Uninstalling Norton Internet Security

Topic

New Reply

How do I uninstall Norton Internet Security safely, cleanly and thouroughly?

Having bought a new computer running Windows 7 in November preloaded with a trial of Norton Internet Security I now find Norton want an arm and a leg to renew.

I am loathe to do so when, in the past, AVG has been perfectly adequate for my needs and in addition is free.

I have heard that removing Norton can be fraught with danger as removing via the add/remove programs still leaves entries in the registry that may cause problems later. I am aware that there is a ‘Norton Uninstaller’ obtained via the Norton Website.

My questions are:

1) How do I know which version of Norton Internet Security I have in order to download the correct uninstaller?
2) Do I use the add/remove facility on my computer to uninstall first and then use Norton Uninstaller or will the Norton Uninstaller do it all?

Any other advice to this novice computer user would be particularly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance.

Reply | Quote

Replies

Although I don’t use Norton, let me try helping you:
1) Usually, the version number is on the menu Help > About
2) If Norton provides a complete un-installer, use it before you remove the product with the Windows utility.

You may also run the product CCCleaner after the de-installation to make sure that there are no orphan entries in your registry.

Reply | Quote

1) How do I know which version of Norton Internet Security I have in order to download the correct uninstaller?
2) Do I use the add/remove facility on my computer to uninstall first and then use Norton Uninstaller or will the Norton Uninstaller do it all?

Hi David,
It’s difficult (from within NIS) to determine exactly what version you are running. Help>About displays the version # but it doesn’t tell you if the product is 2008, 2009, 2010, etc. However with your new machine, it’s probably quite safe to assume that you are running either a 2009 or a 2010 version. It doesn’t really matter though, as the latest uninstaller will remove traces of any recent Norton Product.

And NO, you don’t have to use Windows’ add/remove utility. The Norton Uninstaller will do it all.

Reply | Quote

I have found that Revo Uninstaller, http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html does an excellent job of uninstalling soft ware on my various systems. It actually uses the programs uninstaller first, then searches for leftover files and folders as well as leftover registry entries. One caveat, if the uninstall requires a restart, wait until you finish the extra search for leftover stuff and revo finishes before you do the restart..

Reply | Quote

I have found that Revo Uninstaller, http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html does an excellent job of uninstalling soft ware on my various systems. It actually uses the programs uninstaller first, then searches for leftover files and folders as well as leftover registry entries. One caveat, if the uninstall requires a restart, wait until you finish the extra search for leftover stuff and revo finishes before you do the restart..

I too use Revo Uninstaller which goes into the bowels of the PC to remove leftover files, folders and traces of program files in the registry. It’s great. Another caveat is when you do the Advanced search, the results show up as perhaps 40 files found and you are to check and delete ONLY the BOLDED items, but you may only see 15 bolded items until you click the sub-folders and then you find all that the scanning has located.

Hey Jude

Reply | Quote

I checked Revo Uninstaller yesterday, and I believe only the paid “Pro” version now works on 64 bit Windows 7. As far as the Norton uninsatall, the one on the Norton web site seems to do the job. I had to use it a few times because of a problem on a new laptop.
Hope this helps.

Reply | Quote

I have the free version of Revo Uninstaller and it has been superb on my Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit OS

Reply | Quote

In the past, Symantec products have been notoriously difficult to remove – hence the uninstaller on their website. However, with recent versions (read: 2007 and later), their add/remove programs entry has done a fairly decent job of full removal in my experience, unless the install is damaged. If it’s the trial pre-installed on many recent PCs, you should be OK with the uninstaller provided with the program.

Reply | Quote

I agree with Matt usually the uninstaller that came with is sufficient but norton does provide a norton removal tool on their website and in my experience i just run it to make sure all components are removed. just be cautious if you have any programs from pc anywhere as they have software they purchased from symantec that still puts symantec regkeys into windows registry and therefore may be removed if nrt is run.

Reply | Quote

How do I uninstall Norton Internet Security safely, cleanly and thouroughly?

Having bought a new computer running Windows 7 in November preloaded with a trial of Norton Internet Security I now find Norton want an arm and a leg to renew.

I am loathe to do so when, in the past, AVG has been perfectly adequate for my needs and in addition is free.

I have heard that removing Norton can be fraught with danger as removing via the add/remove programs still leaves entries in the registry that may cause problems later. I am aware that there is a ‘Norton Uninstaller’ obtained via the Norton Website.

My questions are:

1) How do I know which version of Norton Internet Security I have in order to download the correct uninstaller?
2) Do I use the add/remove facility on my computer to uninstall first and then use Norton Uninstaller or will the Norton Uninstaller do it all?

Any other advice to this novice computer user would be particularly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance.

Hi,the ONLY efficient and proper way to uninstall any NORTON products http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/pfdocs/2005033108162039?Open is the Norton Removal Tool.
Please visit the site and click on the appropriate product link.

Reply | Quote

Hi,the ONLY efficient and proper way to uninstall any NORTON products http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/pfdocs/2005033108162039?Open is the Norton Removal Tool.
Please visit the site and click on the appropriate product link.

FYI. Something odd just happened when I clicked the link. My printer window opened. I can’t say as this has happened before. So I tried copy/pasting the link from the “edit” window and still comes up with the printer window asking if I want to print. So I closed it all out and googled, “download and run Norton removal tool and the first result takes me to the same page D/L and run Norton Removal Tool BUT I also notice that to the right of this page is a “PRINT THIS SOLUTION” which when clicked upon opens my printer window. So I figure that the link put up was the link including the “print this solution” as well. Just curious so I did some further checking and guess I discovered the “problem” even tho I now know it’s not a glitch.

Hey Jude

Reply | Quote

FYI. Something odd just happened when I clicked the link. My printer window opened. I can’t say as this has happened before. So I tried copy/pasting the link from the “edit” window and still comes up with the printer window asking if I want to print. So I closed it all out and googled, “download and run Norton removal tool and the first result takes me to the same page D/L and run Norton Removal Tool BUT I also notice that to the right of this page is a “PRINT THIS SOLUTION” which when clicked upon opens my printer window. So I figure that the link put up was the link including the “print this solution” as well. Just curious so I did some further checking and guess I discovered the “problem” even tho I now know it’s not a glitch.

I do like checking out links that are supplied because they are teaching tools and broaden my ‘puter based knowledge
Hey Jude

Reply | Quote

FYI. Something odd just happened when I clicked the link. My printer window opened. I can’t say as this has happened before. So I tried copy/pasting the link from the “edit” window and still comes up with the printer window asking if I want to print. So I closed it all out and googled, “download and run Norton removal tool and the first result takes me to the same page D/L and run Norton Removal Tool BUT I also notice that to the right of this page is a “PRINT THIS SOLUTION” which when clicked upon opens my printer window. So I figure that the link put up was the link including the “print this solution” as well. Just curious so I did some further checking and guess I discovered the “problem” even tho I now know it’s not a glitch.

Hey Jude

Don’t worry about the print window,it’s not a problem.İt pops up so you can print the page if you like,as you have figured out.

Reply | Quote