NORTON INTERNET SECURITY 2009

Norton's Powerful Protection Won't Slow You Down




Most users love the protection security software gives them but hate the way it drags down their daily activities. Good News: Norton Internet Security 209 affects performance less than any suite I've tested. Most security tasks happen in the background during idle time. My performance tests confirm that Norton slows systems less than the rest.

The big independent antivirus testing labs all certify the efectiveness of Symantec's antivirus technology; those who have tested the 2009 edition find it improved. It scans files on demand, on access, and during idle time. A full scan took 50 minutes on my standard test system, but the Norton Insight feature reduced that to 5 minutes on later scans.

Norton scored better than other suites in the malware removal test, and it was unusually thorough. In th emalware blocking test it elimidated all but one of the malware samples before they launched. Overall it did better than all of the other suites and standalone antispyware products that I've tested with my current collection of malware. Norton's phishing protection works the same as of the 2009 edition and continues to be extremely accurate.




The firewall is hardened against malware, and it easily passed my barrage of Web-based assaults. and when I attacked a stest system using the Core Impact penetration tool, it blocked all the sample exploits.

The Network Security maps shows all the devices connected to your network and reports whether your wireless network is secure. From th emap you can remotely monitor other computers on the network that are also running Norton. And you can lock out specific devices by setting their trust level to restricted.

Spam protection, however, is useless. In testing, it tossed more than a third of my valid personal mail into the spam folder and missed nearly 30 percent of undeniable smap. Don't rely on this feature.

Norton's Itentify Safe is a password-protected way to store credentials and log in automatically. It also fills web forms with your predefined personal data, all protected by a strong master password.




This is definitely the slimmest, most unobstrusive Norton ever, yet its protection is top-notch where it counts. Despite a few weaknesses, it is the best all-around security suite I've ever seen: I'll be installing it on my own system.-Neil J.Rubenking

PC Magazine November 2008