Jump to content
The Inquirer-Home

Mozilla confirms browser instability

Blames Symantec for incompatibility woes
Monday, 8 September 2008, 09:14

MOZILLA HAS CONFIRMED that running Firefox 3.0.1 alongside various Norton Symantec security programs could cause the popular browser to suddenly drop a number of crucial features.

According to Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's director for Firefox, old and outdated Norton software was responsible for preventing the browser from properly terminating.

"When the user starts up Firefox the next time, the file that's used to store their bookmarks and history can't be read and, as a result, the back and forward buttons don't work and no bookmarks are shown,” explained Beltzner.

The critical conflict has also negatively affects a number of Symantec security products.

Indeed, irate users have reported the abrupt disappearance of Norton's Identity Safe password manager after upgrading to Firefox 3.0.1. Symantec responded to the malfunctioning password program by releasing a Firefox 3.0 compatibility update.

It should be noted that Symantec has a history of distributing software that conflicts with other applications. For example, the insecurity company recently blamed the Vole's XP3 upgrades for crippling machines that ran Norton software.

However, the red-faced company was forced to admit that the combination of a flawed Microsoft process and the SymProtect feature in its Norton software had corrupted the XP registry.

Symantec eventually released a free tool that fixed the compromised registry keys. µ

L'Inq
Computerworld

Share this:

Comments
List

The list of unnecessary issues norton causes is longer than the list of malware on the world.

posted by : W.-, 08 September 2008 Complain about this comment
I don't like it

Ever since I upgraded to Firefox 3.0.1. I've had troubles
I don't have Nortons, but I have had shut-down problems.
My home network has a proxy server OS, so on a linked machine if I type in the link bar and hit return the page fails to load, but when I right click and hit reload - it loads OK

i want to roll-back where is version 2.?.?

posted by : RogerP, 08 September 2008 Complain about this comment
SNOTON the masters of bloatware O_o



lol, surprise surprise, isnt snoton supposed to do that, another case of the 'unwashed masses' usin somethin that comes bundled as crapware with new rigs assuming it must be good kit !!!!

take my advice peeps and get rid of it, if you can !!!! if you use a 'power' uninstaller like Revo, just check out the registry entries/temp files/folders that snoton leaves behind, its kit chokes the registry with more tendrils than a mass of poison ivy on steroids !!!! also be afraid, very very afraid of removing said entries, cos if ya dont know what your doin, your more than likely gonna end up with a stuffed system :O(

most of their kit is ancient, dressed up in new skins, they do a M$ite by refusing to let go once installed, another M$ite ploy being the takeover/burying of their competitors, their kit can be almost as bad as a 'spy falcon variant' and the other flavours of malware theyre supposed to protect you from O_O

why oh why peeps use their crap when there are so many far superior FREE bits of kit out there is beyond me, talk about resource hogs too, nooooooooooo stop it, im goin for a lie down now :O)

/rant over.

posted by : psychochief, 08 September 2008 Complain about this comment
norton's fault ?

I have exactly the same problem... under ubuntu, without having any norton soft installed. Is the problem realy norton dependent ?

posted by : Cedric H., 08 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Nothing new

Norton is one of the worst things you can put on a computer these days. I've seen it cause so many problems that at this point any time someone tells me their computer is acting up, my first response is "uninstall Norton."

Thus far, that advice has never failed to correct the problem.

posted by : Tridus, 08 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Symantec is THE problem

I quit using Symantec products in 2003 and I have never looked back. They publish/sell bloatware that does not install or uninstall cleanly. Some of their programs conflict with others of their programs. Their products made all my PC's run very slowly because of their resource hogging. Much better, and less expensive, alternatives exist for all the programs they sell. I wonder how they ever stay in business!!

posted by : Brad A. Steffler, 08 September 2008 Complain about this comment
GriSoft AVG free

Its better, its faster, its free.

There's a couple of other good free ones too.

posted by : Ugly American, 09 September 2008 Complain about this comment
uSoft plus Norton

What a nightmare I'm having with my wife's PC. She has a limited account on her machine and because of norton It was behaving badly. Cannot open u$oft app et al. Networking is sluggish too. Sometimes off and not working. I wish there is a better alternative better -than apple.

posted by : Tik, 09 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Nortons is to AntiVirus what AOL is to ISP.

Both are crap.

posted by : interested_party, 09 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Advertisement
Subscribe to the INQ Newsletter
Sign-up for the INQBot weekly newsletter
Click here to sign up Existing user
Advertisement
INQ Poll

Browsers

Who will win the next round of browser wars?