Norton Internet Security 21 "Scan Now"

Help & Support
1

I am running Windows 8 Pro x64 with Directory Opus 10.5.2.0 (4913) x64.

With Norton Internet Security 2013, a "Scan Now" item appeared in the right-click menu of Windows Explorer and Directory Opus for all folders and files. After upgrading Norton Internet Security to version 21.0.1.3 (the latest "2014" version), there is no longer a right-click item for it in Directory Opus. Windows Explorer however still shows the right-click menu item.

Norton is the only item that's obviously missing from Directory Opus, so it's probably a Norton issue. I'm reporting it here in case it's something that needs fixing (or would be most easily fixed) in Directory Opus. The issue has been reported in the Norton Community forum.

2

One thing to check is that Opus is 'seeing' the Norton shell extension. That will tell us if the problem happens when Opus asks the shell extension to add its menu items, or if we aren't even reaching that point.

If you want to check that, please follow the steps in the Finding The Culprit section of this guide. (i.e. Turn on context_menu_debug, run DebugView and see what is output when you right-click a file.)

If you see some entries for Norton, one thing to check is that they're for the right version. (Maybe Opus is calling the old version of the shell extension, if the upgrade has left some old registry settings or something, and that's why it's not working.) It may be difficult to tell, depending on what the debug output says; a tool like ShellExView can be used to get more information about all the shell extensions, including the path to their DLLs which often reveals their version details.

If you see entries for Norton's shell extension when you right-click files, then Opus is calling it but it isn't adding anything to the menu for some reason. Norton will probably need to debug what's happening on their side if that is the case, since we can't see what's happening inside their code.

If you don't see any entries for Norton's shell extension, it may be registered in a way which Opus doesn't support. (There are so many different ways to do it, some undocumented, so it's possible there is one we have missed.) If that's the case, maybe Norton can look at what's changed between the old and new versions, in terms of how the shell extension is registered or which interfaces it expects to be used, and we can look into making Opus work with what they're doing if it's possible & makes sense.

Whether the problem turns out to be in Norton or Opus, if it's easy for us to add a fix or workaround then we'll usually do so, to get things working quicker and in case the same thing affects other programs.

Finally, it's a bit of a long shot, but it might be worth trying with the latest beta version of Opus (10.5.2.5, linked in my signature). That has some changes which may affect shell extensions which (potentially) talk to the network, which might include this one. It probably won't make a difference, but the beta has proven stable and it's a quick thing to try, so worth a go in case it saves time.

3

Hello Leo. Thank you for that comprehensive response.

I updated Directory Opus Pro to 10.5.2.5 (4997) x64 and rebooted. Still no sign of Norton in the right-click menu.

After turning context_menu_debug on, DebugView showed only this Norton item when either a folder or file was right-clicked:
[8980] [10316] dopus: CLSID: {FAD61B3D-699D-49B2-BE16-7F82CB4C59CA} (IEContextMenu Class) ("C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine64\21.0.1.3\NavShExt.dll")

21.0.1.3 is the current version of Norton Internet Security, and the DLL is in that location.

So, next step should be to pass that information on to Symantec?

Lance

4

Thank you for the debug information.

That confirms that Opus is calling Norton's shell extension (unless it has more than one context menu shell extension and this isn't the relevant one, which is possible but also quite rare).

Since Opus is calling the extension but it doesn't seem to be adding any menu items in response, I'd say it makes sense to pass this back to Norton so that they can debug what's happening inside the call.

That said, it's also worth a try to change Preferences / Miscellaneous / Advanced: dlldir_security to False in Opus, then fully exit Opus and try again. (If it doesn't work, please set it back to True and restart Opus another time. The default mode is more secure but does trip up a handful of shell extensions.)

5

Thanks again Leo. Unfortunately changing the dlldir_security setting to False did not make the item appear. I will update my post in the Norton forum with this information.

6

I have the same problem using the latest version of Norton Internet Security with Windows 7 Pro 64b.

7

I got no response in the Norton forums. That's unusual as the forums are monitored by Symantec people, and I have had "conversations" with them many times before. I'm reluctant to submit a problem report through the usual channels. The support people are always helpful, but it's not easy to get things passed through to their developers (Symantec is hardly alone in that respect!). I've simply been running Norton scans from Windows Explorer, hoping the problem would be magically resolved :slight_smile:

8

Removed by Symantec.
community.norton.com/t5/Norton-I ... 285/page/3

9

Hello lancea,

Sorry for the inconvenience caused! I am Vineeth and I am from the Norton Support team.

Let me check with my team and find out why this feature has been removed in the latest version. I would certainly let you know if I get an update and if it is something I can share.

Thanks!

Vineeth
Norton Support

10

Hi Vineeth,

Thank you for that, and also to hemm99 for posting the link back to the Norton forums. Having "Scan Now" in the Directory Opus right-click menu is very useful. I know that Norton Internet Security is scanning things automatically, but I still often do manual scans of folders.

Lance

11

If Norton has a command-line interface that lets you pass it file/folder names to scan, that would be one workaround. You could create a similar context menu item (or toolbar button or hotkey) to the one that is in Explorer by default.

12

Based on a comment in that forum about using the sendto menu, and some quick testing here (still at v20 though)... this seems to work ok as a custom context menu action:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\20.4.0.40\Navw32.exe" {F}

...note the use of the "Need All" control code == capital {F}. If use the usual lower-case {f}, you'll get multiple NAV scan windows (one for each item selected if multiple items are selected), as well as scan errors on items that have spaces in their path names for some reason. Either way, use {F} to get the same behavior as the native NAV context menu.

Also note: fixup the actual path to Navw32.exe... mine above is still referencing a path to v20.

13

Interesting. Thank you. I'll give it a try when I get home. I'm a bit worried about scan errors where items have spaces as it probably means they are not getting scanned. Still, I suppose an error is better than no error in that case. Malwarebytes won't scan anything with a macron in the name, but it doesn't raise any error (except that the number of items scanned will be less than you'd expect). I'm still hoping that Symantec will restore the functionality.

14

...if you use the upper-case {F} like I used in the code block, you won't have that problem. I only mentioned the issue about spaces for users who are familiar with Opus and might have not noticed I used capital {F} instead of lower-case {f}... which is what most of us use most often. It's only the lower-case {f} that seems to cause the issue.

Good luck with that, the forum post that hemm99 pointed us to indicates they are now intentionally blocking any third party file managers. And certainly, from the forum post - users of multiple file managers chimed in confirming the issue (Total Commander, Turbo Navigator, Free Commander, and PowerDesk). Besides that, it took Symantec a month to report back that the problem was the result of an intentional change, and another 3 weeks has gone by with no explanation of of the reason for the change, despite several requests for such an explanation.

We've had a post from an apparent Symantec support representative here in THIS thread... so @Vineeth, there shouldn't be any credible reason preventing Symantec from explaining the removal of functionality to your paying customers. You have an opportunity to be the good guy here and get an answer to your customers who use Opus here, though I think that answer properly belongs in that Norton community thread (as well)...

All that said, for the Opus users here... does it REALLY matter? As long as the command line above proves to work the same as the context menu/shell extension that Symantec has taken away from us, why should we care? Use the code above, and lets all sympathize for the users of those other file managers if their apps don't allow them to make the same context menu customization that Opus lets us use to make it a non-issue for us :slight_smile:.

15

Watch out, everyone that asks about it disappears. Nuralized by the Men in Black. I suspect the NSA is behind it.

16

Sorry. I should have read your post more thoroughly. Anyway, I created a Context Menu item for "All files and folders" using the {F}, but Norton just returns a message saying it cannot find location "{F}". I read through the excellent Directory Opus help on parameters, and everything looked like it should work. I then looked at some other programs in the Context Menu settings, and ended up trying this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\21.1.0.18\navw32.exe "%1"

It works exactly as I want. When I selected some files, Norton returns a list of the files with paths, but says it cannot find them. I'm very happy that I can scan everything beneath a folder, so thank you for that. If you have any idea why {F} won't work I would be interested.

One useful thing I found when I was testing the lines in a CMD window, if you enter this (for the current version):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\21.1.0.18\navw32.exe

you get taken to the Symantec site and see the help for "Running a scan at the command prompt".

...if you use the upper-case {F} like I used in the code block, you won't have that problem. I only mentioned the issue about spaces for users who are familiar with Opus and might have not noticed I used capital {F} instead of lower-case {f}... which is what most of us use most often. It's only the lower-case {f} that seems to cause the issue.

17

First, for your current version - go ahead and copy and paste THIS into your context menu:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\21.1.0.18\navw32.exe" {F}

...second, the reason NAV choked on {F} is most likely because I left out a piece. You probably left the 'Type' for your new context menu action set to the default value of 'Run an application (supported in Opus and Explorer)'. Change the 'Type' drop down to 'Run an Opus function (not supported in Explorer)' and the {F} code will work as expected. Sorry for leaving that bit out...

Worth noting though - that as you upgrade NAV, the path to navw32.exe is likely going to change. That kind of sucks, as it means you'll need to modify your context menu as you upgrade NAV to reflect the updated path.

18

Excellent! That's working perfectly on folders and files. You've also introduced me to one of the many abilities of Directory Opus that I've not used before. So thank you very much.

As you said earlier, it's likely we're going to have to put up with the inconvenience - unless the CEO of Symantec wants it back ...

19

I'm running Opus 10.5.2.0 and I do not have the option for 'Type' as stated, i.e., 'Run an Opus function (not supported in Explorer)'. I have two options for "Type": (a) 'Run an Application" or "DDE command'. Am I doing something wrong? BTW, C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Internet Security\Engine\21.1.0.18\navw32.exe "%1" doesn't work for me either. I get a window asking me which program I wish to open the file I want scanned. Thanks.

20

The available type options will be different when creating a new context menu item versus editing an existing one. If the item was created with the wrong type, you may need to delete the item and create a new one to change it.