Hi everyone,
sorry, but I can guarantee you that Norton Antivirus really does what Kraut1 tells us.
These "auto-deleting" issues existed in the past and they are still existing now. Quite some time ago I contacted someone at Symantec who explained me how Norton sometimes can "destroy" files. (As a matter of fact, they are put in some kind of “Vault” and removed from there. It is possible to retrieve a copy of the file, if you know where to look, but I discovered that this is easier said than done).
The program, which is initially created to detect viruses and malware, has an "in built" device to detect unknown or lesser known files of all sorts and if such an event takes place, can catalogue the files as more or less suspicious.
So, if at a certain moment of time the Norton program of user X detects such files, the program destroys or deletes them. This “destruction” can even happen if the files are on an external hard disk and installed from this location. For instance, you downloaded some files a few years ago, and didn’t use Norton Antivirus then, it is possible the files will be “destroyed” from your Ext HD in the process of installing if you use Norton now. It happened to me many times till I discovered what can be “done” about it.
Symantec tries to update their system as much as possible and enables a user to “tell” them about the existence of certain new files. However, this is no guarantee that a “new file” like the BAT files, will be detected as “safe” by Norton. That is why, if using Norton, you can enable “Silent Mode” or temporarily “Disable Auto-Protect”. I always disable my Norton Auto protection if I install SAS related files. Considering the time it sometimes takes to download them, it is worth the “little risk”. As Norton leaves them “at peace” after downloading, you can assume the file is safe to use, because the very first thing the anti-virus program does is evident: does the file contain viruses?
“Silent Mode” is not always a good setting for installing files though. I experienced deletion of files in this mode, so, as I mentioned: disabling Auto-Protect to install things is the only solution which works for me. As soon as the install is finished… enable the auto protection again. Of course!
I hope this info will be of any use.
Best regards,
Jenato