CA Antivirus+Antispyware 2010 3-User

Description

CA keeps your PC safe from harmful viruses and spyware that can slow down your system, destroy your important files, and compromise your confidential information.

Reviews

Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2010-08-10
Summary: "Worst. Product. Ever!! Cost me thousands of dollars in damage"

So it claims to support Windows 2000. I have a client with an aging point of sale system. It can't be upgraded without spending metric boatloads of fat cash. It ran fine, tho. It is running Windows 2000 on two of her workstations.

So I chose this product because I used it back in 2003 in an office environment, and it seemed to work well. On the package it says it supports Windows 2000, so I chose this, and installed it on two of her computers (using a 3 license pack). It installed fine, no hiccups... all was good. It happens to be the last commercial software that claims to support Windows 2000. If anybody knows any other software that supports W2k, I would love to hear it.

The next day, it crashed one of her computers, and totally cut off all network services. Uninstall would not work, because it requires internet access to uninstall. No, I'm not making this up. Also, the uninstaller would just crash, even in safe mode, and safe mode with networking. A total W2k reinstall was out of the question.

So I call up their support. They tried to talk me through the uninstaller that didn't work. We managed to get safe mode with networking and they used some remote software to remote into the computer to take a look at it. They had me use a third party uninstaller (reeeeallly?!? Can't you fix your own uninstaller?), which sorta worked, but left the system unstable.

They told me it was something corrupted on my computer and that caused the crash, which was total BS. I have all the updates, and all of the previous antivirus software was uninstalled. They also do not have a manual uninstall procedure. They told me it would be too complicated to do over the phone, and they were worried they would trash the computer.The tech told me they would no longer support the repair of my computer unless I ponied up for a $169 support subscription through iYogi.

We were desperate, so we threw down. They spent several hours trying to fix the computer, but only corrupted the High Encryption Package, and completely broke WinLogon functions on the computer, locking us all out. I had to look up the fix myself, and repair the high encryption pack using the command line repair... which was super bloody... but I got it to work.

It sorta runs now, but it's flaky, no encrypted web pages work, email doesn't work. Fortunately, my client can limp by without that on this computer, but its a PITA for her. She is going to have to basically buy a new computer for her point of sale system from the point of sale company to the tune of $6k.

The second computer I installed this on was a back end server for her point of sale system. It ran fine for 3 weeks with no issues, so I thought the first computer was just a blip. One day, it self destructed just like the other computer. Again, uninstall didn't work. My client called up their tech support, ad at that time they said that they dont' support windows 2000 at all, and we should update the computers. I finally got my hands dirty and manually removed this crappy software myself. I just winged it, basically. I made my best guesses, did some research on the CA site (which there is about zero information and support), and surprisingly, no install cleaner tools. MacAfee, Symantec, everybody else has tools to completely wipe out corrupted installs.

So I rummaged around in the registry, trying to find all entries, services to delete, that sorta thing. If you don't remove all traces of the software, it actually reinstalls itself. I managed to get all the pieces out... and it took me about 6 hours straight. After removal, I performed a W2k repair, and it seemed to be running okay.

The removal left Winsocks broken, but I didn't realize it at the time. I could ping, get DNS resolution, but no actual internet traffic was passed. After doing a bunch of research, I found how to reset WinSocks. It's bloody to fix, but basically you delete the WinSocks and Winsocks2 entries in the registry, and reinstall TCP/IP services. 9 hours straight later, I got it pretty much fixed. Keep in mind, I had to do all of the research on this. Their TS had no idea how to fix this.

So CA's tech support is the worst I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. They blamed us for the problems, and got testy with us when we called them on it. They are obviously based out of India, they don't know what they are doing, and when asked to go off of their little flow chart they get pissy and combative. Their TS is obviously there as a shill to sell [...] services for $169 a computer.

If I could sue them to pay for the repairs, I would. I have never had a piece of software do this much damage to a computer system. I blew two weekends on my own dime to repair all of this damage, including one session to 3am.

I wish I could give this negative stars.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-04-01
Summary: "Does the job without taking over the computer"

At work I have a network of computers mostly running Windows XP, but the two oldest computers are still on Windows 2000. Symantec/Norton stopped supporting Win 2000 several years ago, which was surprising since this was prior to Vista, and 2000 still had a decent market share of computers used in networks. The challenge was to find a multi-license antivirus software that would install on both XP and Win 2000. Also, I was trying to avoid programs like Norton that "take over your computer" and often cause more problems than they solve, particularly if one is not an IT-professional.

Originally I found CA Antivirus at a Staples retail store with the help of a sales associate, after reading a Norton software box and discovering that 2000 was no longer supported. Now that Amazon sells the product, we buy two copies each year, which allow installation on up to six computers. During the four or five years we have used the product, there have been zero virus problems. Spyware is efficiently removed as well. Firewall functionality is unnecessary, as we use the router's firewall. CA sells a more complete suite of computer protection programs, but we find that the basic antivirus software best meets our needs.

CA on our computers is programmed to scan daily, with no noticeable decrease in computer speed or functionality when a scan is in progress. Auto updates proceed in the background without slowing the computer. Even if we used Norton and installed only the features we wanted (antivirus, antispyware), we still would be unable to use the product because 2000 is not supported. Excellent product at an excellent price point.