Review by A

I was a Norton Utilities/Internet Security user for 5 years in the 2001-2006 period. Every September when they were updating the suite I would buy the next one. Typically for Norton, in the first months after the release, the software would suck because they were releasing it before it was ready.

Through the years, the software got worse and I started looking for alternatives and for a while I went with different packages.nAs of this year I heard only good thing about the Norton Suites and I decided to try Norton 360. I also use Norton Internet Security which I like better. Norton 360 is a well rounded application suite which has extra features in addition to the Internet Security programs (firewall, antivirus, identity protection, etc). The most important additions are the Backup and the PC optimization. In my case I don’t use the Backup part because it does not suit my needs but I can see that some people will use it and like it. Symantec offers the options of backing up online (2GB of space is free, for more than that you have pay), to an external HDD or to an optical drive. On the other side, I find the PC Optimization application almost useless. I did not see any difference in performance and that stopped me also from buying Norton System Works for my computers without 360 (System works includes the optimization tool).

Overall since the previous versions, they improved one important aspect of all the suites: SPEED! Before, installing Norton programs on your machine was like condemning the PC to a slow death, not you can barely notice the software is there.nAnother complain I have is regarding the Antivirus part. At times, the antivirus is paranoid also reporting false positives. While this is not necessarily a bad thing (better safe than sorrow), it will not let you customize the action it takes. In the previous versions and on the enterprise editions (I use Symantec antivirus at work) it would allow you to change the way it behaves if it finds a threat (for ex. quarantine the file instead of deleting it). Now, the program will delete the file automatically without even asking. That is unacceptable in my book. The user should have the right to decide what to do. Norton Internet Security behaves the same way and I hate it.

Overall, it is a good suite for family PC(s). If you don’t need the backup, save your money and go with the Internet Security suite instead of paying more for the 360!