Well done Mik.

After all of that with Norton (I know I went through it also - regedit and everything) (next computer I buy is going to be from the dealer that puts on the OS and sells the computer and makes them like my XP computer I bought, which did not have any of that stuff on it - any of it before) it helps to learn about the computer by getting up:
 
Control Panel ->Administrative Tools and selecting -> System Configuration (right click and select Open) and going through that also and also what else may be there not to start (little update programs starting all the time) or start on the computer.
 
And then again more work perhaps in the Registry and any of that perhaps (because there was nothing else to do with these type of people in the world!).
 
But when it changes again (when you need to update always again ) then it will be there again as the default set by some of these programs.
 

I'll never use anything Norton again.  I use Eset for my antivirus (has been great - not free though) and Glary Utilities for all things system-maintenance related (and it's free!).

Well phooey... I'll be the black sheep and say I love Norton Internet Security (Firewall and AV). Doesn't give me any problems at all. I can, though, understand about all the left-over detritus after an uninstall.
 
 
It's way worse since the days of Vista. You'll get leftover data in %APPDATA%, in either LocalLow, LocalHigh, or the Roaming subdirs. You might also have to check both the .default and Public user %APPDATA%'s too. You'll need to check your program directories, there's probably the data equivalent of candy wrappers and Mountain Dew bottles left in there too. Last but not least, as noted, there's all the crud left festering around the Registry. It's a job to track down the references, and since time immemorial programmers have neglected to delete registry entries on application uninstall.
 
I usually run 'Clean your Disks' and 'Clean your Registry' provided by none other than....wait for it.....
 
Norton Utilities.

SuperG
Well phooey... I'll be the black sheep and say I love Norton Internet Security (Firewall and AV). Doesn't give me any problems at all. I can, though, understand about all the left-over detritus after an uninstall.
 
 
It's way worse since the days of Vista. You'll get leftover data in %APPDATA%, in either LocalLow, LocalHigh, or the Roaming subdirs. You might also have to check both the .default and Public user %APPDATA%'s too. You'll need to check your program directories, there's probably the data equivalent of candy wrappers and Mountain Dew bottles left in there too. Last but not least, as noted, there's all the crud left festering around the Registry. It's a job to track down the references, and since time immemorial programmers have neglected to delete registry entries on application uninstall.
 
I usually run 'Clean you Disks' and 'Clean your Registry' provided by none other than....wait for it.....
 
Norton Utilities.

Sorry, but it just has you fooled.  you don't realize how much it slows down your system. 

Sorry, but it just has you fooled.  you don't realize how much it slows down your system.

 
There's no slow down at all, no foolin'. There was a time in the past when I'd agree with you...but that was a long time ago. I don't trust MS AV all that well, it's just not as smart as catching web-based trojans, and I don't plan on disconnecting this particular machine from the web.
 
 
 

Mike, sorry to hear about your Norton woes.
 
I had Norton once. I tried to upgrade it but it would not upgrade. Symantec's solution was to uninstall the version I had then install the new version. Unfortunately the old version would not uninstall. That was many many years ago but I have never used their software since.

 
 
In my old days of technical support I got written up for accidentlaly trashing Norton to a customer. Basically I said ... if the product doesn't work, why are you paying for it?
 
At the time, the product was locking up the email ins and outs from any email client, instead of fixing the problem, or suggesting how to go fix it ... like telling the customer to go online and remove the email that says "blah and blah with viagra", so the program will allow the rest to download!
 
It is a part of support that is hard to work with and one of the reasons why most people stopped doing Internet Support across the country, because too many of these products are not "guaranteed" to work, and in AMERICA, you HAVE THE LICENSE TO ROB PEOPLE WITH THESE PROGRAMS, up to and including Microsoft and Apple!
 
Microsoft I have been able to deal with, but it has to go through the AG in the State of Washington, because you can't get through otherwise. They do not talk to their technical support, and that means that they don't want to know about the issues, and neither will discuss they discuss with people on the street in a call center! Apple, I have never been in love with the fake blonde with falsies and make-up!

SuperG

Sorry, but it just has you fooled.  you don't realize how much it slows down your system.

 There's no slow down at all, no foolin'. There was a time in the past when I'd agree with you...but that was a long time ago. I don't trust MS AV all that well, it's just not as smart as catching web-based trojans, and I don't plan on disconnecting this particular machine from the web.   

While I am glad you are happy with it, I find it hard to believe that it has changed in the last 6 months, which is when I removed it from my father in law's computer in order to speed up his system, which it did!

It hasn't, really, excepting the 2014 update that just came out. I'm not running anything special here, just an AMD quad-core. Anyway, it's really a moot point - I don't know your father in-law's configuration in detail and you wouldn't know mine - so we're left with personal views of the situation.
 
I do claim to run a tight-ship, though. I keep abreast of programs designed to run in the background, and which services I have enabled.