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Norton AntiVirus 2008 with AntiSpyware
Viruses... Trojans... worms... spyware...
the list goes on and on and once again as these threats are becoming
more prevalent and more dangerous to computer systems.
Although there are a number of Anti Virus
programs available on the market, none have been around for as long as
the Norton AntiVirus series and their current 2008 edition has arrived
to assist the user in maintaining their computer security and data
integrity.
It should be said that Norton AntiVirus has
had its hiccups in the past as the software was quite resource hungry
and did cause some users a number of different headaches but Symantec
continue to improve the software and this current edition is a very
impressive software package.
Features
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Improved performance delivers faster
scans NEW
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One click access to expert support NEW
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Works quietly in the background. NEW
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Network mapping provides a view of your
home network. NEW
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Detects and removes spyware and viruses
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Blocks spyware and worms automatically
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Antivirus protection for email and
instant messaging
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Prevents virus-infected emails from
spreading
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Rootkit detection finds and removes
hidden threats
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Includes protection updates and new
product features as available throughout the renewable service
period
The installation of Norton AntiVirus 2008
simply auto-installed once the CD was detected by the computer and
although the installation is quite brief, the scanning that it performs
afterwards is dependent on hardware specifications and the number of
files on your hard drive or hard drives.
Fortunately our computer was "virus" free. In relation to resource
hogging, the program does slow the system down, however it is quite
minimal on our AMD Phenom 9600 system with 4GB of RAM.
Once again Norton continue their user friendly interface and 2008
features a few small tweaks since its last incarnation, making this one
of the better interfaces available for this type of software. The icons
are all self-explanatory and for those more advanced users, the program
still allows them to tweak the software, however for the novice user, no
tweaking is required.
Once installed, the software offers the
user a 12-month subscription to support and updates, giving you peace of
mind. If something does happen, the Norton icon int he system tray will
display an error which means the user will need to address the problem.
We tested the program with some of our "known" viruses via e-mail and
attempting to run an infected program and Norton AntiVirus immediately
detected these threats and quarantined the suspecting files.
Even if new viruses are released, the program does have the ability
thanks to its algorithms and programming to stop "new" threats and when
these threats do become known, the program is automatically updated to
ensure the best possible protection.
The program supports anti spyware
technology which prevents "junk" from infecting your system and although
is quite powerful, it is not quite as good as some of the third party
software that is available. For those users who use chat programs, the
program supports MSN Instant Messenger, Yahoo and even AIM, ensuring an
added level of security. How's that for security?
If something does go wrong with the software, Symantec have phone
support available and my favourite option, live chat which is the
cheapest and easiest way to get a response. From our experience with
Norton 360, live chat is quite impressive and the person on the other
end is quite knowledgeable and did fix our issue immediately.
In conclusion, Norton AntiVirus 2008 is a good anti virus software
packages that protects your computer from a wide variety of internet
threats that we could happily recommend to the home and small officer
user. The developers have addressed several concerns from previous
incarnations, making this one of the better anti virus packages
available.
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