Norton AntiVirus 2.0 Complete package > Reviews (67)

I first used Nortan Antivirus a couple of years ago when the 2000 version was available. This was about the same time when computers and especially the Internet were becoming really popular and so some lovely people started writing more and more viruses to disrupt peoples systems.

When I first bought the N A 2000 edition from PC World it cost me around the £35 mark which at first did seem rather expensive as not that much was known about viruses by the general public. However, I got it because it seemed friends and relatives including some who are the computing trade were purchasing their own protection.

The installation took approximately 45 mins and was very easy to do, which aws important for me as at the time I had limited computer experience but after a short while it was up and running.

To be honest I have never had a virus on my computer (thankfully) and so I don't know that much about the segregation procedure etc... for infected files. However, I went onto a website a couple of months ago that was recommended by Symantec and McFee as a useful tool for ensuring whether your security defences are up to scratch. One of these was to download a very small file that was made so that any properly working virus scanner would automatically recognise it as a virus and deal with it appropriately. So acting on their instructions I downloaded the file and instantly the virus software alerted me to the fact a virus was on my computer. This I was pleased about as it is good to know that your computer is fairly well protected as of course there is always going to be some bright person who can get round the system.

Some of the features of the anti-virus software are:
- Automatic live update
- System scanning ( automated at regular times set by you)
- Automatic treatment of viruses e.g. segragate from other files then try to treat so that the file can be recovered.

I haven't gone into great depth on the features side becasue newer versions have been released and these are obviously going to have more than mine has.

For the first couple of years I got free automatic liveupdate so that my software would be as up-to-date as possible. However, Symantec then introduced a policy that you have to pay to get this service after a year of registering your product. This fee was £18 for my version of software but this can vary depend on the particular software you have got. However, they also give you an option of having a discounted upgrade of a new version of the software. This was around the £35 mark. To be honest I am not that keen on all new fancy features as mime does all that is required - at the end of the day as long as it protects the computer from viruses then that is all I want. The upgrade prices are reduced purely to try and stop you from switching to another manufacturer, but to be honest I am perfectly happy with them and in my opinion they are better than other manufacturers software I have used.

The major advantage of this software is that you do not need to keep opening the application window to update your virus definitions. This is because when you are connected to the Internet a little icon appears in the bottom right of your desktop to inform you it is doing it automatically.

Norton also do a System utilities package but having used it many of the features Windows has already including for example the system defrag tool.

This product is well worth getting

p.s. get a firewall as well if you use the internet.