Symantec pulls Norton patch after error reports

This is the error message on the Norton support Web site after users reported that the patch failed to install properly.

(Credit: Symantec)

Symantec is providing a fix for customers who got error messages after a patch deployment went awry for some Norton users, the company said on Tuesday.

The problem started last Wednesday when Symantec deployed patches for Norton AntiVirus 2009, Norton Internet Security 2009, and Norton 360 v3 via LiveUpdate. Some customers received error messages saying that there was a problem with the Symantec Service Framework.

The patch, which is supposed to communicate with the hardware to ensure that it is correctly installed, did not handle the response from the hardware properly after it was installed, a company spokeswoman said.

The problem affected a small number of users, or fewer than 1 percent, and most of the customers reporting a problem are using PCs that have been specially configured or customized and are not "out-of-the-box" PCs and "only after reboot," the spokeswoman said.

There were more than 630 messages on the Norton user forum about the topic, a number of which expressed frustration with Symantec and accused the company of not doing enough to keep customers informed about the problem.

"This is insane. I'm looking for other antivirus options now and will soon remove Norton from all three of my machines. Next I'm going to post a review on Epinions advising others to stay far away," wrote one user. "This is garbage and I've had more than enough."

Another user wrote: "Well I just used the Norton Removal Tool for likely the last time. When the browser window with the Norton reinstallation instructions popped up, I chuckled as I closed it out and navigated to a competitor site were I promptly downloaded another AV product."

The company first learned of the problem from posts to the forum last Wednesday and posted messages the next day saying it was investigating the problem. It then provided an official response on Friday saying the problem had been identified, according to the spokeswoman. The fix was posted on Symantec's knowledge base and the forum on Saturday, she said.

Symantec customers can visit this Symantec page to download the fix.

Symantec also set up a link on Tuesday through Microsoft WinQual to help users locate a fix and will make the fix available to customers automatically via LiveUpdate this week, according to the spokeswoman.

The problem comes less than six months after Symantec released a diagnostic patch for some of its older Norton products that did not identify its origin and thus triggered alerts on firewalls. The company blamed human error for the release of the unsigned patch, a program dubbed "PFST.exe."

[BAMAToNE]

Never had a problem with Avast! in my life.

[jcomputm]

I have AVG. No problem here exept for that time I first installed AVG and the installer crashed during file extraction. I still like it though.

[Lerianis3]

AVG has had problems as well. Didn't you see their 'classifying necessary Windows files as viruses' problems not three months ago?

[jake3373]

I've never had a problem with AVG Free, using it on both of my machines (XP and Win7)

[ti99_forever]

Good luck to the person wanting to remove the Norton Virus from their 3 PCs. It doesn't remove easily...

[Lerianis3]

Actually, yes, it does. Just run the frigging uninstaller that Symantec supplies...... DONE! The only time you MIGHT have a problem is when you are like me and test their 'beta versions' of NIS.
Really, I got this error with NIS 2010 Beta until the 119 version..... someone at Symantec didn't do their coding correctly.

[paulej]

ti99_forever is correct that it does not always remove easily or completely. That's why the company provides a separate tool called the "Norton Removal Tool". Google it and you'll be able to completely remove all Norton products. (In theory, at least. It has worked for me in the past when things did not go well.)

[menty666]

It would have been nice of them to send a message out of some sort. I only found out about it when I went to their site to find the reinstallation tools.

Frankly I've got 90 days or so left on my multi-pc sub. I'm going to be looking at AVG and Kapersky.

The good news...the tool Symantec provided fixed the problem. But the larger issue is that it seems when that framework problem happened it took out the entire sw suite. So my machine was running unprotected because of *their* mistake.

[Bill_I]

Norton AV was the gold standard, but when Peter Norton sold out to Symantec things went downhill. --- The whole thing reminds me of the TV news, where they keep telling you how good they are, and interrupting you with commercials. --- Once installed, your system is infected, best way to exorcise it is to back up your data, reformat your drive and reinstall the OS and all your apps. --- I do not have the time to waste a day rebuilding my computer !

[ambigous]

From what I recall, Norton AV was a Symantec product since it's inception. Peter Norton had originally produced the Norton Utilities which did no include any AV capability. Symantec bought Norton's business as well as the rights to his name, adding AV software to the product line a few years later.

[guid70]

Thank God that i am not a big fan of Norton. I've used AVG and it worked good, but I have PC Tools Internet Security that work really good than Norton. What you all think?

[robertewilson]

I encountered this N360 V3 problem but the hot fix provided by Symantec quickly corrected it. It can be retrieved from their file sharing site but requires username/password access. Contact Norton online support and they will provide and install the fix, which took only a few minutes. Tech support is included in the subscription price for the product, so take advantage of it.