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Installation |
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10 | |
| Ease of use |
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9.2 | ||
| Usefulness |
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10 | ||
| Value |
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10 | ||
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Distributor: Symantec Review Date: Nov 2012 |
10 |
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The latest version of Norton 360 (2013 Edition) has arrived which boasts two versions, a standard version that allows up to 2GB of online storage and a premier edition that allows a whopping 25GB of online storage. Norton 360 also boasts identity protection and even a PC tune-up tool to ensure that your computer is running as smooth as possible. Consider Norton 360 your computer mechanic, nanny and security guard. At its core, Norton 360 offers almost total protection of your PC from all sorts of cybercriminals and threats which boasts a collection of powerful technologies that include;
The best facet of Norton 360 is that Symantec continue to update their software with the changing threat landscape and although traditional computer viruses are still rampant throughout the internet, cybercriminals have changed their tactics from infecting your computer with bots or using phishing tools to steal your personal data such as credit card details and identity. Norton also offers 24x7 support on their products which means if you ever get into a pickle, someone from Symantec will be available to assist you with your issue. The version of Norton 360 that we tested gave us three licenses which means we could install this program on three separate computers which is ideal for families or small businesses. Installation In terms of installation, we tested Norton 360 on Windows 8 and once the CD was detected, the software was automatically installed with minimal prompting from the user. This means that Norton 360 is extremely user friendly and for the most part, will silently monitor your system in the background. Installation also took only a few minutes and the longest part of the installation was updating its files online. Best of all, when installed, we noticed no system slowdown whatsoever. With that said, the system requirements of Norton 360 are quite bare boned and this product will work on any PC running Windows XP with a CPU speed of 300Mhz, 256MB of RAM and 300MB of available hard drive space. Given that, most modern computers are far more powerful than the basic system requirements needed to successfully run this program.
Interface Once installed, we were treated to the traditional yellow/grey interface of Norton 360 that seems more streamlined and easier to use than the previous version. If you are using Windows 8, you'll definitely get a kick out of the internet, especially using a touch screen. The main screen of Norton 360 features four main tabs that include Security, Identity, Backup and Tuneup. On the top of the interface, there are additional menus for tasks, settings, performance, feedback, account and support. On the right, there are four small icons that include manage, mobile, online family and safeweb. Finally, at the bottom of the screen, there is a subscription status informing the user of how many days left in the registration and the option of renewing the product.
Protection Straight Away Without getting into technicalities, Norton 360 stopped all attacks such as spyware, viruses, key loggers and rootkits. If somehow one of these got through Norton 360's defences, the program does allow for an emergency boot disc to recover your system. The program also has a personal firewall and does a great job at stopping outside computers accessing your PC. This also includes spam e-mail and even Facebook protection such as unsuspecting people posting links on your wall that may be an infected site.
Protection Whether you're surfing the net or installed a program from a website, Norton 360 will protect you. This software package basically scans websites and files for viruses, malware and other nefarious criminal activities that you might encounter. Using advanced heuristics, even if Norton 360 stumbles upon a new virus or piece of malware, its algorithms should protect your PC and more importantly your identity.
Extras The backup tools are built directly into the product so there is no excuse in not backing up your documents. Norton also supports local backups to a variety of different media such as USB drives and DVD's. Additional storage can also be purchased through Symantec as well. I also loved the option of Norton 360 automatically backing up important folders such as "My Documents" and "My Photos". Similar to Dropbox, you can even send friends and colleagues a link to certain files on your backup which expires after 14 days.
Tune-Up The PC tune-up aspect of the program scans your computer for any issues such as corrupt registry files. This also allows you to view your start-up files and tweak what is loaded when your PC first boots. My favourite aspect of tune-up is the defragmentation tool that cleans up your hard drive and removes "junk directories and files". The program even supports a diagnostic report which scans your computer for issues and best of all, this is all part of the package unlike a certain internet security provider which charges for this functionality. The parental control is another great feature of Norton 360 that helps parents protect their children online and best of all, it's easy to use.
Final Thoughts? Highly Recommended!
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