Norton has launched its new internet security suite 2011 and Antivirus 2011 that not only blocks viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, worms, bots, and rootkits but also claims to be a faster and slimmed down version. The intelligence-driven technology incorporated by this security tool results in faster and shorter scans. Most importantly Norton internet security suite 2011 is believed to have the least effect on the performance as it uses low amount of system resources. As opposed to the sluggish earlier versions, the newer version promises advanced protection and protection against web attacks that exploit software vulnerabilities. To review the product, we downloaded the trial version of the new Norton internet security tool.
Installing the Software
The installation process was smooth sailing and the 66.6 MB setup file was downloaded in a matter of a couple of minutes without a reboot, thanks to the fast installer. Once the software is up and running, updates can be downloaded from LiveUpdate service.
Interface Design
Unlike the garish colors used in the earlier version of Norton security suite, the interface for this version is clean and the background colors can be changed. The changeability of the tools is reliant on simple On/Off buttons with the access to help next to it. In addition pop up dialog boxes clarify certain terms, although the lack of a detailed explanation is still lacking.
In addition to the normal features such as Antivirus and Firewall, the suite offers two optional bar graphs representing the amount of Windows resources used and one for the specific resources used by the Norton product.
Product Features
Norton has integrated a number of award winning technologies in the product including whitelisting which results in safe files that need not be scanned often. Moreover security features like AntiSpam, Browser protection, Email Scan, Instant Messenger Scan, Intrusion Prevention and Smart Firewall make it a great tool for internet. Its browser protections protects against malware while the firewall is equipped with ‘Automatic Program Control’ in Advanced Settings. This is flexible and can be changed by advanced users. Antiphishing and Identity protection is considered an extension of browser protection
However there are a number of problems associated with its features. While Norton security does claim faster scans and lesser idle memory time usage, the performance scan on a 25GB hard disk took more than a couple of minutes, a slight improvement over other tools with idle time memory usage around 10 MB. The computer settings such as scans, Live Updates and Real time protection are given fancy names that lead to confusion. Moreover features like Proactive defense needs to be improved while the alerts for unknown software installations need to be updated
Norton Internet Security 2011 For Free
Norton AntiVirus 2011 For Free