When Comcast reattached my internet cable the week before last, the results were interesting. Everything was fine with my phone (I use wi-fi when I'm at home, because in my area, Virgin Mobile's data is very, very slow most of the time.) And all was well with my tablet, a Kindle Fire. My Samsung Chromebook did a couple of updates, almost invisibly, and was fine.
But my HP laptop! Aaarg... not so fine. It wasn't the hardware, it was the Windows operating system... and the Norton security suite, provided free by Comcast. Now, I keep trying to set Windows update to not do anything without my permission. And somehow it always seems to revert. So as soon as the computer went back online, it immediately started updating, Presumably my cloud storage apps began updating simultaneously, as did every other piece of software installed on the computer.
The result was a computer that would barely run, taking many loooong minutes just to open a small file. I tried the System Restore function, twice before it worked correctly. But then I discovered that many programs, including browsers, could not connect to the internet. I could no longer sign in to Skype, my primary phone service. And nothing changed when I disabled the Windows firewall. I uninstalled my anti-malware program and tried to do the same with the Norton security suite that Comcast helpfully provides to its subscribers. But Norton would not uninstall!
By uninstalling and then re-installing the Chrome and Firefox browsers I'd gotten back some limited internet connectivity. When I Googled for clues as to how to rid myself of Norton, I discovered that Symantic, Norton's parent firm, has a downloadable tool on their site specifically for removing Norton security software! So this must not be a rare problem. From there, it was short work to download and use the removal tool. And voila, I could sign in on Skype, connectivity had been restored to all programs, and everything was running at normal speed. Whew!
The moral of this story, I suppose, is mainly not to use Norton (nor McAfee, as I've had similar problems with it in the past) for internet security. I've installed AVG Free now, and reactivated the Windows firewall. Security is important, but AVG is a highly-rated product and much less likely to cause problems on your computer.
I'm glad to be back online, and now without problems. I was encouraged at how well my Chromebook handled being offline. It doesn't even need to run anti-virus software, because it doesn't install much in the way of software, instead taking advantage of the wi-fi connection and all the cloud-based software. Without wi-fi, it doesn't do much.
I guess a secondary moral would be that if you need or prefer to use Windows as an operating system, and many of us do, keep it and all your software updated by connecting regularly to the internet.
As an aside, we're having spectacular early fall weather here in Delaware. This is absolutely my favorite time of the year, with days still warm but nights cooling off. We need to enjoy it while we can. I hear the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a bitterly cold winter.
But my HP laptop! Aaarg... not so fine. It wasn't the hardware, it was the Windows operating system... and the Norton security suite, provided free by Comcast. Now, I keep trying to set Windows update to not do anything without my permission. And somehow it always seems to revert. So as soon as the computer went back online, it immediately started updating, Presumably my cloud storage apps began updating simultaneously, as did every other piece of software installed on the computer.
The result was a computer that would barely run, taking many loooong minutes just to open a small file. I tried the System Restore function, twice before it worked correctly. But then I discovered that many programs, including browsers, could not connect to the internet. I could no longer sign in to Skype, my primary phone service. And nothing changed when I disabled the Windows firewall. I uninstalled my anti-malware program and tried to do the same with the Norton security suite that Comcast helpfully provides to its subscribers. But Norton would not uninstall!
By uninstalling and then re-installing the Chrome and Firefox browsers I'd gotten back some limited internet connectivity. When I Googled for clues as to how to rid myself of Norton, I discovered that Symantic, Norton's parent firm, has a downloadable tool on their site specifically for removing Norton security software! So this must not be a rare problem. From there, it was short work to download and use the removal tool. And voila, I could sign in on Skype, connectivity had been restored to all programs, and everything was running at normal speed. Whew!
The moral of this story, I suppose, is mainly not to use Norton (nor McAfee, as I've had similar problems with it in the past) for internet security. I've installed AVG Free now, and reactivated the Windows firewall. Security is important, but AVG is a highly-rated product and much less likely to cause problems on your computer.
I'm glad to be back online, and now without problems. I was encouraged at how well my Chromebook handled being offline. It doesn't even need to run anti-virus software, because it doesn't install much in the way of software, instead taking advantage of the wi-fi connection and all the cloud-based software. Without wi-fi, it doesn't do much.
I guess a secondary moral would be that if you need or prefer to use Windows as an operating system, and many of us do, keep it and all your software updated by connecting regularly to the internet.
As an aside, we're having spectacular early fall weather here in Delaware. This is absolutely my favorite time of the year, with days still warm but nights cooling off. We need to enjoy it while we can. I hear the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a bitterly cold winter.
Good to know Norton's own removal tool works. As to McAfee, I terminated that with prejudice when they started using their virus warning popup for advertising.
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