Slashdot Mirror
Symantec Adds Product Activation
maliabu writes "GlobeTechnology/CNET reports that Symantec has added an antipiracy technology to the new version of its main virus-zapping program, in the form of compulsory product activation. It is intended to protect consumers from widespread counterfeit copies of Symantec programs. The company estimates at least 3.6 million bogus copies of its programs are sold annually, causing headaches both for Symantec and unsuspecting buyers, who find out too late that the software isn't doing the job."
Symantec antivirus for home use is bloated as hell and has required yearly "subscriptions" for some time now. When that nonsense started, I bailed. Antivirus software should at the very least offer free updates to the virus definition files, given the havoc that these things have been causing of late.
Curb CO2 emissions: Kill yourself today!
A properly configured windows box is just as secure as linux, tell that to the folks at gnu.org that were trojaned since march.
I agree with "Say no to Symantec" but what you should pick up if you're stuck using Windows is AVG Anti-Virus ... you just can't beat the price!
--- I'll have a Bloody Mary, a Steak Sandwich and a uh Steak Sandwich.
Users who aren't currently bothered about the origins of their Symantec software lose out; users who thought they had bought Symantec-blessed copies will be notified at install time, not 12 months down the road when they can't get updates, and get accused of piracy if they complain.
I appear to have a blog. Odd.
>(and yes, I know it's technically virii)
The plural of virus is neither viri nor virii, nor even vira nor virora. It is quite simply viruses, irrespective of context. Here's why.
pretty much anything short of an xskey is trivial to generate a serial number for...no person in their right mind is going to do kernel level debugging to crack some app. just forcing the return address of some funct to always return some value or just nopping over a bl is much easier most of the time. if someone wanted to make another crack for your program, im sure they could do it pretty easily...except now it would only be distributed in tighter circles so you'll never know about it
Another possibility would be to use Panda Software Antivirus (free -as in beer- edition).
Trolling using another account since 2005.
Er, freeware anyone? Try avast for example - it's free for home (desktop) use, and has free definition updates as long as ye register.
I personally can't see what extra features would make me fork out on a costly alternative, that i can only install on one machine due to product activation, even though i have more that one pc at home...
Get it here. It's free for non-commercial use, even if the interface is a bit baroque. But so is Norton's.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
NO, there really is a free version. You can also get a paid version though.
"We don't know what we are doing, but we are doing it very carefully,..." Wherry, R.J. Personnel Psychology (1995)
I did not "miss" this effect of product activation, I just see it as what it is: A way for Symantec to deny service to users of illegitimate copies. A user of a pirated copy is worse off with activation than without: He has already paid for the software and can't use it. If the copy is identical to the official product, there's nothing from which the user has to be protected, unless you think that someone who unknowingly bought a believable counterfeit is in legal trouble.
When done right, product activation can avoid privacy concerns, but it still isn't good for the user. It's a pure antipiracy measure. Them bullshitting the users about the intentions of product activation does not create confidence in the scheme privacy-wise.
Our office of 50 people just removed McAfee from all computers and installed Virus Buster (Japanese edition) by Trend Micro (antivirus.com). Check it out, you might find it is useful.
Read the article.
Home i.e. NON CORPORATE products will require activation.
It would appear that few here have bothered to go look at Symantec's web site to see what they have to say about activation. Some of the things people have complained about, based solely on reading the Slashdot blurb, have no basis.
Interesting points are:
As a commercial software developer myself, I can understand why Symantec is doing this, though I too am amused at the "for your protection" approach that is so common. I also see activation is becoming more common (PowerQuest's new DriveImage 7 has it too), especially in products that people tend to buy once and install on multiple systems.
If formal and informal piracy wasn't so pandemic, such things would not be necessary. But it seems so many people believe that it's their RIGHT to steal software (or music), if they don't feel like paying for it. I know this is heresy for Slashdot, but there it is....
AVG Antivirus is pretty good, got automatic updates and it's free for personal use.
NAV 2003 turned out to be a dog. It took 4 installs & activations before it worked properly on my Win 98 box.
A month later, I replaced my Win 98 box with a P4 box with Win XP. I installed & activated NAV 2003, which failed. I uninstalled and reinstalled it, then tried to activate it. I was informed (by Symantec's web site) that I had exceeded the maximum number of installs and was politely asked to purchase another license.
Three phone calls to Symantec tech support were useless. They repeatedly told me that this was Symantec's policy and absolutely refused to give me more installs FOR THE PROGRAM I BOUGHT FROM THEM. (Not from a store, but from Symantec's Web site itself!)
I just bought MacAfee's product earlier this week. To hell with Symantec and all of their crap.
So far we've seen people mention Grisoft's AVG (which I use at home), Avast, and even F-prot for DOS - but I haven't seen anyone mention this yet
Housecall - online virus scanner-- got someone who thinks they have a virus? Just send em to this site, while it doesn't prevent viruses, it will tell you if any show up! Its good in a pinch, and if you think your current virus scanner might be missing something.
...unfortunately no one can be told what The Mat^H^H^HGoatse is...they must experience it for themselves...
I installed SystemWorks 2002 on my wife's computer (yes, I let her run Windows ;-), and once the virus subscription ran out it went into daily nag-mode, popping up a subscription renewal box at random times throughout the day, and with NO WAY to tell it to never pop up again. As far as I can tell, Symantec will not allow me to continue with the current level of protection without the continual nag box -- either I live with it, subscribe, or uninstall.
I'll never buy anything from them again.
Yes, simple when you have an internet connection. Simple when someone hasn't passed on your serial number before selling the item to you. Simple when your system doesn't corrupt and you have to re-install. Simple when you purchase your OEM OS with the computer, and the installation is tied to the BIOS only.
Just because you - or others you personally know - hasn't had any issues with it, doesn't mean it isn't a major headache for others.
Activation on 'third party' software has more potential issues that the OS itself. What happens when you have to do a system restore? What happens when you purchase a new computer?
Yes, shareware vendors sell you a license key that depends on your name - all rather irrelevant when you type it in, you just need to ensure you enter the same thing! As for PC config, I have never seen *shareware* that snapshots your PC config...