Symantec has released version 5.0 of its Norton 360 suite. Symantec calls Norton 360 v5, “the industry’s fastest, most effective all-in-one security suite.” Norton 360 includes backup and tune-up features along with security, which makes it a complete-suite.

The user interface of Norton 360 is different from that of Norton Internet Security 2011 but it offers all the same protective technologies offered in NIS 2011. Norton 360 version 5 features: Insight, which uses anonymous software adoption patterns of Symantec users to automatically identify and block new malicious software; SONAR 3, which monitors running applications for suspicious behavior to identify new attacks, crimeware and other threats designed to evade traditional detection; and Norton Power Eraser and Norton Bootable Recovery Tool, which offer detection and repair technology that enables consumers to clean up previously infected computers.

One of the additions in Norton 360 v5 is the Norton Control Center. This part is already seen in Norton Internet Security 2011 and Norton AntiVirus 2011 which offers a direct view into Norton Safe Web, Norton Online Family, and the new Norton Cybercrime Index. The index uses statistical modeling based on information gathered from Symantec and other sources.

Another impressive feature is Norton Safe Web Social Media Scanner which lets you check your Facebook Wall and News Feed for bad links and other threats from within your Norton Control Center.

Norton 360 version 5.0 is available directly from Symantec and from major online and offline retailers. Its $79.99 price includes three licenses and 2GB of online storage. For $99.99 users can upgrade to the premium edition, which features 25GB of online storage (up from 10GB with version 4). All users with a current Norton 360 license are eligible for a free upgrade.

If are a new user and want to test Norton 360 v5 before buying, Symantec is providing free 3 months (90 days) trial license. To download Norton 360 v5 with 90 days free trial subscription, visit the promotion page here.

Click on the button, Try FREE 90 days and download the setup which is pre-activated with free 3 months subscription.
You can also download the setup by using the direct download link below:

Download Norton 360 v5: N360_5.0.0.125_MS_LOEM_MRF1441_5671.exe

If you want to try Norton Antivirus 2011 for 90 days instead of Norton 360 v5, you can get it from the same promo page above or use the direct download link below:
NAV_18.1.0.37_MS_LOEM_MRF1325A_5452.exe

For protecting our computers from security and malware threats we sometimes experiment with different security suites to see which one is better than the other. In this process, we install and uninstall these security suites as it is always advisable to use only one antivirus or a full featured security suite at a time in our system. More than one antivirus or a full featured security suite that includes everything from a firewall, antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, and more can cause lots of performance and stability issues.

Although we can easily uninstall the existing security program using Windows built-in “Add/Remove Programs” (or Programs and Features in Windows Vista and 7) applet but it’s not a perfect solution. Sometimes the uninstaller of the program doesn’t remove all the components and registry keys installed by the security program completely, this can hamper with the newly installed security program and may even cause system instability and BSOD’s.

What should we do then? How can we uninstall the existing antivirus or security suite completely? Well, almost all the security suite vendors provides a special uninstaller tool which can remove the security suite completely from your system. We are here providing a list (not in any particular order) of these special uninstaller of all popular security suite or antivirus programs to save you time and energy in finding them yourself.

For most of these uninstaller, you just need to run the executable file and follow the onscreen instructions. Then after completion, restart your system to have a clean system again.

Kaspersky Removal Tool

Removal Tool for Kaspersky Lab Products

This removal tool can uninstall all versions of Kaspersky Antivirus and Internet Security, we have even posted a tutorial here before (How To Completely Remove Kaspersky Anti-Virus/Internet Security).

Norton Removal Tool

Norton Removal Tool Instructions

Norton Removal Tool Download Link

McAfee Removal Tool

McAfee Consumer Products Removal tool tutorial

MCPR.exe Download Link

Note: Please read the tutorial before using the tool.

Also, read how to fix improper or unsuccessful McAfee Product Installation with Free McAfee Virtual Technician if you want to just fix McAfee Products.

AVG Remover

Download Avg Remover

Here is the tutorial on how to remove AVG completely from the system. How To Completely Remove AVG Antivirus?

Avira AntiVir Removal Tool

Download Avira AntiVir RegistryCleaner

Avira RegistryCleaner removes all entries that were created by AntiVir. In this way, it prepares your system for the installation of a new AntiVir version. Use it after uninstalling Avira AntiVir using the uninstaller that came with it.

ESET Uninstaller

Manually uninstall ESET security product

Download ESET Uninstaller

Please read the instructions on the first link before using ESET Uninstaller.

Avast Uninstall Utility

Download Avast Uninstall Utility (See updated links below for more details)

Bitdefender Uninstall Tool

Download Link 1

Download Link for 64-bit version.

Some more of the uninstallers to completely get rid of the antivirus installation:

Avira Manual uninstall and Avira registry cleaner
Avast Uninstaller
AVG Uninstaller 32-bits
AVG Uninstaller 64-bits
Computer Associates Removal Tool
Dr. Web Removal Tool
F-Secure Removal Tool
IObit Removal Tool
Kaspersky Removal Tool (old version, see above for new version)
Microsoft OneCare Uninstaller
Microsoft Security Essentials Uninstaller
Norman Uninstaller
NOD32 Removal Tool
Panda (non-PCA) Removal Tool
QuickHeal Removal Tool
Sunbelt CounterSpy & Viper
ThreatFire Uninstaller
Trend Micro Uninstaller
Webroot Spysweeper Removal Tool
ZoneAlarm Removal Tool
Panda Cloud Uninstaller

[If these uninstall and removal utilities fail, there's a last resort tool which can also help get rid of all traces of previous installations of AV programs. It's called AppRemover and developed by Opswat. Download and run this tool if you are still having problems after trying the above tools:

Download AppRemover

If we missed any program, just tell us through the comments? If you know of any method to completely remove antivirus, share it too!

After uninstalling, if you are Windows 7 user, you may be interested to know which security suites are compatible with Windows 7. And also read How To Get 1 Year Free Professional Protection by Using Norton, CA, McAfee Security Suites Available Free for 90 Days.

Symantec announced Norton Everywhere, a three-part initiative to take Norton beyond the PC and extend trust to new devices and consumer applications. The initiative spans the areas of mobile safety, web safety across any device and embedded services on smart devices. Symantec also announced Norton DNS, a component of Norton Everywhere.

Norton DNS provides alternative DNS servers that can be used by any Internet-connected device. It has been designed to provide a safer, more reliable, and faster Internet experience by delivering a variety of basic protection services like anti-phishing, anti-malware and anti-spyware via Norton verified web filtering.

Based on the DNS, which stands for Domain Name Service or Domain Name Server. The DNS servers provide the translation from a URL (e.g. www.mytechguide.org) to an IP address (e.g. 69.163.228.227) that the computers and routers can understand to get the Web page to show up on your display. Using this DNS technology, Norton is able to deliver another layer of security to both the mobile and PC environments. Every time a user navigates to a URL while using Norton DNS, the URL will be verified first.

One form of malicious attack involves “poisoning” the information on the DNS server to redirect unsuspecting users to malicious sites. For example, an attacker could access an insecure DNS server and change the IP address associated with “www.paypal.com” to point to a different server. When users that rely on that DNS server try to visit “www.paypal.com” they are redirected to the malicious site. Some countries use the domain name system to block access to web contents and other resources. Using a different DNS provider then can prove beneficial and can also speed up domain lookup times, reduce web censorship and block custom error pages by the Internet providers.

There are other public DNS services–namely OpenDNS and Google Public DNS. Google’s DNS service, like Symantec’s, is designed to provide a faster and more secure Web surfing experience. Like Symantec’s Norton DNS, the Google Public DNS also provides protection against DNS cache poisoning and other common DNS threats.

The Norton DNS service works by filtering the DNS requests that are automatically created when you visit a Web page to determine if they are associated with fraud, spyware, malware or objectionable content such as pornography or violence.

Symantec provides an in-depth instructions for setting up Norton DNS for Windows and Mac OS X on the official Norton DNS website.

What do you think about Norton DNS? Will you use it or stick with your current DNS provided by your ISP or with OpenDNS or Google DNS? Tell us what you think through comments below.

Today, I found “special offers for Microsoft Customers” by Norton and CA. I think, after the launch of the final version of Microsoft Security Essentials, Symantec and CA both are providing their security suites for free use for 90 days, which is great! If you download all these four 90 days version of security suites from both Symantec and CA, you may get professional security free for more than 6 months upto a year.

Suppose, you have installed NAV 2010 and used it for 90 days. After NAV 2010 expiration, uninstall it and install the CA Anti-virus Plus 2010 and use it for 90 days and then Norton 360, CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2010 and Norton Internet Security 2010. Then you will get professional protection for free for more than 1 year (taking into consideration, our previous information about the free 90 days OEM version of Norton Internet Security 2010).

Here’s how to get the 90 days free version offer by Symantec. First, visit the promotion page and click on the “Try FREE For 90 Days!” button to download Norton 360 Version 3.0 and Norton Antivirus 2010. You don’t have to register anywhere, after you install the product you can test it for 90 days for free. You can also download from the direct download links of Norton Antivirus 2010 (NAV 2010), Norton 360 3.0 (N360 3.0) and Norton Internet Security 2010 (NIS 2010) given at the end of this article.

Now, to get the offer by CA Product Solutions. Visit the promotion page first. Then click on the Download button to get the registration window. Register for both the products and download each of them.

Update: McAfee is also providing 90 days free trial of their products. You can download them from the links below:

• McAfee VirusScan Plus
• McAfee Internet Security
• McAfee Total Protection

[ Download NAV 2010, N360 3.0, NIS 2010 ] [ For CA Products visit ]

This article is a compilation of the 40 must have tools for any system administrator or power users. These tools are all freeware and comes very handy in those nightmarish situations to save our lives!

Picture courtesy Javier Aroche

[ Additional information courtesy Sunbelt Blog ]