The Norton Scam (aka Principles of Marketing 101)
Sometimes I wonder why people look at me with such surprise when I tell them to ditch the Norton Internet Security software they shelled out 60 bucks for just a month ago, in favor of a free antivirus program like Avast (our personal favorite) or AVG. After all, common sense would tell us that the $60 Norton product must provide superior protection to any free antivirus, right?
Wrong. Let me tell you the story of Norton Internet Security, one of the biggest scams in the technology world today. Once upon a time, Norton utilities were fine, upstanding products that saved millions of computers from certain death. In 1990, a company called Symantec saw the success and growing market share of the Norton products, and with dollar signs in their eyes, they acquired the superstar line of products engineered by Norton.
As the years went on, Symantec found clever ways to increase their bottom line. They paid Dell and other PC manufacturers to pre-install 30 day trials of Norton Internet Security on new computers, which made the consumers' choice to purchase Norton Antivirus almost inevitable.
Symantec has also convinced consumers of the need to upgrade to the latest (and greatest?) version of their security suite year after year. Especially when looking at the consumer market, there is absolutely nothing about the development of security threats that warrants purchasing a whole new security product every year. Yes, viruses and other types of malware change and are invented daily, but this is the reason why antivirus products download updates to help them keep abreast of the latest threats.
Nonetheless, each year, Symantec continues to cram more and more unnecessary features into its product, leaving consumers with a bloated security suite that leaves all but the newest, fastest computers in complete disarray. If you'd like to bring your 4 year old computer to a crashing halt, try installing the latest version of Norton Internet Security, and you'll see what I mean. I've had clients who come to us ready to replace their computer, only to discover that simply replacing Norton extends the life and performance of their PC well into the future. To top it all off, the protection offered by Norton Antivirus doesn't even stack up to some of the great, free antivirus programs.
So why do people continue to buy Norton Internet Security? While I can't say for sure, I would like to point to this review by PC Magazine. Notice the discrepancy between the editor's review (4.5/5 stars) versus the 43 reader reviews (average 2 stars)? The fact that PC Magazine would make this product their "Editor's Choice" (yet again), is shameful. Especially in light of some of the seriously good products that are out there competing with Norton. I guess those Norton Internet Security ads plastered on the pages of the PC Magazine website and publication buy more than just the paper they're printed on.
