The Norton Utilities - Product Reviews

There are a lot of choices within Symantec's Norton Utilities family of software products. Let me try to simplify things for you a bit by describing their four most important products (AntiVirus, Firewall, Internet Security and SystemWorks) and giving you brief reviews.

Norton AntiVirus

Manufacturer's Description: Symantec's Norton AntiVirus is the world's most-trusted antivirus solution. It removes viruses, worms, and Trojan horses automatically--without interrupting your work. Norton AntiVirus defends against malicious code attempting to spread via email messages, instant message attachments, and other sources. New Norton Internet Worm Protection blocks certain more sophisticated worms (such as Blaster and Sasser) at the point of entry. Even viruses in file archives can't hide from Norton AntiVirus. The program can also detect spyware and other non-virus threats. Protect your computer against viruses and worms with Norton AntiVirus.

My Thoughts: Norton AntiVirus does everything Symantec claims, it's their least expensive product and it's all you'll probably need. On the downside, it's an aggressive scanner that will slow some computers and there's no firewall, if you need a firewall.

Norton Personal Firewall

Manufacturer's Description: Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall keeps personal data in and hackers out. Right out of the box, this easy-to-use program protects your computer from hackers and online thieves by making it invisible on the Internet. Intrusion-prevention technology adds an extra layer of security by blocking suspicious Internet traffic. Norton Privacy Control prevents personal information from being sent out without your knowledge. And Network Detector automatically switches security settings when you move your laptop from network to network. Give your PC and your valuable data the intelligent protection of Norton Personal Firewall

My Thoughts: Norton Personal Firewall is an excellent choice, if you need a firewall.

Norton Internet Security

Manufacturer's Description: Symantec's Norton Internet Security provides essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats in one easy-to- use solution. Norton AntiVirus is the world's most-trusted antivirus solution. Norton Personal Firewall keeps personal data in and hackers out. Norton Privacy Control prevents personal information from being sent out without your knowledge, while allowing you to communicate freely with Web sites you trust. Norton AntiSpam filters out unwanted email and helps protect you from email fraud. And Norton Parental Control blocks access to inappropriate Web sites and newsgroups. Protect yourself, your family, and your PC online with Norton Internet Security.

My Thoughts: Norton AntiVirus and Personal Firewall (if you need a firewall) combined. Also includes AntiSpam and Parental Control. Most AntiSpam products don't work well and Microsoft's Internet Explorer already includes parental controls. In the menu bar go to Tools > Internet Options... click the Content tab and in Content Advisor click the Enable button.

Norton SystemWorks

Manufacturer's Description: Symantecs Norton SystemWorks Premier gives you powerful tools to solve PC problems and protect data. This easy-to-use suite helps you eliminate viruses, back up your files, and prevent computer problems. A recovery disk allows you to recover data even when Windows won't start.

Features: One Button Checkup allows you to quickly identify and fix common PC problems. LiveUpdate automatically downloads protection updates to defend your PC against new threats.

Norton AntiVirus:

Norton Internet Worm Protection blocks worms at their attempted point of entry. QuickScan detects and removes viruses after new protection updates are installed. Automatically removes viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Scans and cleans instant message attachments, incoming and outgoing email messages, and other files. Detects spyware and certain non-virus threats such as adware and keystroke logging programs.

Norton Utilities:

Optimizes and defragments files for faster hard-drive performance. Detects and fixes many Windows and disk problems automatically. Norton GoBack SafeTry Mode creates a temporary environment that allows you to test new programs and accept or reject changes to your system. Familiar, intuitive search bar makes it easy to find the files or folders you want to restore. Restores your disk drive to a previous healthy state after a system crash, failed software installation, user error, virus attack, or other problem. Allows you to restore just the files or folders you need, or an entire drive.

Norton Ghost:

Hot imaging lets you create backup images without restarting Windows (Windows XP/2000 Pro). Incremental backup updates save time and disk space (Windows XP/2000 Pro). Scheduled backups keep the backup image up to date (Windows XP/2000 Pro). Reboot a non-responsive system in a Windows-based environment; repair and rescue data on a damaged NTFS volume. Backs up everything on a hard drive or partition. Works with a wide range of hard drives and removable media.

CheckIt Diagnostics:

Gives you a fast, thorough evaluation of your PCs hardware. System Optimizer makes it easy to manage and customize Windows XP settings from one simple interface. Additional problem-solving tools: Norton Cleanup now deletes temporary files and recently viewed Web pages in addition to other unneeded files left over from Internet sessions. Process Viewer displays detailed information about Windows processes. PerformanceTest benchmarks your computers performance against similar machines.

Twelve months of protection updates included with purchase of Norton SystemWorks; annual subscriptions available for subsequent updates.

My Thoughts: Man, that's a lot of stuff! I have Norton SystemWorks and I love it, but it is more than most people need. Most Windows systems have some form of disk checker and defragmenter included. There are easier ways to back up your data than Ghost; and, do you really need benchmarking and process viewing? This is one of those programs that, in the wrong hands, will create more problems than it fixes. Save this one for the geeks, who'll end up buying the firewall that's not included.

The Norton Utilities - Product Review Conclusions

Norton AntiVirus is a great product. Features like internet worm protection, spyware detection and malicious code blocking make this a must, even if you already have a previous version of Norton AntiVirus. It's inexpensive and more than adequate for most applications.

Who needs a firewall? You do if you're constantly connected to the internet via a cable modem or DSL. Dial-up hack attacks are rare and usually unsuccessful. Most hackers are pinging for high-speed, full-time connections. If you have a high-speed, full-time connection, go ahead and spring for Norton Internet Security and get the excellent protection of Norton AntiVirus and the Personal Firewall together, but don't expect too much from any AntiSpam product.

I love my Norton SystemWorks and I'm going to get the Personal Firewall that wasn't included in a product called SystemWorks (you know, as in... "The Works") even though I don't really need it.

You'll see multi-user versions of these products. Don't make the mistake of buying a multi-user version because there's more than one person (user) in your house! These versions are for businesses using multiple computers, not a single computer in a home.

There you have it. I hope I've simplified the choices and, in the process, saved you a few dollars. - BK