Over the years, Norton has had a lot of peaks and valleys with their antivirus software. Some years its been great, other years, not so much. This year, we're happy to report, Norton has put together a compelling product.
The antivirus protection is good—even impressive—in most areas. Norton scored well among independent testing labs and fairly well with us, too.
The user interface has been reworked, and we'd like to congratulate them on it. It's clean, modern, and easy to use.
Norton's technical support can still be confusing and at times expensive, but it's better structured and easier to get answers with than many competitors.
Overall, Norton Security stacks up to be a credible antivirus program.
Certified by:
The antivirus protection is good—even impressive—in most areas. Norton scored well among independent testing labs and fairly well with us, too.
The user interface has been reworked, and we'd like to congratulate them on it. It's clean, modern, and easy to use.
Norton's technical support can still be confusing and at times expensive, but it's better structured and easier to get answers with than many competitors.
Overall, Norton Security stacks up to be a credible antivirus program.
Certified by:
- AV Comparatives
- AV-Test
- ICSA
- VB Bulletin
- PC Security Labs
Virus & Spyware Protection: 92%
Norton scored near the top in most independent tests, and average in our own in-house tests, Nearly 80% of known viruses were identified and blocked. That's a little low for our liking but acceptable.
Independent testing showed Norton Security to be passable with unknown threats as well as virus removal.
One aspect we really didn't like was the method Norton uses to alert you to a threat.
A tiny window will pop up in the corner of your screen letting you know a threat has been detected and removed.
What was disappointing was that the window disappears so quickly, if you're not paying close attention, you'll miss it, which means you could be cruising around a dangerous website none the wiser.
We admire Norton for trying to be unobtrusive, but a more noticeable alert would be welcome.
Resource Usage: 80%
Norton Security runs light on your PC, using less than 1% CPU when running idle, and about 7MB of memory.
During a system scan, Norton's memory usage was low, hovering around 50MB. CPU usage during a scan ranged from 53%-90%. Overall, a low system resource footprint on our 2GB memory testing computers.
Considering Norton's reputation as a system hog, what we found with the PCs on our test bench was quite the opposite.
Also impressive is Norton's installation time, which absolutely destroys the competitors, completing before some really even get started.
User Interface: 95%
Independent testing showed Norton Security to be passable with unknown threats as well as virus removal.
One aspect we really didn't like was the method Norton uses to alert you to a threat.
A tiny window will pop up in the corner of your screen letting you know a threat has been detected and removed.
What was disappointing was that the window disappears so quickly, if you're not paying close attention, you'll miss it, which means you could be cruising around a dangerous website none the wiser.
We admire Norton for trying to be unobtrusive, but a more noticeable alert would be welcome.
Resource Usage: 80%
Norton Security runs light on your PC, using less than 1% CPU when running idle, and about 7MB of memory.
During a system scan, Norton's memory usage was low, hovering around 50MB. CPU usage during a scan ranged from 53%-90%. Overall, a low system resource footprint on our 2GB memory testing computers.
Considering Norton's reputation as a system hog, what we found with the PCs on our test bench was quite the opposite.
Also impressive is Norton's installation time, which absolutely destroys the competitors, completing before some really even get started.
User Interface: 95%
Click images to enlarge
Norton's user interface hasn't always been our favorite part of their software. Sometimes it's been downright unbearable. This year is much, much different.
The tight and modern look is very easy to use with a handful of basic sections clearly labeled with big icons for easy navigation. Each section opens up to simple switches clearly describing what each setting does.
Competitors would be well-served to study Norton's interface: they got this one right.
Technical Support: 75%
Norton's technical support is still its weakest aspect. Symantec has a searchable knowledgebase that'll answer most questions, along with chat and phone support.
If you happen to get a virus, and none of Norton's removal tools will get rid of it, you'll have to pay Symantec $99 to manually remove it, if you want their help. With at least three competitors now offering this service for free, this one is a puzzler.
They do, however, offer monthly service plans ranging from $5.99-$19.95/month that include virus removal.
Unfortunately, more than one rep we spoke with on their support team was unsure what the prices were and just what was included. Thus, we can't report as fact that there aren't hidden fees even if you opt for these pre-pay plans, but it doesn't appear so.
Conclusion - Overall Score: 81%
The tight and modern look is very easy to use with a handful of basic sections clearly labeled with big icons for easy navigation. Each section opens up to simple switches clearly describing what each setting does.
Competitors would be well-served to study Norton's interface: they got this one right.
Technical Support: 75%
Norton's technical support is still its weakest aspect. Symantec has a searchable knowledgebase that'll answer most questions, along with chat and phone support.
If you happen to get a virus, and none of Norton's removal tools will get rid of it, you'll have to pay Symantec $99 to manually remove it, if you want their help. With at least three competitors now offering this service for free, this one is a puzzler.
They do, however, offer monthly service plans ranging from $5.99-$19.95/month that include virus removal.
Unfortunately, more than one rep we spoke with on their support team was unsure what the prices were and just what was included. Thus, we can't report as fact that there aren't hidden fees even if you opt for these pre-pay plans, but it doesn't appear so.
Conclusion - Overall Score: 81%
- Easy installer
- Good real-time virus protection
- Good virus removal
Norton Security makes a strong comeback this year with a much better interface, good virus protection, and low resource usage.
Tech support is remains a problem area for Norton, where things can get expensive fast.
The disk and system optimization features were effective and nice additions to the software.
Tech support is remains a problem area for Norton, where things can get expensive fast.
The disk and system optimization features were effective and nice additions to the software.
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