I had forgotten about my first nightmare encounter
with Symantec Technical Support, and thus I blundered into a second
misadventure with them. (See: Symantec
Sucks) Somewhere in the few intervening years
I once again started using Norton Antivirus for Mac. I really like
the program, and it gives me a sense of security–although considering
the almost nonexistent Mac viruses out there, it is probably a total
waste of money.
The program preferences are set for automatic updates,
so a notice appeared on my monitor that my annual subscription to their
antivirus definitions would expire in May, and did I wish to renew.
Fine! I decided to renew, even though I still had almost two months.
I clicked on the “renew” button and was connected to their web site,
where they tried to trick me into purchasing software rather than renewing
my antivirus subscription. I fell for that once before, so this time
I scrolled down to where I could just renew my subscription. I entered
the information and credit card #, and shortly I received an email
thanking me for renewing. The email gave me my order number and “Subscription
Key/Renewal Code,” but it did not tell me what to do with this code.
I assumed that, since it was a “key/code,” it was
necessary to enter it somewhere in the Norton Antivirus program so
that I could continue getting updates for another year. Why else would
they send me a “Key/Code?” But alas, there was no place I could find
to enter the key/code.
Clicking on the “contact us” link revealed that
I could chat with a live technical support person. Great. I clicked
on “Chat Now.” At this point I had to fill out my name, phone number,
email address, order number, product, version, and a problem description.
Then the following dialog transpired, lasting over an hour, and I still
don’t know what to do with the Key/Code, but I know where I’d like
to put it.
Lewis has entered room.
Prasanthan has entered
room.
Prasanthan (Wed Mar
25 2009 21:21:36 GMT-0400 (EDT))>
You
are being transferred to Prasanthan.
Prasanthan
Welcome
to Norton Support, my name is Prasanthan, Can
I please have a minute to go through the information you have provided?
Prasanthan
Thank
you for your patience, your case number is #########, please write
this down.
Prasanthan
Please
don’t follow this now – but just in case we get disconnected
for any reason, you can follow these instructions to reconnect to
me. You'll need to do this within a couple of minutes of being disconnected:
Can
you please make a note of these instructions.
1)
Open up Internet Explorer and then go to www.norton.com/connectme
2)
Enter the [Connection Code] 226776
3)
Click on [Submit]
May
I confirm that the issue you are encountering is you had the renewal
code and need help to activate the Norton product ?
Yes,
I renewed my antivirus subscription.
Norton
Antivirus program is working fine. It notified me that my subscription
expires in May, so I renewed it.
Prasanthan
May
I know how you purchased your Norton program? Is it a downloaded
version or do you have a CD version?
Originally
it was on a CD, but I have downloaded updates to it for a couple
of years now.
Prasanthan
May
I have the product key?
My
last download was in September of 2008 when I downloaded version
11. Where do I find the product key? My subscription renewal key
I just received is: Subscription Key/Renewal Code ND###C####
Prasanthan
Can
I put you on hold for 2 or 3 minutes while I look into this for you?
Okay
Prasanthan
Thank
you for your patience
Prasanthan
May
I know which Operating System do you have on the computer?
OS
10.4.11
Prasanthan
Operating
System would mean Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS, etc?
(Duh…When
I signed on to the chat room I was required to give the Symantec
product:
"Norton Antivirus for Macintosh" and version number, so I
assumed that anyone capable of being a “technical support” person should
know that it would be a Mac. Another clue was OS 10.4.11. Obviously
my expectations were too high, but I didn't say this.)
Mac
Prasanthan
Lewis , we are
having another department to handle the issue that related with the
Norton product , shall I go ahead and transfer you to the respective
department?
Yes
Prasanthan
Please
wait for a couple of minute while I transfer you to the respective
department.
Prasanthan
Please
wait, while the issue is escalated to another analyst.
Prasanthan has left
room.
Reena has entered
room.
Welcome
to Norton Support, my name is Reena Can I please have a minute to go through the information
you have provided?
Yes
Reena
Please
don’t follow this now – but just in case we get disconnected
for any reason, you can follow these instructions to reconnect to
me.. You'll need to do this within a couple
of minutes of being disconnected:
Can
you please make a note of these instructions.
1)
Open up Internet Explorer and then go to www.norton.com/connectme
2)
Enter the [Connection Code] 258943
3)
Click on [Submit]
Noted
Reena
May
I confirm the issue is about you want do not know where to enter
the renewal code to extend the subscription ?
Correct.
Reena
Thanks,
your case number is ######### , please write this down.
May
I confirm with your order number as ########## ?
Yes.
##########
Reena
May
I confirm that you have Mac Operating System ?
Yes
MAC
OS 10.4.11
Reena
Please
open the Norton and click on run live update
Updated.
No updates were needed.
Reena
Did
it not ask for a renewal code ?
No.
Earlier it notified me that my antivirus subscription was going to
expire in May, and asked me if I wanted to renew the subscription.
I did. I receive the subscription key
Reena
So
now does the Norton show a valid subscription for a year
?
For
some reason it now says it is good until September 20, 2009.
It
should be good until next year in May.
Reena
Lewis,
I would request you to change the date of your Mac computer to September
20, 2009 and save it, and then click on run live update again
(At this point, a good technician might
have warned me that my Mac Mail program, as well as some other mail
programs, automatically deletes junk mail after a set period
of time. I'm not sure what that time is, but moving my computer
date forward six months deleted all the mail in that file, including
many valid emails that I had not yet read.)
I'll
try that now.
Reena
Sure
I will wait till then
Complete.
Changed the date to September 20. Did live update. No updates needed.
Norton AntiVirus now says "Subscription
Expiration Date: Today"
Reena
Is
it asking for a renewal code ?
No.
Reena
Lewis,
can you please change the date of your Mac to October 30 2009 and
check for it ?
Okay.
Reena
Thanks
and I am sorry to bother you.
I
will wait untill then
Live
update complete. No updates needed. Subscription Expiration Date:
Sep 20, 2009.
Reena
And
so, it again did not ask for a renewal code ?
Correct.
It did not.
Reena (Wed Mar
25 2009 22:06:59 GMT-0400 (EDT))>
Lewis,
I am now sending a link to your LHofm1@gmail.com email address and
please download and run the first file
I'm
now having problems with Gmail due to invalid security certificate.
I will have to change the computer date back to today and try it
again.
Lewis
The
first file is for Intel processor macs.
Should I run the second file: NavM9_installer_20090320_US.zip
Lewis
NavM9_Installer_20090320_US.zip
| FTP is downloading
Lewis
Program
downloaded and installed.
Lewis
Ran
live update again. No update needed. Norton Antivirus program now
says "Last Product Update: Today at 1:23 AM. Subscription Expiration
Date: Sep 20, 2009.
Lewis
What
next?
Lewis
Reena???
Are you still there????
Lewis
(Thu Mar 26 2009 01:45:55 GMT-0400 (EDT))
?????