes, I'll be interested to see if killing Norton and running AVG/Avast fixes the issue

I just use windows defender, a good firewall, script blocker for browser and malware scans once a week while i sleep. I still havent found an anti-virus that i like, they all seem to have issues. But i am obsessed with running systems that are actually idle when...idle, so dont heed me!

Overheal

Again, with people telling someone to switch cars because their check engine light is on.

OP did you perform an update to 2010 from 2009 or did you use a clean install method? (removal tool>Restart>Install)

Have you tried the Support options/Live chat? You can launch it from the Norton CP.

Normally it shouldnt be doing that. It does do background tasks but these should be suspending normally when you go back to the computer. If it doesnt, you can click X on the corner popup to suspend the scan - sometimes it takes a moment for it to suspend by itself if its in the middle of something intensive, like scanning a larger file. Causing problems during shutdown though is very unusual.

TheGobb

If i had known this would become a "dump norton get avast" i would not have bothered contributing

Overheal

Nortons support is actually quite good but you never hear about people with problems with norton even taking the bother.

unnameduser

I've heard norton is getting better - still afraid to try it though!

Viper_JB

Overheal wrote: »

Nortons support is actually quite good but you never hear about people with problems with norton even taking the bother.

The problem is that there is a number of inherent problems with norton, outside of removing and replacing norton (after working a few years in pc repair I'd strongly advise this) or just reinstall the application. An anti-virus program or internet security package should be as straight forward as possible it's something that's designed to save time, if you have to spend hours trying to fix it then it's completely pointless as the op cannot be sure that he is fully protected when the system crashes or stalls, it's very very shawdy work for a company with such a big name. If I were to buy a car and there was a problem with the car say...a sticking accelerator, I'd expect a recall and to have someone sort it out for me, I wouldn't expect to have to fix it myself with some guy over the phone telling me what to do. Sorry if I offend but really dislike this software it causes nothing but wasted time. Not saying that you should go with avast just say...anything else.

Overheal

Youre exaggerating.

Reinstalling is a simple as 5 minutes and One Restart.

As far as tech support goes I usually get credited a couple weeks of use.

splashthecash

Im having this same problem and I recently upgraded my subscription online cos it ran out. Ever since then I'm having this "Norton Internet Security is running a background scan" pop up every now and again...i can just X it, but im curious why its happening. I've also altered the settings to "Idle Time scan" is switched off...ill check it tonight and see if it happens

BostonB

TheGobb wrote: »

If i had known this would become a "dump norton get avast" i would not have bothered contributing

I'd be surprised if I didn't see that in a Norton thread.

Its probably the same on the Norton support forums aswell. :eek:

AV should be simple, with few problems. Norton appears too often in support forums.

Overheal

/shrug

I've renewed my subscription 3 years running. As far as I've seen they're getting better all the time and 2010 is pretty quiet with a miniscule footprint.

As far as the idle scan goes - i kinda like it - but as such i never tried to disable it. In the interest of Discovery I'll see how I get on with that later.

Will I Amnt

overheal,yea performed an update from 2009,also I only got 1 download so to reinstall I guess I would hav to get in contact with them to arrange for another which is a bit miserable if ya wanted to fully restore the pc or just reinstall the software

Overheal

cambo2008 wrote: »

overheal,yea performed an update from 2009,also I only got 1 download so to reinstall I guess I would hav to get in contact with them to arrange for another which is a bit miserable if ya wanted to fully restore the pc or just reinstall the software

Actually, that is One thing which bothered me in the 2010 edition. Theyve began marketing their download facilities. It used to be there was no cap on that.

But eh, the problem with that is they still offer the trial software which is the same thing as the full product, just with 30 days on it. All you have to do is get the trial download then plug in your Serial Key. Getting the Trialware is no more difficult than getting AVG, to be fair. Just give them your email. last time I did this they didnt even seem to check that the email address was already on their records or anything.

It also helps that if you renew around november/december I find thats usually when retailers have deals going on: got 2010 for 3 PCs for $20 on CD-Rom. Came with Norton Utilities too (but thats crock)

Will I Amnt

ill try getting the trialware I hav the serial saved somewhere,if that doesn't make any difference its getting the boot

Overheal

Yep.

Whats the operating System? When was the last time it was formatted (if never, how old is the Setup)? The machine has been cleaned up and fully updated?

If it gets booted, check out Microsoft Security Essentials

Will I Amnt

its vista o.s and it was formatted in december everything else is in order as regards updates and I use c.cleaner every so often

Overheal

Then that is strange. But like I said I just do a clean install versus a sit-on-top upgrade. Still, need to get home and disable the idle scan and see how that fuzzes out. Or did you put 2010 on clean when you formatted in december?

Will I Amnt

still had 2009 after formatting,so ill give it a chance with a clean install in the morning, cheers for the help.

Overheal

Hope it works out. It'd suck to throw away 9 months of a license.

joker999

Having the EXACT same problem myself really lookin for a solution here! Been flooding forums all over the net and havent got any solution other than remove Norton which im not really prepared to do as I only renewed it before Xmas. Have turned off Idle Time scans and doesnt make a difference. Its a feckin NIGHTMARE!

BostonB

I think you're trying to keep the tide out myself.

PogMoThoin

Norton is a virus, I see problems with it every day. I advise people to forget about their subscription and get a better AV.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65054163

Overheal of course won't agree with me, but he's a single user dealing with about 3 pc's, I see lots every day

sjunger

I had 2 different computers and both had Norton on them.At one time I couldn't connect to the internet and I took my lap-top to a repair shop.They told me that it was Norton was causing it.On my second new computer Norton froze my whole system.I removed it and got McAfee instead.It is such a pleasure,I have never had a minutes problem with it.:)
I will never use Norton again.If I got a present of it I would throw it in the refuse bin..:mad:..

BostonB

Have to say I won't attempt to fix a machine with norton on it. Too many bad experiences with it.

Overheal

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Norton is a virus

And Liberals are taking over america. And Mary Harney fat jokes are still funny.

Honestly every time I hear this crap Pog. "Norton is the virus!" "Vista is the virus!" "Hepatitis is the virus" etc.

We've had this argument until we've run it into the ground. Im not disputing there are alternatives. But the OP has paid for the software and might as well make use of the money unless you feel like reimbursing him.

Your anecdotal evidence is a thread where a users PC was having internet problems so they did everything under the geek army-knife and probably did more breaking than they did fixing. Naturally the only thing left to do was remove the then-broken installation. Lets nevermind the very good chance they did something they shouldnt have done in the first place.

Im frankly tired of your militant fanboi crap: just get over it and answer the OPs question.

Overheal

joker999 wrote: »

Having the EXACT same problem myself really lookin for a solution here! Been flooding forums all over the net and havent got any solution other than remove Norton which im not really prepared to do as I only renewed it before Xmas. Have turned off Idle Time scans and doesnt make a difference. Its a feckin NIGHTMARE!

Just to check: the Default settings are being used? Because looking here for instance, if you turn off the Data Extraction limit, that will seriously hang up the scan/PC when norton runs across an extremely large compressed file (>2gb) . The Limit stops it from going beyond 2gb for that reason. Even with a beefy cpu the Hard Drive would still be a nasty chokepoint, there.

Im gonna go ahead and disable the idle scan option (from Weekly to Never) otherwise everything else is default, to see if I can recreate the problem.

BostonB

It makes no sense to use something if it's giving you problems. There's a simple test you can do. Uninstall Norton and see does it make a difference. It's not a big job to reinstall it.

Dermot Illogical

Overheal wrote: »

We've had this argument until we've run it into the ground. Im not disputing there are alternatives. But the OP has paid for the software and might as well make use of the money unless you feel like reimbursing him.

With all due respect...that's a crazy argument. If a Norton product is giving problems and costing money at the same time, it makes no sense to keep it. Solve half the problem immediately by removing it. Put the other half down to experience.

Viper_JB

Ya it's pretty much much the equivilent of keeping a STD because you paided for the hooker.

Khannie

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Norton is a virus

You need to drop this. I'm getting very tired of it. By all means recommend alternative software, but you're deliberately looking for arguments with your post.

PogMoThoin

Khannie wrote: »

You need to drop this. I'm getting very tired of it. By all means recommend alternative software, but you're deliberately looking for arguments with your post.

But it is, it causes more problems than any virus ever could and I've seen this first hand. I know people making a living from removing it and giving pc's a new lease of life, a free upgrade. In fact their first question usually is "has it Norton AV?".

I do recommend other AV's, I recommended Avast in the thread I linked. I've not seen any "Avast probs" or "is Avast slowing my pc?" on the forums, the minute I do I'll stop recommending it. I did recommend Avg until the link scanner started crashing browsers and causing problems

Why not tell Overheal stop recommending it, You've seen the Norton problem threads on here and most people seem to agree with me

BostonB

You can turn off the link scanner in AVG when you install it.

All software has some issues. You expect that. You just don't expect as many as you get with Norton.

PogMoThoin

BostonB wrote: »

You can turn off the link scanner in AVG when you install it.

Until the customer sees it disabled and decides to turn it on again, its happened. Easier to just change to something without this issue.

BostonB

LOL I've not had people do that or the crashes.

linux . . . . *runs away*

BostonB

david7536 wrote: »

linux . . . . *runs away*

That creates far more problems than it solves. Especially with these kind of users.

Khannie

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Why not tell Overheal stop recommending it, You've seen the Norton problem threads on here and most people seem to agree with me

That's because people don't come on saying it's working just fine for them. My point was that you named him directly and we've had trouble over this in the past. I actually couldn't care less about Norton in the slightest. As I said, fire ahead and recommend other software, just with a bit less drama maybe. If you want to question my call further I'd say take it to PM so we don't have to have this in-thread.

Overheal

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Norton is a virus, I see problems with it every day. I advise people to forget about their subscription and get a better AV.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65054163

Overheal of course won't agree with me, but he's a single user dealing with about 3 pc's, I see lots every day

PogMoThoin wrote: »

But it is, it causes more problems than any virus ever could and I've seen this first hand. I know people making a living from removing it and giving pc's a new lease of life, a free upgrade. In fact their first question usually is "has it Norton AV?".

I do recommend other AV's, I recommended Avast in the thread I linked. I've not seen any "Avast probs" or "is Avast slowing my pc?" on the forums, the minute I do I'll stop recommending it. I did recommend Avg until the link scanner started crashing browsers and causing problems

Why not tell Overheal stop recommending it, You've seen the Norton problem threads on here and most people seem to agree with me

So which is it - do you see it everyday or do you make a living off it? I hardly think you're fixing peoples machines of The-Norto-Virus on a daily basis for hugs and beans.

Whats most grating is we've had this discussion on numerous occasions and you've got your same day-one conception (and talking points which are about as useful as "Fox News is Fair and Balanced"). I may as well be talking to a doorknob. Its disrespectful and ignorant at best.

BostonB

david7536 wrote: »

linux . . . . *runs away*

Apple... gets coat...

david7536

david7536 wrote: »

linux . . . . *runs away*

BostonB wrote: »

Apple... gets coat...

At least someone saw the humour

PogMoThoin

Overheal wrote: »

So which is it - do you see it everyday or do you make a living off it? I hardly think you're fixing peoples machines of The-Norto-Virus on a daily basis for hugs and beans.

Both, my work involves me diagnosing customers internet connection problems, some of which are directly related to Norton. My work also has me in touch with people who make a living diagnosing pc problems, we refer customers to them.

BostonB

Used to love Norton Speed Disk on System 7
http://legacy.macnn.com/thereview/reviews/diskutilities/speeddisk.gif

Its all gone pear shaped since. They turned into the crud you clean off new PC's.

PogMoThoin

Speaking of background tasks, the latest version of Norton on some new laptops is shipping with an online backup tool. Thats ok and is a good idea for the customer that wants it, until some unwitting customers child downloads a few gigs of films, then they wonder why their broadband connection is in bits.

Overheal

I wont speak for their OEM-bloatware. I am talking about NIS 2010 though.

Im not familiar with the tool but presumably you can set the folders to backup from and folders to exclude.

Its gonna be about a week before I see any results with my idle scan tweaks btw, but watch this space.

Overheal

Well I was playing a game, noticed a huuuge slowdown so i popped back into desktop and Norton was scanning. But I thought - it normally does that when i do this.

Opening up the task manager revealed a winSAT.exe - a windows 7 exe that tries to retest your system performance rating (seemingly at the worst possible opportunity) if youve recently updated, say, your nvidia graphics driver, on thursday (thats me).

Anyway I killed winSAT, norton continued it scanned shortly thereafter and I went back to gaming. So far no problems.