Norton AntiVirus 2009

Norton AntiVirus 2009 is a standalone antivirus and antispyware package from Symantec that does a stellar job at blocking viruses, worms, spyware and malware from reaching your computer system.

This years release claims to run faster, taking less system resources, a problem that had critics divided over previous versions. Norton has been notorious for hogging system memory or being altogether very slow at scanning. They have addressed this concern this year with some new development in their code.

Norton takes a cue from Kaspersky this year by adding what they call Insight. The antivirus scanner skips trusted or known files to help speed up scan time. This is a great time saving feature. Similar to the Kaspersky antivirus, Norton will ignore specially marked areas that are known to be safe with a new twist; it specifically targets high risk routines so that each routine scan is much faster. We noticed the increase in speed here, but this is where the new speed improvements end. Overall, Norton still suffers from sluggish performance and lengthy processes that can force you to pull the plug on it.

The interface is more complete, giving you a sense of unity with the antivirus and antispyware. It incorporates itself seamlessly into your workflow and is actually an exceptional antivirus solution. Installation is a breeze, and you are up and running without even needing to restart. If you are already a Norton user you will recognize the quick launch icon and status icon that will appear in your tray. Clicking the icon will launch the dashboard where you can view the status, check system resources being used, schedule, and run scans.

We tested Norton AntiVirus 2009 on our laptop that was loaded with known viruses and bugs and Norton detected almost 95% of them. It was successful at combating adware sites and blocked nearly all malware when downloading freeware. We were impressed with the antispyware aspect, specifically dealing with websites and online content. It has a decent email scanner which will protect incoming and outgoing messages, but this was still a little slow, and at times would freeze the mail application in a loop until I had to manually close it down. Norton will need to continue their efforts to increase speed and usability as this was kind of frustrating to me.

Symantec attempted to fix the speed issue, and Insight is a great time saver, yet we were hard pressed to find any improvement in the overall bulkiness of the program. The system updates are great, and the update up-to-the-minute and the real-time virus pattern matching technology gives you a sense of security. Customer support could be a little better. We submitted an email ticket and heard back four days later. That seems like a long turnaround to me. While I was waiting I could not easily find answers to my questions from their website either. There is a very small knowledge base, and at the time of this review my searches turned up empty results even when searching for terms that were directly related to the software features. You are probably better off calling telephone support which is free for Norton customers.

Because of the rather high price for only a 1 user license, and the indirect speed issues, we gave Norton AntiVirus 2009 a lower rating this time around. While it does a great job of securing your computer from various threat levels, we were convinced that you could get similar protection in a sleeker, less expensive package.

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