Comments on: Symantec CEO says no Vista for me

Symantec CEO John Thompson takes a dim view of Microsoft's new operating system--and that's just for starters.

[Htos1]

I agree/disagree

Yeah,I'm not installing Vista as my only 64bit os,either.I'm quite happy w/XP64 on the dual cpu system.All i ever need is drivers!(hey Avid systems-word!)It's a dejavu a la 08/95.I tearfully said goodbye to Symantec(Norton)a while back when multiple viruses blew right by it but were stopped cold by the free client we all know.I may put a copy of Vista on my utility partition and see what it's got,but XP64 is just great.

[ruibo]

A bit of hyperbole on CNet's part

I watched the interview...what he said is that he uses the laptop his company gave him, and his compmany hasn't made a commitment to use vista. So what? Most company's haven't handed out new laptops with Vista yet. Does this mean that he will refuse a new laptop later? Probably not.

The headline grabs attention, and I guess that worked because this is such a poplular article. But the implication that the CEO refuses to use Vista isn't supported by the details.

[frmtrkr]

symantric junk

norton does not catch viruses, symantric does not back their product and 6 weeks before your program needs to be rebought to keep upgrades coming, symantric (norton) stops working, unless you pay 6 weeks in advance. i thought when you paid for a year you got 12 months,not 10.5 months would rather not have a computer than ever purchase symantric anything

[davidmec]

100% less overhead

Does that mean the OS, somehow doesn't use any resources on the Computer, HD, Memory, CPU ?, Whow!!! Mac is way undercharging for their OS, they should enter the Scientific computer relm !!!!!!!!, Free context switching here we come, !!!!!

[VernonE]

SORRY, NO NORTON FOR ME!!

I swore off all Norton products several years ago - too much
trouble!!!!!

[cybervigilante]

Norton Customer Service Totally Rotten

My Norton backup failed. Arcane database error. I need it to back up commercial work. I've written twice in Two Weeks and no response. Their customer service is TOTALLY ROTTEN!

[fishman35]

Gimme Vista, hold the Symantec please

Norton hasn't been the same since Peter Norton sold the company years ago. The corporate edition is "alright", but the home editions are as bloated and bad as McAfee. The best antivirus is free and the best defense is knowledge. Vista actually does keep infections out, as long as you do not disable UAC. Symantec is just upset that they had to write new code for Vista because user 0 is locked out.

[fcekuahd]

Oh yeah, and hold the Vista too

eom

[onlyauser]

Happier once I dumped Norton/Symantec

Happier once I dumped Norton/Symantec. I hate their products and would rather use anything else.

[Ed-duh-win]

Because he sells AV products

He says that Vista is not a security solution - while it is true, it is because he sells the security suites. Ask a third-party analyst the same thing, and the answer should be more straightforward.

[solrosenberg]

Symantec Crapware

The funny thing is, while you have some people who like Vista and some people who hate Vista, I haven't heard of anyone who likes Symantec security products. Symantec is viewed as a necessary evil in all of the IT shops I know. Now that OneCare is shipping and Forefront is in beta, most MS shops will junk Symantec and just use MS.

[ckani]

Both seem bad on the consumer standpoint

Vista more concerned over DRM standards.
Norton should have re-branded Sygate instead of buying them out and keeping their bloated software while dumping the much better firewall software.

[manicjames]

why is Norton number 1?

Because they do deals with manufactures and computer shops so they push their product over others. I know people who hate Norton Internet Security but are told to sell it to people on a daily basis. The only good thing about Norton is its ease of use, it's either all on or all off, you can't have something disabled and not know about it.

Having said that, installing Norton Internet Security on a new PC is like getting a caravan attached to the back of a new sports car.

Why oh why is it so resource intensive ? Why do they use a stupid yellow window border. You've just paid $100 for Vista's new aero interface and you get this horrid yellow thing.

The fact is, Microsoft can't win. They make a security o/s and they get sued by Symantec and MacAfee - they make an unsecured OS and they get a bad reputation.

[smcgui5]

It's not about the OS, It's about the user

From a professional standpoint it really doesn't matter which OS and combination of AV/security software you run. You can have the most secure OS and the most secure software in the world; but if the end user decides to start downloading crap from questionable sites or open unknown emails with unknown attachments your whole security strategy gets blown right out the window. Your best bet is to use-lest's all say it together-COMMON SENSE. Your "ultra-secure" operating system and high-tech fantabulous anti-virus/firewall software can be torn down and turned into swiss cheese if you or your end users don't practice....what was that again???? Oh yeah, COMMON SENSE.

And by the way, Zone Alarm is a crap program and it makes networking damn near impossible.

Scott