I don't know how relevant my post is but...

I use the Norton Security with NAV. So far, I'm quite happy with its performance. Liveupdate happens everytime I go on-line (via dial-up) but it looks like my ISP is masking my true IP address, hence I could not ask Symantec to conduct a true security test on my system.

What I have observed is the sudden rise of Back Orifice 2000 attacks. Maybe it is from the websites I've visited (I do a lot of roaming as I need credible references for my writings every now and then) or the related links they display.

Also, my kids download demo games from Shockwave, Yahoo and from the offerings of Download Accelerator Plus and once installed, some of these games are reported by NS to be "attempting to listen to other connections" which they automatically block as recommended by NS. Then the game fails to execute and instead switches into a "Browser" screen. No harm done, just wasted time and ISP card in downloading.

One thing I do is check into the Windows/Prefetch list and delete those that are no longer needed or used (demo games plant them plenty) and somehow, boot-up time is significantly accelerated.

The news regarding the weaknesses of Windows IE got me worried, though. I've noticed that IE reports frequent errors encountered once I close it. I just hope Norton Security is up to the task of continually blocking intrusions when I'm online.


-G-