The PC is question is my old work laptop that I bought from my employer. They sent me home with a clean install of Windows 7 SP1. All I've done so far is install Chrome and run several rounds of Windows update.

I tried to install Spotify earlier, and the download status for the .exe said "Failed - Blocked." I read a bit, and I saw suggestions that an anti-virus software could be blocking it. This came with a trial version of Norton that I had no intentions of using. So I tried to unistall it. When I highlight Norton and click "Uninstall" in Programs and Features, nothing happens. So then I tried to download the removal tool from Norton. That .exe download was also blocked.

I tried to open IE to see if I could use it as a workaround. When the IE app launches, I get two tabs that are nothing but white windows, the URL fields are empty, and the tabs are untitled.

I tried to download Firefox, and that .exe was blocked as well.

I want to:
-Fix whatever is blocking .exe downloads
-Uninstall Norton
- Fix IE

What do I need to do?

Reboot in safe mode with networking.


Download combofix and run it.


 

If it's blocked then save it in c drive and run from the command prompt.

thought of mcafee for norton. fail. :(

Try FireFox. And if cannot get it to DL run a virus scan or turn off some of the shit on the one you have running.

Done.

The log file indicated it deleted a couple files, but after rebooting the PC, I'm still having the same issues.

IObit uninstaller, if you can get it, will allow you to remove a program that windows will not allow you to remove.

I'm assuming that's a good path for killing Norton, but do you think that will end the blocked downloads?

What other things should I check?

iMac.

I think it might be getting worse.

I downloaded the Norton uninstaller tool with a separate PC, and copied the file to USB. I tried to run the file on the broken PC, and I got a message saying: "the ordinal 306 could not be located in the dynamic link library iertutil.dll"

Based on suggestions I saw in a Google search, I ran the System File Checker. It found a few errors and indicated that corrections would not take effect until the next reboot.

I clicked shut down, and as the PC was on the way down, I got a BSOD.

Search for rootkill and run it the same way

Wipe and install Linux Mint

FIFY.  Time to reinstall the OS.

Do you have admin privledges?

I had a Toshiba satellite given to me because it was locked up.
HD was toast so I got a used one from my IT guy.
Plugged in a WIN 7 developer OS to get it running off a USB stick. (no CDROM)
Had all sorts of issues with updates etc and decided to upgrade it to WIN 10.

Darned thing runs like a champ now !

The System File Check seemed to help a lot. IIRC, when it came back up after the BSOD, it ran a few more processes before rebooting again.

I was then able to run the Norton Uninstall tool from USB. After that was done, I downloaded Microsoft Security Essentials so I'd have some kind of antivirus, and I ran that.

As it stands right now, all of my major complaints have been addressed. I can download .exe files, Norton is gone, and IE works, not that I'll ever use it for anything other than a spare browser.

I'm open to the idea of running a Linux OS just as soon as all the apps I run are supported.

The first one I looked up is Spotify, and that's a no-go.

'Unofficial' but endorsed by Spotify
https://www.spotify.com/us/download/linux/

Edit: Just googled 'linux spotify', I have not used this.

Edit 2:  Looks like the above has issues.  Some possible work arounds: https://linuxconfig.org/installation-of-spotify-client-on-debian-linux-8-jessie-64-bit

Get on a unix os.

Linux, Mac, anything but Winblows.  

You had the bad luck to get the hardest to uninstall, most pita antivirus on the market.  Oh yeah, it's not as good as Sophos at stopping stuff.

Spotify runs fine on Mac OSX.

Who is the manufacturer of the laptop?