Tag: nonav

Symantec’s CleanWipe Removes AntiVirus

Symantec’s CleanWipe is a tool that is used to prepare or clean a Windows computer before you install Symantec Endpoint Protection, or to completely remove any instance of Syamantec Antivirus. The tool comes as a executable file that unzips its contents into a folder and then runs. The password for this self-extracting executable usually is “symantec” (no quotes, all lower case).If nothing else is working when trying to remove a stuck install of a Symantec Antivirus product, CleanWipe can usually get the job done.

CleanWipe will remove all remnants of the following products from a computer:

· Symantec Endpoint Protection
· Symantec AntiVirus
· Symantec Client Security
· Symantec Sygate Enterprise Protection
· Symantec Network Access Control
· Norton AntiVirus
· Symantec System Center
· Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager
· Symantec Protection Center

Use Cleanwipe with caution however, as it can step on other products that may depend on Symantec component applications- an example would be BackupExec or Live Update. CleanWipe can be acquired from Symantec Tech Support. If you have a valid support contract, call in and the technician will provide a link to download the latest version.

Symantec CleanwipeSimilar to the earlier product ‘nonav’, running Symantec’s Cleanwipe is simple, just follow along with the prompts as they appear, then allow the machine to reboot when finished.

Symantec’s NoNav Utility

NoNav is a utility provided by Symantec tech support. Sometimes, a Symantec Corporate AntiVirus installation fails for a client, and one of the recommended remediation practices is to remove the app manually. The problem with doing this is the number of steps in the process, including visiting hundreds of locations in the Windows registry to see if certain keys exist and if so, deleting them. For one box, this is a process. For five boxes, this is a project. You could try scripting this, or you can contact Symantec Tech support and get a copy of NoNav. This utility- Current Version 2.6- will clean out most of the settings left by Symantec Corporate versions 4,5,6,7,8,9,and 10. It should be noted that Norton (retail) products are not covered with the NoNav tool.

Running Nonav is simple, click on the executable file and it will ask for some input about what you would like to remove- Live update, virus definitions, etc. Some other input is required, options for scanning for .msi leftovers, rebooting the box at program end, and more. Each of these choices has an explanation and a recommended or not recommended note to guide the user. Let the program do some work, and if you have selected the option to do so, the machine will reboot automatically.

After the machine comes back up, you want to delete some directories left behind. These are outlined in the readme file included with NoNav- Symantec’s install directory, some shared file locations and some staging areas. Kill any that you find. Finally, delete everything in the system’s Temp directory (start, run, %TEMP%). Reboot again, and you can now reinstall the latest version of SAV and patch it to the right level.

NoNav can be acquired from Symantec Tech Support. If you have a valid support contract, call in and the technician will provide a link to download the latest version.