A cross-platform flaw affecting many Symantec security products - both consumer and enterprise - has been discovered. Users of Symantec's Norton SystemWorks 2004, Norton SystemWorks 2004 (both Mac and Windows), Norton AntiVirus 2004, corporate anti-virus apps and Brightmail anti-spam software (among others) all need to apply patches following the discovery of the "highly critical" security bug. In all 30 packages are affected. Story

A related Critical problem has also been found by ISS in F-Secure products, but related to the AJR archive format instead of UPX. They have hotfixes in place for current products that are automatically being destributed. Older products need to install the hotfixes or upgrade.

I knew that Norton was just a farce....they package it in PC deals and make people believe that they are a necessity....NOT! McAfee is another and then lets bring in AOL...Great way to jam things down a new buyers throat. There are freebies on-line that outperform most of the so-called PAY FOR utilities, I know, because I use them.

SallyG makes a good point. New PC users assume (wrongly for the most part) that if a free trial version from a major software vendor is already installed, it must be good. Especially if the software is installed on a major brand (HP, Dell, etc.) computer. That said, all utilities are not the same, and even the best ones change--for better or worse--over time. In that sense, a trial version is valuable. A good example would be over a year ago, when Zone Alarm released firewall 5.0. Both the free and Pro (shareware) versions were riddled with flaws, subsequently fixed. Of course, there's always the risk that a trial version, should you not like it, will not uninstall properly--or worse. IronMan's posting for Symantec's problems is a valuable heads-up, but I got rid of Norton years ago for other reasons (many documented here at Computing.net by the hundreds). McAfee too; their technical support can only be called, charitably, piss-poor. After trying several other antivirus utilities, I finally settled on Nod32, and then only after I'd researched the product in the major trades. It received uniformly good reviews, so I installed the 30-day free trial. A month later, I gladly payed for a year's subscription. This isn't a commericial for Nod32, just an example that, sometimes, one has to pay (and rightly so) for a quality product. Also, I don't presume my words will benefit the already experienced PC user. But for those new to the game, explore the online trade magazines for reviews. Ask questions of other forum members here at Computing.net for their experiences. In short: research. You'll save yourself time, grief, and (if freeware's not available) money.

PS I didn't address SallyG's main point, which was the high quality of some freeware itself (not just free trial versions of shareware). Good examples of freeware abound: RegSeeker, SpywareBlaster, CrapCleaner, the freeware version of Sygate personal firewall; just to mention a few. I've not found this to be true with free AV software. Of course, this is only my own opinion and experience. AVG7, Avast, Anti-Vir have all left me wanting more, for various reasons. Actually, it came down to a choice between Nod32 and Hauri, but I found Hauri too greedy with resources, when Nod32 could accomplish the same protection with fewer CPU cycles.

Hi everyone ... Just before I read this post I just purchase NOD32 , but I'm curious how it works ? Do you download first the trial version until they sent the rest of the info in a email ?? Reason as to why I am asking is because its now been a day and a half without hearing from them , Again I'm thinking its because of the weekend and they are not open at this time , Any idea or help ?? Thanks

Downloading the trial version first is not necessary. The weekend may have something to due with the delay. More likely, however, is a delay caused because a credit card was used for payment; your card is perfectly valid, but there's a problem with the company's server that issued the card. It shouldn't matter, but remember that Nod32 is in Australia. There are many intermidiary servers between you, Nod32, and the credit card's bank. :)