Why and How to Uninstall Symantec Norton Antivirus
Symantec Norton AntiVirus (NAV) is one of the most popular virus removal software applications and was first introduced by Symantec Corporation in the year 1990. Norton Antivirus software provides you with a reliable and efficient method to scan and remove viruses and spyware from your PC, block spyware and viruses from infesting your system, and stop unsolicited and virus-infected emails from spreading across various systems. Although it is quite beneficial for your PC, due to certain reasons, you may want to uninstall Symantec NAV from your system. Some of the most common reasons to uninstall Symantec NAV are:
- The software consumes a lot of system resources, such as RAM and CPU, while running a virus scan, making it very difficult for you to perform any other task on your computer while the scan is running.
- NAV adds thousands of entries to the registry that make it quite bulky, and what’s more, when you uninstall the software, it fails to remove half of these entries causing the registry to get filled up with numerous obsolete entries.
- The software tends to corrupt the files you download on your system.
- It consumes a lot of space on your hard disk.
- It tends to disrupt the normal functioning of the applications on your system.
- The NAV version may prevent you from upgrading to a new antivirus version and keep displaying a security alert.
- Symantec NAV is expensive and requires you to buy a new subscription every year to be able to receive live updates to keep your PC updated with latest virus definitions.
If you are frequented with Norton-related errors or are unable to upgrade your current version, then the best solution to your problem would be to completely uninstall the current version from your computer.
To uninstall all current Symantec products from your Windows XP system, including Norton Antivirus, perform the following steps:
- Open the Start menu, and select Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel window, double-click on the Add or Remove Programs option.
- Scroll through the list displayed in the Add or Remove Programs window and select one of the Symantec, Norton, or LiveUpdate options listed.
- Select the Remove or Change/Remove button to start the uninstallation.
- Repeat the process for related entries included in the list.
- Exit the Add or Remove Programs window and restart your computer if it does not restart automatically.
- Search for and remove all Symantec and Norton folders from your system.
Although it is simple to uninstall Symantec products using the Control Panel, it is not very efficient. It tends to leave behind thousands of registry entries that make it unstable and defragmented. Therefore, after performing the uninstallation, it is recommended that you search the registry for all left over entries and remove them. Because manual removal of registry entries is quite tedious and can cause unrepairable damage to the registry, it is a good idea to use an efficient registry cleaning and scanning utility to do the job. A good registry tool makes you a pro on handling all registry problems and ensures that your registry is compact and at its best performance. Other than using the Control Panel, you can also download Norton Removal Tool from the Symantec website and uninstall various Symantec products from your computer.