Author Topic: Norton Identity Safe -- Free Download (Read 28551 times)

Midnight Rambler · « **on:** April 30, 2012, 09:38 AM »

Norton is offering Norton Identity Safe, a password manager free forever. Just download the software and install. Also warns you about rogue websites.

I used to use Access Manager Free and now use KeePass but free stuff is hard to pass up especially if it's from a reputable company. Have mostly found Norton products to be bloatware, however.

Josh · « **Reply #1 on:** April 30, 2012, 09:41 AM »

Wait, a free DOWNLOAD?!?!? WOW!!!!! How much is the product after your free "DOWNLOAD"?

Sorry, I hate this marketing ploy

cthorpe · « **Reply #2 on:** April 30, 2012, 10:44 AM »

Well, the page does state:

Download by October 1, 2012 and enjoy it FREE of charge forever. No strings attached.

Josh · « **Reply #3 on:** April 30, 2012, 11:43 AM »

Carl,

I understand that statement, and I commend them for offering that. My issue comes into play when they release a new version and the old one stops getting support, Roboform anyone?

That is my thought. Not saying it isn't commendable for them to offer this, I just have to forsee what the future holds.

IainB · « **Reply #4 on:** April 30, 2012, 05:23 PM »

Have mostly found Norton products to be bloatware, however.
-Midnight Rambler (April 30, 2012, 09:38 AM)

Yes, that would probably be true for things like their anti-virus programs, especially. (The superb Norton Tools of yore would probably be the main singular exception to this though.) And they used to put hooks all over the system and were a devil of a job to expunge after de-installation. It was like trying to get rid of a bush lawyer.
But Norton might have got better (said optimistically), and this freebie NIS could be useful.
I think I'd be cautious about it though, after past experiences. The only thing that has stopped me buying the excellent PGP (encryption) is the fact that Norton bought it up.

joiwind · « **Reply #5 on:** April 30, 2012, 05:52 PM »

Tried it : it called home during the installation, then asked for my email address and then to set up an account at Norton - I uninstalled it (and it asked me to reboot...).

Then I used WhyReboot? to see what Norton had left behind and WhyReboot? found 463 Norton related entries ...

No further comments.

x16wda · « **Reply #6 on:** April 30, 2012, 05:58 PM »

But Norton might have got better (said optimistically), and this freebie NIS could be useful.
-IainB (April 30, 2012, 05:23 PM)

I've had lots of history with Norton products and I have had a policy for quite awhile of never letting their software touch my boxes. However, after some research, I decided to relent and try Norton Online Family to help corral my daughter's Internet use. Not without trepidation, I installed and configured on three PCs. Within a week I had removed it, after its filtering did not allow the access it should, it refused to update its settings, and it blocked sites even after it was set to monitor only.

So maybe a leopard can change its spots, and an old dog can learn new tricks, but there are just too many other options... friends don't let friends run Norton...

IainB · « **Reply #7 on:** April 30, 2012, 06:55 PM »

Well then, judging from what @Josh, @joiwind @x16wda and I say in this thread, maybe we need a new term in the Internet vocabulary: "Nortonware" = "Dubiousware".

Out of interest, I took a look at the website in my Firefox browser and in my Chromium browser.
On the NIS features link, it lists 6 points: (which look very good):

Norton Identify Safe
From: https://identitysafe.norton.com/features

Save Passwords
Never again forget a username or password. Ever. Forget what it's like to go through tedious password resets.
Be Smart.

Fill Out Cards/Forms
Stop filling in the same forms over and over. Identity Safe can auto-fill your addresses, credit cards, frequent flyer numbers and much more.
Save time.

Store Notes
Securely save notes and quickly find them when you need them.
Remember Everything

Share
Found something interesting? Want to tell others? Share straight from Identity Safe.
Be Social.

Safe Web
Don't be tricked into revealing confidential information to the wrong crowd. Know whether a site is bad, before it loads.
Be Aware.

Safe Search
Avoid bad sites. Know whether a site is bad before you visit.
Be Selective.

Given that it was all about Norton security, it was therefore perhaps unfortunate that (in my Chromium browser), slap-bang in the middle of this page, there was site-spam. It looked very dodgy on https://identitysafe.norton.com/features - static, animated and flashing banners came up with all sorts of "click here" offers, some referring to free-choice.co.nz.
Webutation called it:

"Phishing / Fraud / Badware"

Some samples clipped from the Norton website (and by the way, I don't have an extension "Enhancements for Gmail"):
Norton site spam 2012-05-01.jpg

PhilB66 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 30, 2012, 07:46 PM »

@IainB
I opened the link in Opera and IE and the only adware/spyware related thing on that page is google analytics. No popups / ads.

IainB · « **Reply #9 on:** April 30, 2012, 08:42 PM »

I opened the link in Opera and IE and the only adware/spyware related thing on that page is google analytics. No popups / ads.
-PhilB66 (April 30, 2012, 07:46 PM)

Interesting...I just tried it in Google Chrome, and it is partially visible there - almost dead centre. The button bar is inactive/dummy though - as it was in Chromium.
By the way, the ads didn't pop up straight away in Chromium. They weren't visible at first, then there was a ghostly (transparent) flash rectangle, and then the ads started to appear intermittently in that rectangle, ON TOP OF the webpage's content, but still transparent (you can see that in the sample clips I gave, above).
In Google Chrome that single bar displays (look carefully), but no ads appeared - just that one line as per this snippet:
Norton site spam 02 - 2012-05-01.jpg

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #10 on:** May 01, 2012, 06:57 AM »

Me thinks I'll be sticking with f00der's fskrit & OpenDNS.

tomos · « **Reply #11 on:** May 01, 2012, 07:08 AM »

@IainB, could it be that you have a virus?
It looks clean here...

PhilB66 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 01, 2012, 07:31 AM »

Me thinks I'll be sticking with f00der's fskrit & OpenDNS.
-Stoic Joker (May 01, 2012, 06:57 AM)

+1 for OpenDNS
Check out CryptoTE at https://idlebox.net/2009/cryptote/

IainB · « **Reply #13 on:** May 01, 2012, 08:49 AM »

@IainB, could it be that you have a virus?
It looks clean here...
-tomos (May 01, 2012, 07:08 AM)

I wondered about that too, but no. I have it sussed now. I made a mistake. I do have "Enhancements for Gmail" in Google Chrome and in Chromium - it replaced "Better Gmail" for Firefox - in Chrome/Chromium. There's a switch on it to "turn off the few ads". That was not ticked - so still enabled.

IainB · « **Reply #14 on:** May 29, 2012, 04:42 PM »

...Check out CryptoTE at https://idlebox.net/2009/cryptote/
-PhilB66 (May 01, 2012, 07:31 AM)

Thanks for this link. I have downloaded and installed CryptoTE - which, by the way, stands for "Crypto Text Editor". Looks like a very nifty tabbed, multiple file container and .TXT file editing security tool. It uses Scintilla open source for the text editing part. On investigating Scintilla, I found a link to SciTE (Scintilla Text Editor) - which latter I am now also trialling as it says:

From: http://opensource.eb....com/SciTEInstaller/
What is SciTE?
SciTE, based on scintilla, is simply the best text and sourcecode editor out there. It is essentially an advanced replacement for notepad - something for coders, scripters, and even the average, non-technical user. It loads up pretty-much as fast as notepad which is a pretty good benchmark. Install it and throw away notepad and every other text editor you might have had the misfortune to install.

SciTE is perfect as a:
html editor
xml editor
perl editor
text editor
php editor
code editor
python editor

You can even customise properties files to handle languages not included with the package. It also works incredibly efficiently on huge files. No more crashes or lockups because the file is too big.

The emboldened bit seemed a pretty big claim and I thought it worth testing to see if it was true!

x16wda · « **Reply #15 on:** May 29, 2012, 06:42 PM »

The emboldened bit seemed a pretty big claim...
-IainB (May 29, 2012, 04:42 PM)

Scintilla is the bomb, it seems to be the innards of a lot of the best text editors these days. They all have a slightly different flavor (I am preferrring Notepad2 these days over SciTE, for example, and even over my licensed copy of Ultraedit) but they all tend to be blinding fast and can handle huge files (hundreds of MB) extremely well.

NigelH · « **Reply #16 on:** May 29, 2012, 06:55 PM »

Using Notepad2-mod

http://code.google.com/p/notepad2-mod/

Will set itself up as the default notepad app.
What an absolute pleasure.

x16wda · « **Reply #17 on:** May 29, 2012, 07:09 PM »

Check out CryptoTE at https://idlebox.net/2009/cryptote/
-PhilB66 (May 01, 2012, 07:31 AM)

Incidentally, if you like CryptoTE's encryption and fast Scintilla editing, but you think it may be a wee bit short on fancy editing features, be sure to add in Dolphin Text Editor Menu... then just select some text and hit ctrl-numpad-0 to do the fancy stuff. I liked Dolphin enough to contribute so I could use it at work.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #18 on:** May 29, 2012, 07:10 PM »

My standard advise top anyone with Norton or MacAfee stuff on their machine is to remove it ASAP. Both seem to work on the principle that the best internet protection is to make your computer so slow it is virtually unusable, and MacAfee in particular seems to be on most boxes I am asked to remove malware.

I used Norton for years when it was a good company but when Norton sold out to Symantec things flushed down the toilet rapidly and personally I would not let their crap near any of my computers (to the point that I use an original MS Windows disk on boxes I buy to make sure there are no dregs left behind).

I have found MacAfee still screwing up internet connections 2 years after users have removed it because their uninstall is so bad!

x16wda · « **Reply #19 on:** May 29, 2012, 07:14 PM »

My standard advise top anyone with Norton or MacAfee stuff on their machine...
-Carol Haynes (May 29, 2012, 07:10 PM)

+1 to everything you said!

cthorpe · « **Reply #20 on:** May 30, 2012, 12:46 AM »

I used to hate on Norton like everyone else in this thread.

I bashed it every single chance I got.

Bloatware, useless, heavy, "as bad as the viruses it claims to stop," etc...

Then I started having issues with NOD32. Issues that were brought up repeatedly at WildersSecurity in their recognized support forum, only to be discounted by their reps.

So I had to ditch it. Either that or ditch Firefox since I could not download any file that was compressed in anyway without NOD screwing it up.

People told me to give Norton a chance, but I dismissed them and tried numerous AV offerings, only to have problems with each.

Finally, I gave in and tried Norton AV 2010.

Immediately, I noticed 3 things.

First, it installed so fast that I was sure something had gone wrong.

Second, it didn't even suggest that I should reboot.

Third, nothing seemed slower on my PC.

Everything I had hated about Norton security products had been fixed.

Bootup times did not take a noticeable hit.

File transfer times were just as snappy.

Hard drives didn't thrash.

False positives didn't cripple my programs and utilities.

Everything has been so great since I gave Norton another shot that I recently I upgraded to Norton AV 2012 for all Windows PCs in my home without a second thought.

In fact, I even recommend Norton AntiVirus to friends and family without pause.

My Norton protected computer runs without a hitch.

What more can you ask for?

Btw...

Total working set size for Norton AntiVirus 2012? 22mb.
CPU use? Non-existent unless I am running a full scan.

Carl

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #21 on:** May 30, 2012, 04:41 AM »

Interesting Carl, not been my experience with recent Norton offerings but glad it works for you.

IainB · « **Reply #22 on:** May 30, 2012, 06:19 PM »

Interesting Carl, not been my experience with recent Norton offerings but glad it works for you.
-Carol Haynes (May 30, 2012, 04:41 AM)

Give it time. Maybe he hasn't uninstalled it yet and tried to install another virus scanner...
Unfortunately, Norton stuff usually seems to leave hooks all over the system. And I mean hooks.

With that thought in mind, and getting back on topic: I installed and then uninstalled Norton Identity Safe, in a controlled environment with no Internet connection enabled, and monitored the install and the program's attempts to communication outwards. I also studied the agreement (it's an image) that you make with Norton when installing the NIS software. I shall post the agreement up here - cannot find it published on their site, so shall screen capture the details from the image at install.
It is all quite thought-provoking.
Copied here is section 10 of the agreement (from OCR of image):

Spoiler

10 Privacy; Data Protection:
From time to time, the Software may collect certain information from the Device on which it is installed, which may include:

— Information on potential security risks as well as URLs of websites visited that the Software deems potentially fraudulent The URLs could contain personally identifiable information that a potentially fraudulent website is attempting to obtain without Your permission. This information is collected by Symantec for the purpose of delivering the functionalities of the software, and also for evaluating and improving the ability of Symantec’s products to detect malicious behavior, potentially fraudulent websites and other Internet security risks.

— URLs of websites visited as well as search keywords and search results only if the Norton Safe Web feature is enabled This information is collected by Symantec for the purpose of providing protection and of evaluating and advising You regarding potential threats and risks that may be associated with a particular Web site before You view it.
— Executable files and files that contain executable content that are identified as potential malware. including information on the actions taken by such files at the time of installation These files are submitted to Symantec using the Software’s automatic submission function The collected files could contain personally identifiable information that has been obtained by the malware without Your permission Files of this type are being collected by Symantec only for the purpose of improving the ability of Symantec’s products to detect malicious behavior Such automatic submission function may be deactivated after installation by following the instructions in the Documentation for applicable products.

— The name given to the Device during the initial setup of such Device. If collected, the name will be used by Symantec as an account name for the Device under which You may elect to receive additional services and/or under which You may use certain features of the Software. You may change such account name at any time after installation of the Software (recommended).
— Status information regarding installation and operation of the Software This information indicates to Symantec whether installation of the Software was successfully completed as well as whether the Software has encountered an error- The status information could contain personally identifiable information only if such information is included in the name of the file or folder encountered by the Software at the time of installation or error- The status information is collected by Symantec for the purpose of evaluating and improving Symantec’s product performance and installation success rate Symantec may also use this information to optimize its web-pages .

— Information contained in email messages that you send through the Software to Symantec to report as spam or as incorrectly identified as spam These email messages may contain personally identifiable information and will be sent to Symantec only with your permission. and will not be sent automatically If you send such messages to Symantec. Symantec will use them only for the purpose of improving the detection ability of Symantec’s antispam technology. Symantec will not correlate these files with any other personally identifiable information.
— Information contained in a report that You may choose to send through the Software to Symantec when the Software encounters a problem The report includes information regarding the status of both the Software and Your Device at the time that the Software encountered the problem The status information about Your Device may include the system language, country locale, and the operating system version for Your Device, as well as the processes running. their status and performance information, and data from files or folders that were open at the time the Software encountered the problem. The information could contain personally identifiable information if such information is included in, or is a part of the name of the files or folders open at the time the Software encountered the problem This information will be sent to Symantec only with Your permission. and will not be sent automatically. The information is collected by Symantec for the purpose of correcting the encountered problem and improving Symantec’s product performance. This information will not be correlated with any personally identifiable information.

— The Internet Protocol (lP) address and/or Media Access Control (MAC) address and the Machine ID of the computer on which the Software is installed to enable the Software to function and for license administration purposes .

— Other general, statistical information used for product analysis, and for improving product functionality.
In additon to the terms and conditions above, the following terms and conditions will also apply to Your use of the Software on mobile Devices :

— The Software may access the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) in order to generate a hash that ensures anonymity The hash is used to analyze and aggregate equipment data for statistical purposes. The IMEI is not collected or stored by Symantec. This information is used for the purpose of identifying the telecommunications device eligible to receive Content Updates for the Prerelease Software This information will not be correlated with any other personally identifiable information, such as Your account information. Alter the service has terminated the data is retained in statistical form exclusively for internal research.

Unless it is expressly defined as optional. the collected information as set out above is necessary for the purpose of the functionality of Symantec’s products
Information may be transferred to the Symantec group in the United States or other countries that may have less protective data protection laws than the region in which You are situated (including the European Union) and may be accessible by Symantec employees or contractors exclusively to be used in accordance with the purposes described above For the same purposes the information may be shared with partners and vendors that process information on behalf of Symantec Symantec has taken steps so that the collected information. if transferred. receives an adequate level of protection
Subject to applicable laws, Symantec reserves the right to cooperate with any legal process and any law enforcement or other government inquiry related to your use of this Software This means that Symantec may provide documents and information relevant to a court subpoena or to a law enforcement or other government investigation. In order to promote awareness, detection and prevention of Internet security risks. Symantec may share certain information with research organizations and other security software vendors. Symantec may also use statistics derived from the information to track and publish reports on security risk trends by using the Software. You acknowledge and agree that Symantec may collect, transmit, store, disclose and analyze such information for these purposes.
CPS / IDS 1.0 / IE

In the doco somewhere it also says that it uses your unique CPU ID, or something, to hash/encrypt data.
NIS is your Friend...

cthorpe · « **Reply #23 on:** June 01, 2012, 12:23 AM »

There was a 2 month period where I did not have a new subscription for Norton on one machine since I wanted to wait until all my machines expired to get the full 12 months.

I uninstalled it and shifted over to Microsoft Security Essentials. I had no problems removing Norton, no problems installing MSE, and no problems going back to Norton.

Oh, and for those who are bound to wonder why I went back to a paid solution instead of MSE? MSE slowed my system down considerably compared to Norton. And full system scans took more than 24 hours (with minimal computer use and no sleeping or hibernation).

Norton is not the same plodding, system killing beast it once was.

Carl

IainB · « **Reply #24 on:** June 01, 2012, 02:49 AM »

I uninstalled it and shifted over to Microsoft Security Essentials. I had no problems removing Norton, no problems installing MSE, and no problems going back to Norton.
...MSE slowed my system down considerably compared to Norton. And full system scans took more than 24 hours (with minimal computer use and no sleeping or hibernation).
Norton is not the same plodding, system killing beast it once was.
-cthorpe (June 01, 2012, 12:23 AM)

That's interesting.
Maybe Norton antivirus is only much-maligned by people like me who had some very nasty experiences with Norton in the old days, and it was a case of "once bitten, twice shy". (Norton Tools was very good though.)
Odd what you say about MSE - it has never seemed to slow down any of the 6 PCs I have installed it on. It seems to behave unobtrusively and seems quite fast.