Problems with Norton antivirus after Tiger install

Question

I installed Tiger yesterday and it all went well. After the install however, on every restart or when turning on the computer I get this error message:
Norton AntiVirus Error. Norton AntiVirus Auto Protect could not continue. Please reinstall Norton AntiVirus and restart.
Of course, I did the reinstall for Norton but continue to get the error message. Any assistance is appreciated.

Answer 1

There's no question that the exploit is serious, but it is a very narrow exploit, only involves specially-crafted RAR files, and there's both a completely adequate workaround and a virus definition to flag potentially compromised RAR files.
Given that, there's no reason to uninstall NAV: simply implement the workaround, download the latest virus defs, and stay away from RAR files for a bit. I expect we'll see a patch shortly.
The hysteria that this problem has generated from some, as well as some of the responses — uninstall NAV, throw out NAV, etc. — is wholly unfounded given the workaround and available virus def.
There have been Mac OS X exploits announced for which an Apple-provide fix took a couple of days to publish. Given the response to this Symantec issue, I'm surprised some didn't advocate uninstalling Mac OS X at those times.
As you point out, there are those who exchange documents with Windows systems, employ macro-enabled documents, etc. Uninstalling NAV vs. using the available workaround opens them up to a wider range of threats. Doing so simply makes no sense — i.e. is "nonsense" in the dictionary definition sense of that word — given that the available workaround and virus definition address the RAR exploit until a patch is published. That's not disparaging: that's fact.
Why waste the time or expose one's self to other potential threats when the workaround and virus def are available and the patch is forthcoming? Uninstalling NAV vs. using the available workaround and virus definition is "throwing out the baby with the bath water."
The Symantec-bashing that has transpired in a variety of threads since this problem arose is also unwarranted. NAV is a good product. I've used it for years and recommend it. I have no financial relationship with Symantec: I simply like the product, use it, and I recommend what I use.
ClamXav and the underlying ClamAV engine are also good products and I recommend ClamXav for those who can't afford NAV or prefer an open source product. But the ClamAV engine has also had similar exploits found in its code, so it also has an imperfect track record.
As software complexity increases, finding all of the potential exploits in the design or testing phase is increasingly difficult. All software installations are a matter of trust as to if the developers did the best job they could to ensure a product free of defects, including security exposures.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X