Review by Ty Arthur

Upon opening this new version of Norton Security I was surprised to see that even though it’s a boxed product, there’s no installation disc in there, just a card with a product key. You actually still have to download all the files to install (so why not just sell it as a digital download instead of assembling and shipping out boxes?). Unlike other reviewers I didn’t have any problems with the installation, although I was amused right off the bat that the first thing it tried to do was uninstall AVG. It’s true that you shouldn’t run more than one anti-virus at a time, but rather than warning about that and offering to turn off your other anti-virus tool, it instead tries to uninstall it, which is pretty intrusive.

The main selling point on this edition of Norton Security is that it’s compatible across a range of operating systems Windows, Mac, and even mobile devices - and one instance covers up to 10 devices, so everything on your home network is protected instead of having to buy the software multiple times. Once it was installed I actually liked the sleek, minimalistic design that isn’t overwhelming with options and features on the main window, and I found everything easy to navigate through.

Despite the nice design, the problems started popping up immediately as I began searching through the features. The software comes with 25GB of free online storage, with an option to buy more space. I clicked the more storage button and it tried to open a webpage by using my word processor, instead of my web browser. Obviously there are some programming issues here.

The software lets you setup automatic backups of folders to run regularly so you don’t lose your data in the event of a problem with your computer. Unfortunately it’s not super user friendly for selecting specific files and folders to back up, as that takes quite a few extra steps, and instead it wants to select for you the most commonly backed up file types (media files in My Documents, email addresses, etc.). Backup is also very, very slow. After 2 hours of still saying 0% copied with only a handful of text and image files selected I finally gave up and canceled.

I opened up Google Chrome to see if there was any troubleshooting tips available and I discover Norton has automatically installed a web browser extension without asking my permission and that unwanted extension completely nerfs the Facebook interface, making the search bar float all over the screen while scrolling down. After uninstalling the extension, an add continuously pops up throughout the day at the bottom-right corner of my computer screen telling me to re-install the Norton toolbar in Chrome. At this point I’d had enough and started uninstalling.

On the upside, the Norton quick scan is actually quick - about 15 minutes and done, and unlike some other pay anti-virus tools I’ve used, it doesn’t significantly slow down my computer or interfere with gaming. But considering all the problems with the program and the fact that you have to re-buy it after 365 days I’m left wondering why on Earth I’d pay for this instead of just using any of the free anti-virus tools readily available online that actually work and don’t try to continuously install unnecessary tools I don’t want.