In all of their infinite wisdom, Symantec decided to put a seperate password on their software. While this is a good idea on the surface, I am sure that it has ensnared thousands of users with this predicament. Since Norton is installed on the vast majority of machines when you purchase it, many people may not know why it requires elevated control in order to perform simple activities. While it is a royal pain to have to do this, luckily, there are ways that it can be done. Let's geek out with a few ways to bypass this nuisance.

Symantec's Recommended Way

STEP 1
Print this page

We suggest that you print this page before you start. PRINT
STEP 2
Update your Norton Product

Many problems have been fixed in the latest Norton product update. If you have a valid subscription, then you are eligible for the latest product update. To update your Norton program, click the Download button next to your Norton program:

Norton AntiVirus: DOWNLOAD

Norton Internet Security: DOWNLOAD

If you have a trial or introductory subscription (often provided by our partners with a computer or other hardware purchase), you must first purchase a regular subscription to be eligible to receive the product feature updates. Click here to renew the subscription for your Norton product. RENEW NOW

If you purchased your product through your internet service provider (ISP), please be sure that you have the latest version available from your ISP. Run LiveUpdate to download and install the most recent updates.

If the problem persists, go to next step.
STEP 3
Make sure that Symantec services start properly

Run a tool that turns on required Symantec services. RUN IT NOW
STEP 4
Log on with a Norton Internet Security Supervisor account
1. Start Norton Internet Security.
2. In the Norton Internet Security window, in the left pane, click User Accounts.
3. Look next to "You are logged on as" to see how you are logged on:

If you are logged on as Supervisor and still cannot modify the settings, click "What if this didn't work?" at the bottom of this page.
If you are not logged on as Supervisor, continue with the next line.

4. Click Log Off.
5. In the confirm dialog box, click Yes.
6. Click Log On.
7. In the Log on dialog box, in the Account Name list, click Supervisor.
8. In the Password field, type your password.
If you have never assigned a password to the Supervisor account, leave this field blank.
9. Click OK.
You should see the text "You are logged on as: Supervisor."

If that doesn't work, then I recommend using the Symantec Removal Tool to help you remove the program. You have to love a program that needs to write its own uninstaller to get off of your system. I digress...

Here is a link to a Symantec removal tool which may help you remove the program:
Symantec Removal Tool
Presumably your application is covered and will be removed. Once that is done, and you are free of Norton, I suggest that you free yourself from paying the $30-$60 each year for protection and check out my Software to Prevent Problems page. You can get all of the protection that you need for your machine, for free. You owe it to yourself! Plus, you can use the money you save to buy yourself or your family a nice dinner. :-)

If that doesn't work, there is one last way to do this. Be warned, it is pretty high on the old Geek meter, but we can get through it together, no problem! Time to Geek out:

There is always the deletion method.

First, download RegSeeker. Unzip to a folder on the hard drive.

Now, boot to safe mode. Delete the folders Symantec, or Norton from the Program Files folder, and any found in the Documents and Settings folder...check the Common Files folder as well.

Then, open up RegSeeker by double clicking the icon. Click on the first section "Find in registry...". Check all boxes, then in the search box type in Symantec. Delete everything it finds. Then restart the search using Norton.

After that is done, open the registry and go to:

HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Uninstall

Look for any keys in the subkey directory for either Symantec or Norton. Delete any you find.

Once that is done, Norton should be free of the system.

Reboot. Then start up RegSeeker again, and run "Clean the Registry" and delete all the keys you find there.