"I have been using Norton Antivirus 2006 in conjunction with Spy Sweeper and ZoneAlarm Pro, and this combination of three top-rated products worked very well for me," the reader wrote. "In anticipation of my subscription to updates expiring on Oct. 6, I ordered the NAV 2007 product. When I tried to install it, I got a message saying that both ZoneAlarm and Spy Sweeper had to be removed from my system before installation could continue."

Since NAV 2006 had coexisted with Spy Sweeper and Zone Alarm Pro without a problem, the reader wondered whether the NAV installation message was correct. "I tried ignoring the warning message, but the installation wouldn't proceed," the reader wrote. "The obvious solution, as Symantec's reps explained it when I called them, would be for me to abandon both of my non-Symantec stalwarts in favor of their bloated Internet Security package. The first rep simply said that the message was accurate and that Zone Alarm and Spy Sweeper would have to go. The second told me that the two programs would conflict with the spyware protection and firewall that were part of Norton AV 2007. I assumed that to be wrong, because if it were true, what would be the point of spending more money for Norton Internet Security?"

While it seemed highly improbable that Symantec would deliberately make NAV incompatible with two popular security products - particularly when it's busy complaining about alleged anti-competitive moves by Microsoft - the responses of Symantec's support reps made him wonder. "I refused to be bulled by these tactics," the reader wrote. "I was able to get the charge for the 2007 version rescinded -- or so I was told -- after another marathon conversation with two Symantec representatives on the Bangalore hotline." The reader decided to reinstall NAV 2006 and extend his Live Update subscription instead, which became another struggle. "I did exactly what I was told and borked my system so badly that I had to restore my C: drive from an image. Norton Antivirus then demanded to be reactivated, which I did, only to again discover that it couldn't be updated. Bottom line is I'll restore from backup one more time and start looking for a competing antivirus product for when this last subscription runs out."

A little Googling shows others have run into the NAV 2007 incompatibility message with these and other products, but just how widespread the problems are and in what circumstances they occur is not clear. When contacted yesterday, spokespersons said that all actual incompatibilities will be corrected soon. "Many security software vendors, including Symantec, have worked closely for years to resolve similar software conflicts and will continue to do so as new security technologies emerge," said a Symantec spokesperson, who was not able to confirm what Symantec knows about NAV 2007 conflicts with ZoneAlarm Pro or Spy Sweeper by press time. A ZoneLabs spokesperson said the company is not aware of conflicts with NAV 2007, but that any that emerge will be temporary. A Webroot spokesperson told me there is a known issue with how Spy Sweeper identifies NAV 2007 that can lead users to halt the install, and the problem will be corrected in the next release of the anti-spyware program.

So perhaps, at least for the time being, users can still choose the products they prefer in each security category. One thing for sure though is that Symantec support's handling of the situation has cost it one NAV 2007 customer. "Whatever the source of the incompatibilities, the way I was told to address them was wrong," the reader wrote. "If anyone else runs into similar problems, and doesn't want to waste a day on the phone, I'd suggest they think twice about referring their issues to Symantec support."