I was thrilled when I received my laptop as a gift for school. It was all great until my 3-month subscription for Norton ran out. I didn't feel comfortable with renewing over a wire connection because of Id theft. Then it popped into my head that I could just install my McAfee that I had on my PC that uses 2000. But I completely forgot that it was Vista and now I cannot get the stupid program off.

I've tried shredding it, but it pops up 'An error has occured'.
I've tried uninstalling it, but it says 'INF file missing'.

I went and bought Norton Internet Security for it and it doesn't recommend me downloading it because the McAfee could interfer with it.

So, I don't have a virus scanner and a $70 anti-virus program sitting on my table unused. My senior is coming up and I know I'm going to have my laptop for all those papers.

Does anyone might have a clue on what to do?

Try re-installing McAfee watch carefully for any errors in the install... if it tells you it can't copy a file then note them down... as a last ditch thing copy the .inf file from the McAfee install ... once its installed to its satisfaction then try the deinstaller...

Did that work ??


Incidentally, if your worried about identity theft then rather unluckily you made the wrong choice....

You either trust Norton (Symantec) or not... because you are installing their software onto your computer.
Once you install their software they have access to EVERY file on your computer .. should they wish...
Unless your a total geek into PC security (in which case the chance is you wouldn't be using Vista or any Microsoft product at all) there is no way for you to tell what info Norton collects for itself ....

Luckily there are plenty of geeks who monitor the likes of Norton HOWEVER ... the same holds true for any software you need to say "allow" for (in Vista) though this distinction is a bit pointless ... because most of your identity stuff is stored as your user not the "administrator" account ...

On the other hand https:// is secure.... if you type the link yourself and watch that your not connecting to say https://symantic.com instead of https://symantec.com your transaction is closed point to point... so unless someone can hack into symantec and get your details its safe...

Note the subtle difference above (.... this is why you shouldn't click on links in eMails unless your certain its genuine...)

You're more likely to get your identity stolen over the phone or in a store rather than online, especially from a site that's reliable like Symantec.

I would not be too concerned downloading something from Norton. Yes, there is some risk in using the internet, but I think it's fairly minimal, especially if you're just looking things up and downloading from trusted sites. The most valuable thing I store on my computer is my resume, and if someone hacked into my computer and stole it, it's not the end of the world.

Could you take the laptop to your school's tech support? They can be very helpful, and can usually help you for free.

It really depends...
The important thing is to check the site is who you think it is.
When you connect and the bar says https:// not http:// then the connection is secure between you and that site. Presuming the site is actually the correct one then noone can play piggy in the middle.
However there are plently of sites look like the real thing but are not... I have seen some incredibly good hoaxes and I almost fell for one myself (and my job is internet security). The most dangerous are links in emails etc. because they catch you off guard ..

However downloading anything can be risky, the download can contain hidden code (even inside a photo etc.) .. once you have this code on your computer it can pretty much upload anything on your PC or that you type... hence you can have a secure connection but your keystrokes are being logged ..