Yes - I can see you “found” a solution to the problem, but I can easily solve any PC problem by throwing a lot of money at it. Postings on just about all PC forums can be answered by saying “buy a new PC” but it won’t be long before that new one will start misbehaving due to it not being set up correctly on day one.
“I think I know as much if not more than the oik down at PC World” Yes - their solutions will be based on a wipe and re-set 100% of the time. That cures the problem of course but it won’t be long before the freshly set-up PC will start misbehaving due to it not being set up correctly once more. It must be frustrating to work there, as they wouldn’t let you apply your knowledge if you had it – hence the oiks!
“With more time and more knowledge I might have been able to fix the problem without the upgrade.” That’s why I said: Find yourself a good PC support person and get them to review your PC - you'll be quids in as a result.
“The people I have come across that have had Norton problems have often caused them for themselves, albeit unwittingly…” and “Of course it helps if they are properly installed and configured in the first place” Wholeheartedly agree! Things have got incredibly complex now and they aren’t going to get any simpler. It’s not true to say that to solve a Norton problem you have to uninstall it – it just has to be installed and maintained correctly - that of course applies to any software of that nature.
“one day it worked the next it didn't” It’s unfortunate that essentially a LiveUpdate caused the initial problem, and that Norton didn’t have the sense to add a dialogue box about running the Application Scan. However, the advice I put in my 25th October 2004 15:16 post solves the problem for now and for the future. McAfee works in exactly the same way, and “touch wood” really isn’t a good PC security motto.
I agree with Omark44 that it’s a shame to see people (including a mod) slagging off Norton. Correctly set-up and maintained, even the older versions will keep you safe from just about everything.
The connection to the server has failed = firewall.
Error message about losing the connection to the server = firewall.
Bounced e-mail/server refusal = incorrect addy or non-existent addy.