I installed Norton 2008 Anti-virus.?

As a professional IT consultant, I'm an AVG fan because it just works, is fairly light on resources...

Norton is terrible. Can't count the number of customers who've brought their systems in running at a snails' pace. Removing Norton alone speeds up the PC and internet 50% or more. Norton should be the definition of bloat. Many programs require processes to be pre-loaded or they just will not run, or won't run correctly.

Norton antivirus alone has 9 running processes, not counting an additional 3 that it pops open when its update service is running.--I don't use or recommend Norton anymore, for just this reason.

I have tried a plethora of freeware and commercial products. The bottom line is, I haven't found any products that can remove or protect you from all virus etc. For general home users "AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition" will be adequate protection. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. It is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements). http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Editio...

Highlights include automatic update functionality, Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files. http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Editio...

If you want to add to your permanent protection... I recommend Also

Ad-Aware Free, SpyBot-Search & Destroy. And never have a problem! You can get them BOTH here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/

Along with this...

Comodo Firewall Pro - This protective dragon for XP and Vista keeps hackers out of your system, controls which programs can access the Net (its whitelist of about one million means you get fewer pop-ups), and blocks tricky "leak test" techniques. It's both tough and good-looking. Get the latest free firewall that provides protection against hackers and all types of malware.

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

If you want to keep Norton... Here is a way to Optimize...

DISABLE Services you might not need...

Services are programs that run whenever you power on your PC. That means they are always loaded in memory, taking space and CPU time. Microsoft did their best and your PC runs services to print documents, to browse Internet, to run Windows Messenger or to allow remote connections to your PC.

But more likely than not, you just don’t need all of them! To really speed up your PC you need to disable many of the services.

Do not use "msconfig" to disable services, type "services.msc" in the Run box instead!

Press your Windows key and then hit the 'r' button. This MIGHT open up your Run command box.

The Start icon on your bottom left tool bar, then in xp there is a 'run' on the menu. In vista you can go to start/all programs/accessories/run

The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you can disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With the management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig, while unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be there as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."

Go here for more info on what is safe... Configurations: Black Viper's Windows XP Service Pack 2 Service Configurations: http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm -OR- Black Viper's Windows Vista SP1 Service Configurations: http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm

And try these Black Viper's Top 9 tweaks for a faster (and less annoying) Vista PC: http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/supertweaks.htm

For XP... http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

Apart from these top 5 solutions, there are of course other things you can do to speed up your computer. Look at disabling extra visual effects...

Adjust visual effects... You can optimize performance by changing how menus and windows appear.

To do this... Right Click on Computer on Desktop > Choose Properties > Advance System Setting > Under... Performance... Choose... Setting > Choose... Adjust for Best Performance > Then... Apply > Then...Ok

Good Luck!!!

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Unfortunately, Norton is well know as being a resource-hog, meaning it uses up a lot of your processing power and ultimately slowing your computer down. This is due to Norton scanning and 'controlling' everything that runs on your computer. The best you can do is add more RAM to the computer (minimum of 1-2GB) or find a different virus scanner than norton. I have personally used Nod32 for the last 5 years and have never gotten a virus.

1. Uninstall NAV.

2. Return it to the store for a refund.

3. Download and install a free anti-virus program. I like Avast (avast.com) but AVG is also good.

4. For further protection, download and use AD-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, or other free spyware busters.

Oops. Remove Norton with http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf...

Norton is a very bloated, slow, ineffective piece of software.

Get all of these programs instead (much, much faster, and better, and free!):

Avira: http://www.free-av.com/

Spyware Terminator (turn off web security guard): http://www.spywareterminator.com/

Spybot: http://www.safer-networking.org/ (use immunise feature)

Superantispyware: http://www.superantispyware.com/

Comodo: http://comodofirewall.notlong.com/ (turn off defense+ to see fewer alerts)

Use firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/ and the AdBlock extension (http://tinyurl.com/2cd87q ) and whatever other useful extensions like Download Statusbar you want.

Safe Surfing!