To answer Andy's question about the disappearing icon:

The section of the start bar usually at the far right is called the "System Tray" or the "Startup Bar" and shows things that are started automatically when you boot up - and that you might want to click open while running. You probably have lots of things that start automatically at boot that don't have an icon there, but programs that you might need to get to easily often put one on that section of the start bar.

(For reference, the left end of the bar is usually called the "Quick Start" bar, and includes things like your Browser and Email programs that don't start automatically but that you might use frequently. You may need to click on a >> icon to see all of what's there, and you may find your Symantec icon still in that location(?).)

Since your AV and firewall need to be turned on any time you boot up, and you may need to get to them to tweak something, it's usual to have icons in the SystTray/Startup bar; but quite often things that appear there will also put an icon on your desktop as well. Some programs may give you a desktop icon without putting an icon in the SysTray/Startup or QuickStart bar.

If Symantec discontinued a free version, they wouldn't ordinarily remove the program, they'd just quit keeping it up to date. You need to look at whether the program is still on your machine. If it's no longer supported by Symantec, you probably should remove it and get a replacement program from somewhere else.

You can look for a desktop icon, or look in Start|Programs, but the surest way to find whether the program is still present is in Control Panel | Add/Remove programs. When you click on the Add/Remove Programs, your computer will search itself for all programs that it has installed and that it can remove, and will show you the list. You can "Cancel" out without making any changes if there isn't anything listed that you need to change.

If you do decide you need to remove any program you should always use the Control Panel|Add/Remove Programs method if the program is listed there. Just deleting files/folders is likely to eventually screw up your machine.

I wasn't aware of a "free" Symantec AV or Firewall, although most of their basic programs can be downloaded, or may come installed on new machines, with a "free trial" period, typically 30 to 90 days. If you purchased the program, the purchase price includes a specific period during which you can receive updates, usually one year, after which you must pay an annual subscription fee. The program should remain on your machine, and you should still be able to use it to scan for old threats; but without regular updates you'll be vulnerable to any new threats that weren't known at the time of your "expiration."

The last "merger" of significance that I've found for Symantec was almost two years ago, so I doubt that the disappearing icon is directly related to that. It's more likely that your initial subscription/trial period has just run out.

If you've been on the web at all without an operating AntiVirus and/or Firewall, you need to get a scan fairly frequently while you're looking for a replacement to install. As you've been using Symantec, you can go to:

Symantec Security Check

Follow the instructions and they'll scan your machine for currently common viruses and other malware, and will also, if you choose to let them, look to see how "visible" your machine is, and hence how vulnerable to a variety of malicious attacks. They will suggest, of course, Symantec products that you can use to "get safe," but there's been no significant pressure (and unlike some similar sites, no blatent lies and scare-mongering) for you to buy something immediately.

Free web-scan sites commonly will not remove malware that they find, and I can't say whether Symantec offers removal¹; but at least you'll know whether you're infected. If some infection is found, your choices are to immediately get a program to remove it (not necessarily from the site doing the scan), or look in an AV vendor's database to see if you can find instructions for manual removal (not too highly recommended if you're not fairly experienced, or at all recommended if you have trouble following instructions exactly).

¹ All retai Symantec programs that I've seen recommend that you use the web-scan site to verify that you don't have an infection on the machine before you install the product, so they may offer removal(?) of anything found.

John