Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009

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We all know protecting our computers from the viruses, malware and spam lurking on the internet is as essential as getting inoculated against malaria if you’re visiting the jungle. But internet security suites have a history of being bloated and time-consuming to use. Installing and configuring them can also be a joyless experience. However, Symantec has gone back to the drawing board and come out with an incredibly fast, easy-to-install complete security package.

Features
Norton’s user interface has been scaled back and leaves just three categories on the dashboard: internet, computer and identity. There are several notable features beyond the usual anti-virus/anti-spyware/firewall triumvirate, including Identity Safe for protecting your identity during financial transactions. A new tool called Norton Insight lets the software cut back on computer-intensive scanning functions. It’s a complex process that uses Norton users to gather information on trustworthy files – as long as the file on your PC conforms to Norton’s database (which is maintained on a server and isn’t transferred to your PC) and doesn’t change, it’s deemed malware-free and isn’t scanned. Reinforcing the software’s claim to reduce its drain on your PC’s resources, there’s also a monitor that displays how much of your system Norton and the rest of your programs are using.

Performance
Symantec claims you can have Norton up and running in a minute and we can’t dispute that. It has also dramatically decreased its use of your PC’s resources, reducing its typical memory footprint to around 7MB. To reduce bloating, tools such as parental controls are now free options that you can download as needed. We weren’t quite so impressed with its spam detection, which let through a small amount of troublesome email in our tests.

Ease of use
Although there’s arguably even more to this version of the suite than previous releases, the glossy tidy interface is simple to use. If you want to, however, you can dig down and check every file on your computer. Scheduling scans and updates has been tweaked so the software recognises your computer’s idle time and does such heavy work during downtime, and you can set this manually too. Symantec also provides free telephone support if you need further assistance.

Value for money
Despite all the improvements the price is the same as last year, and Norton continues to offer a superior ability to detect and stop malware and spyware according to third-party testers like Virus Bulletin (www.virusbtn.com) and AV-Test (www.av-test.org). However, it’s worth noting that for a similar price, some of Norton’s rivals offer extra features such as back-up and PC tune-up.