Please Symantec, go out of buisiness.

Im removing Symantec Endpoint from a clients office and this is the most absurd removal process for an antivirus ive ever seen.

Luckily I think i found a copy of cleanwipe (you have to call symantec to get it and give them all sorts of info bc they are afraid someone will take the software and turn it into malware that disables endpoint, lame.)

But look at the manual removal steps for endpoint. It makes me want to stab myself in the eye.

How to manually uninstall Symantec Endpoint Protection client from Windows 2000, XP and 2003, 32-bit Editions

Find more posts tagged with

SAVE $250 on Your Boot Camp — Use Code "EXAM26"

Exclusively for TechExams members for Infosec Boot Camps starting before April 30, 2026

View Boot Camps

Comments

earweed

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Im removing Symantec Endpoint from a clients office and this is the most absurd removal process for an antivirus ive ever seen.

Luckily I think i found a copy of cleanwipe (you have to call symantec to get it and give them all sorts of info bc they are afraid someone will take the software and turn it into malware that disables endpoint, lame.)

But look at the manual removal steps for endpoint. It makes me want to stab myself in the eye.

How to manually uninstall Symantec Endpoint Protection client from Windows 2000, XP and 2003, 32-bit Editions

Just scrolling through it made me cringe. Why make a product so difficult to remove except possibly to keep you using it, believing the hard removal process makes it more secure..maybe pay Symantec for support when you'll need it.

arwes

It was the same way with version 10. I pushed 11 to a workstation and it had problems removing 10, and thankfully I found a removal program for it. I hope we'll be able to drop them by renewal time, but as stingy as our board has been I bet we'll keep the status quo.

cablegod

Precisely why I dropped it after I saw their epic fail of a product called End Point Protection 10.

veritas_libertas

I hate Symantec...

sambuca69

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Im removing Symantec Endpoint from a clients office and this is the most absurd removal process for an antivirus ive ever seen.

Luckily I think i found a copy of cleanwipe (you have to call symantec to get it and give them all sorts of info bc they are afraid someone will take the software and turn it into malware that disables endpoint, lame.)

But look at the manual removal steps for endpoint. It makes me want to stab myself in the eye.

How to manually uninstall Symantec Endpoint Protection client from Windows 2000, XP and 2003, 32-bit Editions

Oh my God... my company plans on rolling this out in the summer. Oh no...

earweed

Maybe you could score some points by sterring them another way.

HeroPsycho

I hate their AV, but I hope they don't go out of business. Me likey Backup Exec stuff, Enterprise Vault....

Pretty much everything that came from Veritas.

Hyper-Me

Well the cleanwipe utility actually did a pretty good job (so far).

Now im downloading the Trend Micro stuff to put in its place. *stabs self in eye again*

dynamik

You've always had to do stuff like that with their software. They openly give away the consumer utility if you ever have the misfortune of working with that: Download and run the Norton Removal Tool

t3ch_guru

Where I work at we are a Symantec shop, but I had older machines which has McAfee on there. That was a pain to remove as well. Its not just Symantec that acts that way.

dales

Hmm, think I'd want to build a script for that wouldnt want to do that more than once.

MentholMoose

earweed wrote: »

Just scrolling through it made me cringe. Why make a product so difficult to remove except possibly to keep you using it, believing the hard removal process makes it more secure..maybe pay Symantec for support when you'll need it.

Manually removing any program will look like that, if not worse. It's unfortunate that a manual removal is required, but it happens. Usually the uninstall program will cleanly remove the program. At least they actually have documentation on how to do it.

I previously worked at a place with a few hundred workstations with SAV 10 and rarely needed to do a manual removal (maybe did it about five times in about 3 years). If I did I used the special Symantec removal tool. Several of those were required since the install was done by someone else and I didn't have the uninstall password, and not because the uninstaller failed.

Before that job I was at a place with thousands of workstations with SAV 8, and again only occasionally had to do a manual removal, though in that case I wasn't the only person responsible for the machines so I don't know how many were being done by other people, but AFAIK it was uncommon.

earweed wrote: »

maybe pay Symantec for support when you'll need it.

If you're using SAV or SEP you are already paying for support.

brad-

OMFG those instructions are rediculous. It would be easier for me to reinstall the OS and the few apps that we use.

Pash

Errrm yeh dont go outta business please. Me also likes Backup Exec, Vault and of course Altiris.

snadam

Pash wrote: »

Errrm yeh dont go outta business please. Me also likes Backup Exec, Vault and of course Altiris.

That makes 3 of us. There is more to Symantec than just their AV...

Hyper-Me

Then they just need to **** their AV and stick to backups

astorrs

MentholMoose wrote: »

At least they actually have documentation on how to do it.

Exactly!

Whenever you have to remove a program it's a huge amount of work (hence the existence of uninstallers). What's unbelievably rare is that level of detail being available about how to remove it.

Pash

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Then they just need to **** their AV and stick to backups

Well not exactly, as we just mentioned. Symantec have a very impressive product portfolio. We also left Norton Ghost off the list, im not sure how that holds up to acronis (live backups) and co these days but I still use ghost now and again.

I hated Vista, does that warrant me asking for Microsoft to go out of business? No.

Quit whining.

HeroPsycho

Pash wrote: »

Quit whining.

rsutton

You should be able to get certified in "Removing Symantec AV products"

GAngel

I will say that they are the only AV company i've seen that catches everything AFTER you've been infected

Pash

HeroPsycho wrote: »

don't get it.

arwes

He's agreeing with you that he should "quit whining".

Pash

arwes wrote: »

He's agreeing with you that he should "quit whining".

to me that just looks like some dude trying to give another dude a kiss, while I am very open minded about these things, I didnt get its relevance to this discussion.

BADfish10

That is epic

and one of the reasons i hate there products...
Veritas was so good it did exactly what it said on the Tin

And yeah Avoid Trend it is usless "Very light and all that" but could not catch a cold!

Ahriakin

Pash wrote: »

don't get it.

Dynamik's Mom
'Nuff said

snadam

Pash wrote: »

to me that just looks like some dude trying to give another dude a kiss, while I am very open minded about these things, I didnt get its relevance to this discussion.

Its actually a nutri-grain commercial that I really enjoy, but I am also not sure where it falls in here either. Funny nonetheless. (and for the record, he is getting punched in the stomach).

arwes

LOL, I didn't see the picture (got YouTube.com on the block list).

Hyper-Me

Pash wrote: »

Well not exactly, as we just mentioned. Symantec have a very impressive product portfolio. We also left Norton Ghost off the list, im not sure how that holds up to acronis (live backups) and co these days but I still use ghost now and again.

I hated Vista, does that warrant me asking for Microsoft to go out of business? No.

Quit whining.

Way to be entirely inept in taking a joke.

If a company makes a product that royally stinks, they shouldnt make that product any longer. In the very least, noone should support it. Most of what Symantec "makes" that is good they aqcuired through acquisitions.

The other day I was loading Malwarebytes to scan a system that was infected (it had Endpoint, didnt catch it) and suddenly Endpoint starts flipping its lid over "MBAM.EXE POSSIBLE MALWARE"

Guess what MBAM.exe is...

msteinhilber

I haven't dealt with Symantec in a long time but I see they haven't changed their removal process any.

I'm actually replacing TrendMicro Worry-Free Business Security with Vipre Enterprise at the moment. Trend didn't seem to be doing much for us with preventing malware whereas Vipre in our testing seemed to do fairly well. That along with great pricing for 3 years and personal licenses for our users at home for free as long as we keep renewing made it a pretty solid deal.