Symantec needs bank details for ‘continuous’ security

Several readers have asked us whether we have further news from Symantec about why it requires customers to enter their bank or card details to register its Norton security software,

We covered this in Issues 562 and 570, explaining that Symantec wants your payment details whether you bought the software directly from its website or from a third party, such as PC World. Previously, the company asked you to enter only your licence key to activate the software.

Symantec told us that it asks for these details because it ensures the software will renew automatically at the end of the initial period, providing what it calls “continuous protection”. Without your bank details, it wouldn’t be able to take your payment, and the software would stop working on your PC.

This may sound underhand, but legally there’s nothing wrong with it. For years it’s been common practice for subscriptions to renew automatically, without any action required on your part.

If you’re not keen on this, you can choose to cancel the automatic subscription after you’ve entered your payment details. But this won’t satisfy the many customers who think registering a program shouldn’t require payment details. It’s worth asking Symantec whether it’ll let you use the software without registering. It may think twice if you say you’re not happy about it, and will switch to another antivirus. Contact the customer’s support team at www.snipca.com/34710.