Norton Removal and Reinstall Tool (NRnR)

[SilverLeaf]

Maybe I'm just late to the party, but I just came across this tool for the first time. So, in case anyone else isn't aware either, Norton has a tool called the Norton Remove and Reinstall Tool. It is different than the plain removal tool.

The Norton Remove and Reinstall tool uninstalls all supported Norton products from your computer, and reinstalls the latest version of your Norton security product. If you already have the latest version of Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, or Norton 360, the Norton Remove and Reinstall tool reinstalls the same version of the Norton security product on your computer.

Seems like this would be handy in some situations...like easily re-installing a broken or corrupt Norton after virus removals...which is how I came across it.

 

[Xander]

New to me. Thanks. Added it to the D7 cloud list, too.

 

[NYJimbo]

"...and Reinstall Tool"

We need some real tech reviews on this part. I would love to do a virus clean and then give them back their precious "Norton" but not have to deal with a license or reactivation issue. Because many of them say "I still have X number of days left in my Norton" and if I can tell them "Ok, I'll put it back but if it gets infected again, it will cost you", that would make me very happy.

 

[SilverLeaf]

"...and Reinstall Tool"

We need some real tech reviews on this part. I would love to do a virus clean and then give them back their precious "Norton" but not have to deal with a license or reactivation issue. Because many of them say "I still have X number of days left in my Norton" and if I can tell them "Ok, I'll put it back but if it gets infected again, it will cost you", that would make me very happy.

This was exactly why I was happy to find it.

I can't give a lot of detail yet, but I ran the tool and it seemed to do what it was supposed too. However, I was getting some error messages afterwards on reboot. But I suspect that this is due to the fact that the malware and subsequent removal seems to have destroyed the operation of just about every Windows component I check. I thought I had fixed everything, and was just doing a final touch-up. I may have missed something.

I'll know more tomorrow when I get back at it. This particular infection has been one of the worst for collateral damage that I've seen in some time. It seemed to be a run-of-the-mill rogue; evidently not. May end up a repair install or a N&P.

 

[MJS051]

"...and Reinstall Tool"

We need some real tech reviews on this part. I would love to do a virus clean and then give them back their precious "Norton" but not have to deal with a license or reactivation issue. Because many of them say "I still have X number of days left in my Norton" and if I can tell them "Ok, I'll put it back but if it gets infected again, it will cost you", that would make me very happy.

Hit or miss. I'd say more often than not I have to reactivate Norton manually, and sometimes it gets as far as removing Norton and informs me that I'm on my own for the reinstall. It's usually not too much of an issue, as there is typically a Symantec folder in the user's documents which contains a .txt file with the product key, but it makes me wonder why the software runs into issues with activation when it can pull the key from that file.

Sometimes that folder doesn't exist, and then the customer either has to dig up their license key or remember their credentials to the Norton account they created upon activation. Good luck with either of those. For some reason customers always lose the physical media / license for their AV software, but if you ask them for a drivers CD for a late 90s Compaq Presario and an AOL 4.0 trial they'll pull them out of thin air.

If I end up in a situation that warrants using the NRnR tool, I usually let the customer know ahead of time. If they find out you removed their Norbert's Interweb Securiteam without their permission and can't reinstall or reactivate it, they might get a little upset (even if it was previously FUBAR to the point where it provided no benefit). I make it clear that using the tool is a necessity, and if the tool fails to properly reinstall and reactivate, they're responsible for providing a proper license, otherwise they're SOL.