There are only a few pieces of software
that I would recommend for every computer. The first is an antivirus
with updated virus files. The second is a properly configured
firewall. The third (which has been a late addition to my list) is a
backup software. The third was only really added after close run-ins
with losing my data and realising just how much important data one
actually has accumulated over the years. In the last few years,
several companies have released all-in-one solutions to capture this
market. Symantec has just released the newest version of their
all-in-one–Norton 360 version 3.0. How does it rate?
Features
Norton 360 is more than just the
Antivirus/Firewall/Backup solution. It also includes anti-phishing
protection and various tune-up utilities. It installs into a small
icon on your system tray which when opened, displays a control
centre containing the 4 major areas: PC Security, Identity
Protection, Backup, PC Tune up. It is here that any alerts, that
need attention, are shown. There was a time when Symantec had
problems with the strain their software exerted on your computer,
but Norton 360 feels lightweight and quick, even on my msi Wind. The
user interface is slick and clean.
PC Security.
This is the module for defending against worms/spyware/viruses and
other malware. As usual, Symantec's LiveUpdate component handles the
signature updates. I have always found the updating of Symantec's
products to be painfree and I found this to be the case with Norton
360. The efficacy of the virus protection has forever been one of
the major selling points of Symantec products and with Symantec
Antivirus engine working behind the scenes, one trusts that they are
being protected by one of the more effective engines out there. One
interesting aspect is the idea of a comprehensive scan, which
includes the obvious malware scans but adds disk optimisation.
Disk optimisation is a bit of a misnomer as it includes a defrag
(whose necessity. for NTFS, is debatable) and also includes a
registry clean. This may be a trap for the unwary, thinking they are
tuning up their disk, while in fact, are fiddling with something
that could seriously break something I have never been a fan of
registry cleaners who do bulk "fixes" and am of the school of
thought that one should not go into the registry unless absolutely
necessary, and certainly not for a spring cleaning or tuneup. The
comprehensive scan also frees up disk space and does a back up. As a
reasonably technical user, I think this coupling makes a strange
combination. The firewall's configuration can also be found here as
well and is as configurable as you would expect, with a nice,
user-friendly interface to boot. My personal opinion is that a local
firewall is not that important if you are behind a properly
configured router, but it's always a good idea to have one.
Identity Protection
This seems to be a hot topic at the moment and the centrepiece of
this is the Norton Safe Web, (similar to McAfee SiteAdvisor). While
browsing the internet with supported browsers, the Norton toolbar
will receive information on the site you are visiting and alert you
if it is a fraudulent web site. This may be useful for sites in the
database, but users should be aware of new sites not in the
database. It also allows you to securely save your
usernames/passwords under a master password.
Backup
The Backup area is a nice addition to the toolkit, allowing users to
create back up sets with already defined filesets (e.g. Documents,
Videos, Photos, Financial Documents) and schedule them accordingly.
Depending on the version, users may also be allowed access to an
online backup location. As the major rule of backup, your most
important files need to be backed up and they really should be
backed up to a location off-site. One feature that seems to be
missing, when compared to Norton Ghost, is a system backup, which
allows you to back up windows system files, in case your computer
suffers a major fault preventing start up, which for a product that
seems to portray an air of completeness, is surprising to have been
omitted.
PC tuenup.
The PC Tune up area is just a bit of a grab bag of small utilities
and, from my point of view, of limited usefulness: a defragger, a
temporary file deleter, a report generator (which generates a report
of your hardware and software) and a startup manager. The most
useful utility is probably the startup manager, which is similar to
a lot of free utilities that you can download, but has a user
friendly interface. The start up manager allows you to turn on and
off what is loaded at startup, potential improving startup time.
All in all, Norton 360 is a pretty complete package and is great for
people needing an anti virus and don't know where to start. You get
one of the best anti virus engines around, up to date virus
signatures plus a competent firewall and an easy to use backup. All
is hidden behind a clean user interface and the software is
lightweight and quick.
Rating (8/10)
