While reviewing my Norton security subscription I noticed that the Norton Security products that are available in Australia are not the same products that US buyers can purchase. The product sets are identical in terms of security features but the number of devices allow differ. The US have 3 Norton Security products called Standard, Deluxe and Premium with the Deluxe allowing up to 5 devices and the Premium allowing up to 10 devices. The Australian product sets, all named “Premium” have options for 3 devices and 5 devices with the 3 devices providing identical features to the US Deluxe version and the 5 devices providing the identical features to the US Premium version; except for the number of devices. The pricing is a complete rip-off for Australian consumers. For the US products the RRP prices are Standard, US$69.99 (est AUD$94), Deluxe $89.99 (est AUD$121) and Premium US$109.99 (est AUD$148). For the Australian products the AUD RRP prices are $79.99, $124.99 and $149.99 respectively. So for about the same amount of money, Australians get 2 fewer devices and 5 fewer devices for the multi device options. That to me is a geo rip-off.
That’s a case of where you " vote with your feet " . Walk away from Norton . Then they wonder " Gee , I wonder why our Australian sales are dropping " Too much of this going on re pricing .
We use Norton Premium on 4 devices…but never ever do an automatic renew through the software. I think this is a ‘lazy’ tax rather than an ‘Australian’ tax…its easier to hit the renew button without thinking is it cheaper elsewhere.
It is far cheaper to buy licences online from third party retailers. Recently we bough a 5 device licence for under half of that buying renewing through the Norton website.
I start shopping for a new licence when the renewal notification first comes up.
Also, one can buy cheap licences n on eBay from people that have a version packaged up with a new computer. It is also worth noring that there is no differences between Mac and Windows licences and one can use either on either machines.
Last year we managed ro find a 3 device licence in Australia for under $30 delivered on eBay…was the ‘Mac version’ and the person selling didn’t want to install it on their Mac…so sold it off separately. We installed it on out Windows and Android machines.
The other thing to remember when buying a new licence, which is a catch, that one only gets 12 months from the day of ‘renewal’. Any remaning days from the previous licence is lost…it is therefore best to wait until the day of, or day before the current subscription lapses before renewing…one heeds to be patient as the software does pop up continual renewal reminders.
Now that I’m aware of the pricing issue, I will be researching alternate internet security software.
Thanks for the advice on third party retailers/eBay. I’ll definitely check it out.
Most other subscription based antivirus/real time security software is the same…they all charge a ‘lazy’ tax and the Australian subscriptions are slightly more than that in the US.
Whoops, this is the link to the Google shopping engine for Norton Security premium.
It is also available from retailers such as Umart.
Here are the ones on eBay from eBay stores and also unwanted versions. There are Australian eBay stores selling the 5 device versions for under $50 delivered.
If you buy through the Russian Website it is even cheaper the Standard version is about AU$31, the Deluxe (5 Machines) about AU$42 and the Premium (10 devices) is about AU$61. These figures are for the first year and the two year subscriptions are about $59, $82 and $120 respectively. Use a VPN that changes your region to Russia to see these. Chrome can translate the pages for you from Russian to English for easier reading. After these promotions the yearly renewal rate is currently AU$37.40, AU$53.90 & AU$75.
https://ru.norton.com/norton-security-with-backup
But still the Australian product decreases the number of units the product is allowed to be used on which is a ripoff.
Another Norton “Australia Tax” ripoff is when you have a 3 device sub, and want to add another device.
You might think that they would encourage this with easy linkage and good pricing, but no, it is hard and expensive (in Australia) to add that extra device to an existing account.
We had the same issue from last year to this year. To add another device (from 3 to four), we bought a 5 device licence and waited to add the last device immediately before the previous 3 device annual subscription lapsed (see above about losing rest of subscription). Fortunately we only had to wait about a month from getting the fourth device to the lapse in the annual subscription.
It was a bit of nuisance, as changing from 3 to 5 was not as simple as it should be. The online account showed a new version (5 device) and would not let me migrate the devices on the previous (3D) licence to the 5D licence.
In effect, we had to reactivate each machine with the new licence key…which then cancel the old subscription in our online account.
Relatively simple to do but messy and could have easier if one could migrate the devices to new licences online in the norton accounts.
All 3rd party antivirus is a rip off, just use Windows Defender: http://www.techradar.com/news/could-windows-defender-be-the-last-antivirus-you-will-ever-need
Interesting article - one persons view (aren’t all articles?) - but we have been conditioned over many years to think we need an additional product, initally because there was no anti-virus in windows of course.
I like the price of Windows Defender. It would be interesting to know what resources MS put into it … a quick look over the MS website shows they are fairly pushing it and very proud of it 
Don’t forget Windows Defender is only an antivirus program and it not a malware scanner.
Here are a few reviews on Windows Defender. and…another.
It appears from doing some preliminary reading, that Windows Defender has many advantages and disadvantages, and possibly doesn’t replace the need for a traditional multifaceted antivirus/security software.
At the end of the day, it also really depends on the level of risk one is willing to accept and what type of user they are.
This website is also interesting to see how various anrivirus/security software rates in real world conditions. It includes the Microsoft program.
Apparently Windows Defender is a malware scanner - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-defender
I suppose you’ll tell me there is no tooth fairy, and that I shouldn’t trust Microsoft marketing 
Well I don’t trust Microsoft marketing, but I don’t trust most of what I read, see, hear these days for that matter. Really hard to actually do any real risk analysis and work out the cost/benefit these days. The '80’s were so much easier 
Maybe I should have gone to the Microsoft website first as it would have saved me reading third party independent tests/reviews.
Yes, the tooth fairy does exist as I got money under my pillow many decades ago, when I lost a tooth…maybe she has retired?
Norton Security is available for as little as $18/$19 from stores such as Office Works on special.
The product is identical to the online version and qualifies for all updates.
Long time Norton subscriber.
Norton issued a media release about Wannacry.
Wonder if other AV/malwares also had any effect and what tge impact would have been if AV/malware provided no or limited protection.
Yep other AV vendors had some effect on stopping the spread. Bitdefender have sent out emails about their products see here for a bit of the blurb:
"Bitdefender customers are protected against the latest massive ransomware attack. Join them, stay safe!
You’ve probably heard of the WannaCry ransomware attack, which affected computers in dozens of countries around the globe. But did you know Bitdefender identifies and blocks WannaCry? Bitdefender users were safe during this massive ransomware attack.
Protect your precious files against sophisticated ransomware. Install Bitdefender and make sure you have your OS up to date.
Bitdefender. Proven to block ransomware.
Stay safe, you deserve it!
Bitdefender Team"
The impact would have been much worse but this isn’t still resolved as new variants are being seen in the wild already.
There is a new threat as well that is being seen at the moment and you can read about it at the following link:
http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2017/05/18/experts-warn-of-new-massive-cyber-attack
dannykane
You were wise to purchase from an Australian store. I ordered and paid $99 for Norton via AMEX for a client approximately three years ago. Now I cannot stop the Direct Debits nor obtain a refund for those charges.
Defender came free with Windows 10 pro, and seems to suit my purposes.
Hi @dannykane,
It is possible to stop automatic payments on your credit card.
If with the Commonwealth Bank, You can stop the automatic payment of your Credit Card by calling them on 132221. A Credit Card Specialist will be able to stop this from happening through their internal system.
One can also ask for a charge back if the payment was not authorised.
Other credit card issuing banks should also be able to do tge same.
At worst…which is not advisable unless there is no other option, is to ask the issuing bank to issue a new card with a new card number. This may interrupted other direct payments you may have set up though.
Like others in this thread I use Norton multi device annual sub and look out for deal in the month leading up to needing it. So just starting now to look and see some relatively low priced ebay sellers that claim to be in AUS but judging by the poor wording in their sites I suspect otherwise Anyway has anyone had a good/bad experience from these guys?
