Review by knitting ninja

Upgrading from Norton 360 version 4.0 to version 5.0 was the easiest antivirus install I have experienced. It took 10 minutes including the reboot and product activation. It would have taken about a minute less if I didn’t have to retype the monstrous product key three times. If you are a user of version 4.0, the interface will feel very familiar. One nice improvement is the performance tab. You can mouse over icons on a particular date and see what was installed - software, windows updates etc. -what scans were done, what was downloaded and any threats detected. There is also a safe web icon where you can enter and check out a URL before going there in your browser.

If you are upgrading, I have a word or warning. After the upgrade your Norton will be all green checks indicating everything is in order. This was not the case for me. I ran Live-update just to make sure and it connected and downloaded over 100mb of data and required another reboot. Another thing to do to improve performance after install is to run Norton Insight. It increases performance by identifying files that do not need consistent scanning.

Of note, in the May 2011 edition of Maximum PC, Norton ranked 9 of 10 in their antivirus shootout. It proved very effective in stopping viruses and malware. It uses SONAR technology which watches program behavior to ID threats and not just virus definitions. That is why I decided to continue using Norton. Overall, I am very satisfied with the product.