Beating NAV 2008 Into Submission

I Know, I Know

I've been using Norton Anti-Virus for a long time. Yes, I know there are other products, but every AV product has its own high and low points, and the fact is that having dealt with Norton and Symantec, for good or bad, for so long, I am reluctant to change. That almost changed this afternoon.

This Is MY Computer, Symantec -- Back OFF!

The previous version on this machine was an upgraded NAV 2006. I installed NAV 2008 because I had a CD-ROM left around from tax season, when you can often get rebates for buying NAV and TurboTax. Of course, I always knew it would be trouble. Something as central as anti-virus software interacts with everything. (grin)

So I installed a new version of ZoneAlarm first -- that surely eliminated some of Symantec's ways of messing with me. (double-edged-grin)

Otherwise the install went okay. Up until I ran into two Really Annoying Properties.

(1) I've always had NAV complain that I had Automatic Windows Updates (and Automatic LiveUpdate) turned off. But now it was complaining every couple of minutes. Um, gee, I have AWU turned off? Thanks. Click X. Oh, gee, it's like five minutes later and I still have AWU turned off? Thanks. Click X. Yeah, yeah, I KNOW. Can't you figure out I WANT to have the fucking AWU turned off? Go away. Go AWAY. Click X. Rinse and repeat.

(2) And then when I run LiveUpdate, it's gone stupid. No list of files it wants to download, no discussion of how many MB it wants to download. I mean, come on, sometimes I want to be able to say No thanks, I'll run LiveUpdate later. And mean it.

Enter The Hive Mind Which Is The Google

Plug in the following search: norton antivirus 2008 "windows update"
The quotes are necessary, otherwise all you get is crap about automatic LiveUpdate, which is not what I was carping about in this first problem.

The third hit had the text

Jun 11, 2008 ... Norton Antivirus 2008 - forum topic. ... I know exactly what my Windows update status is, and I don’t need some program to tell me what my ...

and I knew I had my answer.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20616021-Norton-Antivirus-2008

Open Norton Protection Center.
Click the red Attention next to Windows Automatic Update. (it's a hyperlink)
Choose Fix (for AU to automatically download and install updates) or Ignore (for Norton to ignore the AU setting).

Look like it's Ignore for me -- and now it does. Whew.

LiveUpdate For Morons

As for the second problem... Look, if I don't want Windows Update to just run and install, then why do I want LiveUpdate to just run and install? So it's obvious I shut off Automatic LiveUpdate -- (1) it adds to the boot time and (2) the default is to check EVERY FOUR HOURS. I'd never get anything done.

Dr. Phil's Rules For Computers: This is MY machine and I run it on MY time.

But having turned Automatic LiveUpdate off, now I found a new problem when I ran LiveUpdate manually -- I got no useful information.

More Googling around produced the information that LiveUpdate has had for a while a menu choice between Interactive (the old default) and Express Mode (the new default). Problem is, in Express Mode there's no Option choice to put it in Interactive. And that's not a bug -- it's a feature. If you want the old LiveUpdate, you have to run LUALL.EXE.

The suggestion I found was to create a desktop shortcut link to LUALL.EXE, which would clearly work, but I figured out my own way -- change the damn menu!

Under Windows XP Pro SP2, do Start | Programs | Norton Anti-Virus
Then Right-Click on LiveUpdate and select Properties.
Change the Target from:
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\NPC\npcLUStb.exe"
to: (including the quotes)
"C:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate\LUALL.EXE"
Select OK.

Now when you select LiveUpdate from the Start Menu, you'll get the Interactive LiveUpdate, in my case Version 3.4.1.238 . You'll still get the Express Mode version if you select LiveUpdate from inside Norton Anti-Virus or the Norton Protection Center, but since I always use the Start menu, I'm good.

Problems Solved

Until the next one. Or when I have to install NAV 2009 or NAV 2010.

Whichever comes first. (grin)

Dr. Phil

Skip It

I thought I was done blogging for the weekend, when I settled into tonight's episode of At The Movies on our local Channel 13...

Siskel & Ebert

Starting from a PBS show in Chicago, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times sat across the aisle from each other and fought for good movies and sometimes fought against each other for many years. Siskel's brain tumor ended the perfect pairings of critics and Ebert soldiered on with a number of replacements -- and competitor's shows -- over the years. More recently, Ebert's own health has caused him to withdraw from the TV scene, though he is still writing about movies. Ebert & Roeper was the latest incarnation of At The Movies, until tonight.

Who Are These Guys?

Well, one is the son of Jeffrey Lyons, someone I've heard for years (the father, that is). The other guy? Who knows. And then they reviewed Babylon A.D.. Or rather one of them did. His verdict? "Skip it."

Now frankly I don't care whether paid critics agree with my review opinions about Babylon A.D. or any other movie. For one thing, my criteria are different, especially for a SF action film. But why only one opinion?

No, they've got three more talking heads to bring in and the next thing you know, there's a full blown cocktail party argument going, with all these people talking at once. On video screens.

Puh-lease!

This is compelling television? No, it's a mess. And shame on you guys for pretending that this is At The Movies. I am not watching this amateur half-hour again. Period.

At The Movies Has Jumped The Shark

Skip It / Forget It / Hope It Goes Away

And that's my opinion.

Dr. Phil

I Love The Mythbusters...

Serial Versus Parallel

I got this via the Bad Astronomy blog. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of Discovery Channel's Mythbusters doing a painting demonstration at NVISION 08:

Awesome. This is a condensed version of the whole presentation, which is totally worth watching. Here's Part 1 (which ends just before the Big Event) and Part 2, which picks right up where the first part left off.

I'm No Experimentalist

So this is not the job for me. But I do so enjoy knowing that someone does have this job. (grin)

Dr. Phil