Yamaha Home Theater
Entered CNET Catalog: 09/13/2006
SKU: CNETNORTONANTIVIRUS2007
Manufacturer: Symantec Corporation
Manufacturer description
Symantec's Norton AntiVirus is the world's most trusted antivirus solution. Norton AntiVirus 2007 offers the same level of protection along with new features and improvements. It removes viruses and security risks automatically; heuristically detects spyware threats, detects and blocks Internet worm attacks, and protects email.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/26/2006
Setup
Currently, you may order and download Norton AntiVirus 2007, but packaged editions won't hit retail stores until after October 1, 2006. Norton AntiVirus costs $39.99 for a single license. Because of a product agreement between Symantec and Yahoo, some of our installations of Norton AntiVirus 2007 included the installation of Yahoo Toolbar. To proceed without installing the toolbar, remember to uncheck the Yahoo Toolbar option when prompted.
Our Norton AntiVirus 2007 installation was fast, but not without incident. We were able to install Norton AntiVirus 2007 and activate it within 10 minutes (we skipped the prescan for viruses). But part of the installation process asked us to create a Norton user account. With other antivirus products, setting up an account was optional, not required. The Norton account, according to the dialog box, would allow us to download the latest versions of Norton products, as well as reinstall (if necessary), and it is required--you cannot continue installation without a Norton account. In an attempt to learn more, however, we clicked the Privacy Policy link, which took us to the generic Symantec home page--with no privacy policy in view. Instead, we had to read it here. Upon accepting Symantec's privacy policy, we continued our installation.
Norton AntiVirus 2007 occupies 180MB of hard drive space yet runs only a handful of processes when active. By comparison, McAfee VirusScan Plus occupies only 75MB but spawns several processes that, when active, could drain system resources on older PCs.
Should you ever decide to remove Norton AntiVirus 2007, you'll need to use the Microsoft Windows Add/Remove Programs console. Note that by removing Norton AntiVirus prematurely you may lose some or all of your remaining subscriptions with Symantec. After a reboot, we were happy to find no traces of Symantec files or folders; however, we needed to delete a few residual Symantec references from the System Registry, something that only advanced users should do on their own. Still, this uninstall process is much improved from previous versions', and it's far better than McAfee's uninstall process, although it's not ideal.
Interface
As noted, the Norton AntiVirus 2007 interface has been redesigned and simplified. Instead of having different desktop windows, Norton Protection Center and Norton AntiVirus open as different tabs within one window. The new Norton Protection Center includes several useful information links. For example, click "Learn more about transaction security," and you'll actually arrive on a landing page that defines phishing, pharming, and crimeware, with more links to full articles on these subjects, and Norton moved the Buy Now product-listing button to a small upper corner of the screen. By contrast, McAfee's Security Center sends you to its online store.
We also like that Norton AntiVirus 2007 displays your system's green-yellow-red security status in a new sidebar, independent of which tab you might be on. Like McAfee, Norton offers a single Fix Now button. But unlike McAfee's Fix button, Norton accesses another screen where you must select what to fix and so on. For people who want to tweak what's wrong, that'll be fine; but most home users will simply want whatever's wrong fixed and might be annoyed with the extra step.
The Windows Update status is one area where we appreciated having the option to reconfigure our settings. We like to have Microsoft notify us of any new updates so that we can download and install them at our leisure; the default setting within Norton is that the updates be downloaded and installed immediately. By going to General Settings - Options, however, we were able to tell Norton to accept our preference and mark our system as secure.
We also found the redesigned virus-scan results page cumbersome. After identifying and removing what's considered malware by Symantec, there are times when you'll have to choose how to handle additional items, which you do with a drop-down menu offering Fix, Ignore, and Exclude. While some may appreciate the granularity here, most home users will simply want to fix the problems en masse and move on.
Features
Unlike McAfee, which redesigned only its interface, Norton redesigned its interface and rewrote much of its underlying code. Thus, its antivirus and antispyware scans occur simultaneously, and perhaps in response to past reader comments, Norton AntiVirus 2007 can now throttle its scanning engines so that either the full system scan or the Quick Scans will run in the background, giving priority to applications such as Microsoft Word. Here, McAfee could learn something from Norton.
Deeper under the hood, although not advertised, Norton AntiVirus 2007 absorbs much of Symantec's discontinued Norton Personal Firewall product. But you'll have to look hard to find it: the firewall settings are rebranded as Internet Worm protection under the Virus and Spyware Protection Options page. Here you can enable or disable signature files and inbound and outbound firewall rules, as well as automatically stop all communication with the Internet--useful if there's a pernicious worm on the loose.
And Norton AntiVirus 2007 incorporates some enterprise technology in defending your PC against rootkit threats. Norton AntiVirus 2007 uses Symantec Veritas VxMS enterprise technology to compare files within the directory to files on the volume level. This quickly ferrets out suspicious or known malware and rootkits operating on your system.
What's noticeably missing from Norton AntiVirus 2007 is antiphishing technology. McAfee VirusScan Plus, for example, includes the McAfee SiteAdvisor toolbars for both Firefox and Internet Explorer. For similar protection from Norton, you'll have to buy Norton Internet Security or wait until later this year for Symantec's new Norton Confidential (currently in beta).
Performance
Norton AntiVirus 2007 improves on last year's CNET Labs' performance test scores, although Norton turns in a mixed bag of results overall. On our iTunes test, Norton AntiVirus 2007 lost ground compared with last year, taking 208 seconds as opposed to 184 seconds last year. On our Sorensen Squeeze test, Norton AntiVirus 2007 improved, taking 317 seconds compared to 326 seconds last year. Norton showed the most improvement with individual file scans; it took only 117 seconds and 320 seconds last year. But in terms of boot speed, Norton lost ground, taking 4 seconds longer--66 seconds as opposed to last year's 62 seconds. To find out how we test, see CNET Labs' How we test: software: antivirus page.
We refer to test results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations to determine how well a product will protect your PC. In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org, Norton AntiVirus 2006 earned an Advanced + (highest) rating, catching 98 percent of all malware tested, and from CheckVir.com, Norton AntiVirus 2006 was one of eight products to earn its Standard (highest) rating.
For antispyware protection, Norton Antivirus is one of the better antispyware apps we've tested. In exclusive testing by CNET Labs, Norton Antivirus 2007's active shields identified and blocked six out of eight spyware samples we attempted to install. For scanning and removing existing spyware samples, Norton Antivirus 2007 caught six out of eight. As for the removal itself, Norton Antivirus 2007 removed spyware residue in six out of eight cases.
Support
Symantec has redesigned and enhanced its technical support for Norton AntiVirus 2007. However, the 32-page manual, which is available online, is surprisingly light, almost useless when it comes to critical information; the index is only two pages and doesn't cover antispyware settings, for example. The updated automated online technical support service works with only Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. Fortunately, the FAQ knowledge base still works in both IE and Firefox. If you still can't find an answer, Symantec offers live technical-support options. In our tests, free online chat required about 15 minutes of wait time, free e-mail averaged about 72 hours for a response, and a live conversation over the phone required a $9.95 charge and a 30-minute wait. But to use any of these options, we were required to first fill in our name, address, e-mail, and telephone number (apparently, having the required Norton account doesn't help you access these services).
Conclusion
By rewriting much of its code and focusing upon virus and spyware prevention, Symantec makes Norton AntiVirus 2007 one of the premier antivirus products on the market. If we gave an award for "Most improved antivirus product," it would go to Symantec.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
User Rating: 
1/10
To many problems to mention here look for other softwar
Pros: Nice Yellow Box, Would never recommend this product to any customer
Cons: blocks programs, websites, network locations, by default with no way to get these items back, no information on the options and what they are,
Now need to open a norton account in order to use program, kprivicy policy sells your email to others
Product is sold in 3 pc packages but when upgrading the upgrade program will install on the second and third pc but then warning message comes up stating that you have a pirate copy, and will not work unless you purchase new program even though you have retail license for 3 pc sold by them direct to you. Go figure.
Uninstalling of the program is a nightmare as most of the program is uninstalled but trash left throught out the registry, hard drive etc.
Some of the virus removal solutions make programs compltly useless as critical parts or programs are removed with the virus,
Opening a norton accout is a must now, spam and other junk mail from them and others
JUST A PAIN IN THE BUTT PROGRAM, OTHER SOFTWARE ARE MORE USER FRIENDLY
Updated on May 20, 20093 DIFFERENT PCS 2 xp pro Curent upgrades Vista Home Pro current upgrades all configured the same memory motherboard drives etc. 2 pc slowed down to a crawl, 1 xp and 1 vista wouldn't let other software upgrades to be installed
User Rating: 1/10
As bad as any other Norton product
Pros: Affordable
Cons: Has a tendancy to miss viruses!
PROS: Much improved resource management and background ************
CONS: Failed to protect my laptop from viruses.
CONCLUSION: DON'T BUY!
I had NAV in the 90's and when my computer had virus like symptoms, I ran another AV program. Lo and behold, Norton in addition to being the worst resource hog EVER conceived by man, had missed SEVERAL viruses that were fouling up my system. I told myself I'd never buy another Norton product again.
Flash forward... 2007. My laptop comes with Norton Internet Security. I had an about to expire McAfee Suite or I could stick with what shipped with the new laptop. I read the reviews here on CNET. It said it's been completely re-vamped and is no longer the horrible resource hog that Norton has been known for for years. I decided to give it a second chance. While I will say that it has improved greatly as far as resource consumption, it has yet again failed to protect my computer from viruses. This time I mean it when I say I will never buy a Norton product again!
User Rating: 
2/10
Performance degrading
Pros: Inexpensive upgrade
Cons: Slows system
User Rating: 
9/10
the perfect antivirus for windos vista
Pros: why my computer cant find any virus ?
Cons: bcoz i am using norton antivirus 2007
User Rating: 1/10
once you get an infection it's done, slow scans
Pros: nothing at all
Cons: ineffective against viruses expensive for nothing
User Rating: 2/10
a total waste of money
Pros: easy to navigate
Cons: Terrible customer service
User Rating: 2/10
Terrible antivirus software
Pros: There are no pros
Cons: malfunction, viruses removal bad
Their online help is useless as it keeps you waiting for hours.
User Rating: 1/10
Crap... Two locked up systems
Pros: None... this product is horrid
Cons: Horrible service and locked two computers up to useless
User Rating: 
5/10
Good Program; Miserable Overseas Customer Service
Pros: Highly Effective AV protection
Cons: Poor technical support from Techs Unfamiliar with the program
As a 10 year subscriber I am impressed with the frequent virus signature updates and superior level of protection.
However, if you need technical support you will feel as if you are lost in New Dehli. Dell computers took a big hit for similar rasons before returning a large component of their support to the US.
Norton technical support has proven incapable of correctly answering even simple questions such as whether the user's version of the program is the most current and whether an update is necessary. The emails they return are boilerplate, frequently devoid of useful information, and often in pidgeon English. Email exchanges usually require a minimum of 72 hours or more (you can send a message to Mars faster). The online chat is so bogged down as to often be useless and the techs will frustrate you with their lack of familiarity with even simple issues. Telephone support requires 30 minutes or more to reach a tech. If you need detailed assistance, be prepared to pay more than the purchase price of the program to resolve a simple issue.
While I would have preferred to express these opinions to Symantec, they will not allow any general feedback, only issues related to subscriptions, initialization and program activation.
While I will probably continue using the program for lack of a proven reliable option, God help someone with a serious issue. Bring your checkbook and hope your get a supervisor in India.
User Rating: 1/10
terrible only good thing nice logo
Pros: nice logo, already installed on most from moment one
Cons: over priced , ripoff, screws your pc up
. consumes resourses
. wrecks your pc
best advice stay clear
User Rating: 1/10
this product is a horror
Pros: none existant customer service
Cons: no longer can connect to the internet
Now I am unable to connect to the internet.
The virus that norton let in and then removed has corrupted my system.
I am in the process of saving files and reinstalling windows xp pro.
Customer service has been horrible
Each of four different reps completely blew me off but not before asking me the same questions over and over
I am a small business owner and now must remove this abomination from all my office computers.
Be smart, avoid this product and it's none existant support system
User Rating: 
4/10
Norton Antivirus 2007 bloody hell!!
Pros: It has a good detection and removal rate..
Cons: But.. DRAINS my PC resources.. ***.. USELESS..
REMOVAL: 8
UTILIZATION: 0
FEATURES: 7
SCAN RUN: 2
TIME IN BOOTING: 2
CUSTOMER SUPPORT: 2
I rate it 4
Although it has a high rate in removal, detection capability, the overall performance degrades when it comes in utilizing system resources.. I really don't understand why Norton Antivirus drain much PC performance (WHY SYMANTEC??).. Do the developer take in such consideration to minimize the resources it takes.. my PC turns upside down when ever it runs.. CRAWLLLL... Now I uninstall NAV and switch to AVAST! Home Edition.. quite good program.. So, try Norton Antivirus and see the thrill.. BLOODY HELL.. CRAWLING!!
User Rating: 2/10
Finally Done with Norton!
Pros: Works for some
Cons: Install & Activation Issues. Resource HOG!
In my line of work I often have home users ask me what to use at home. I used to sigh and recommend NAV, having had major problems with McAfee in the past. Well no more. Norton joins McAfee on my list of name brands gone bad.
User Rating: 
8/10
an improvement over previuos versions,
Pros: Lighter on system resources, more responsive, can throttle scanning
Cons: occasional error disables auto-protect. i have toreboot everytime this happens
User Rating: 9/10
Great Product
Pros: Lighter on System Resources, Easy Install, Nice Interface
Cons: Full Scan Time
User Rating: 8/10
problem solved?
Pros: faster than before
Cons: not designed to work with ZA
User Rating: 1/10
Norton AV 2007
Pros: price, $50 rebate, no wonder they are giving it away
Cons: everything, I don't have one good thing to say. I'm using abysmal because there is nothing lower!
User Rating: 2/10
This product is actually a WORM itself -- UNBELIEVABLE!!
Pros: According to CNET reviewers, somehow it is actually providing effective anti-virus protection...
Cons: SO badly programmed that it actually becomes a debilitating worm itself! Customer Service is pure HE*% and the Cost is rather high for what you get
User Rating: 
7/10
Not to Bad, Not great either.
Pros: Fast Loading, scanning. easy to use.
Cons: Over protective in some areas, and not enough in others.
The down side is that its over-protective in some areas. Ex. Before switching to 2007 I could be seen on my network and could use Ping. Now I have to litterally carry around a handy drive to to transfers because no other system on the network can see my IP, or Ping me. I found that it was the Worm Blocker settings that was the problem. After I stopped that service, I was open again. When I restarted eveything went out. I know better than to call the "customer -nonservice" because I had issues with them before. Anyway that is my problem now, even after allowing everything! with the worm protection, it still blocks me from the network.
User Rating: 2/10
Poor customer support
Pros: well-integrated with windows and email
Cons: update errors (ie. LU1812) and poor customer support
User Rating: 1/10
A disaster!!!!
Pros: Pretty interface
Cons: Does not work with earlier Norton products
User Rating: 8/10
For the Average User, an Excellent Update
Pros: Blazing start-up, fewer programs to configure, the security of Symantec
Cons: Haven't seen any
User Rating: 1/10
I will never buy anything from Norton again.
Pros: They gave me a refund - after 40 minutes on the phone.
Cons: Installation, customer service, the product itself.
User Rating: 2/10
Terrible - Gives One a False Sense of Security
Pros: Supposedly a complete solution Antivirus Firewall and Anti-spyware
Cons: Obtrusive, bloated, ineffective against spyware, poor technical support
I have noticed that whereas the firewall for this product is decent, it is not overly sophisicated and difficult to configure. The Anti-virus shield is very nice, as it as always been, but the Anti-spyware component of NAV 2007 it completely ineffectual. Over the past year I had 5 infections of spyware on my computer that NAV never found. I was willing to live with this vulnerability thinking that at least NAV anti-virus and the firewall would help somewhat. Then with the last incident I realize that this product is not as good as it could (or should) be.
User Rating: 1/10
Stay Away use something else ANYTHING else
Pros: Former good name
Cons: unlisted product incompatibilities
User Rating: 1/10
Nightmare Repair
Pros: there are none
Cons: Slow, Took hours to install because it kept becoming corrupt after installation, ended up using online download rather than purchased CD. If you allready have a virus, it will NOT install.
User Rating: 1/10
Editor's are in Symantec's pocket and don't work in the real world
Pros: Still good for Antivirus
Cons: NOT GOOD FOR SPYWARE
User Rating: 1/10
WARNING: Don't buy
Pros: help topics (you will need them a lot)
Cons: no customer service
- it slows down the system so badly
- no competible with Zone Alarm
- you will see many error massages after installation and there is no customer service at all (they charge)
- no wireless security features
User Rating: 1/10
Once again, another failure
Pros: Nothing and I mean nothing
Cons: Will stop working at some point, and take your internet down with it; you cannot just uninstall it
This was not an isolate incident. One of my biggest money makers is fixing computers damaged by Norton. It will come back to haunt you at some time.
Furthermore, the sorry company Symantec (and almost as sorry McAfee) lobbied hard to get access to Vista's kernel. Hello! If nobody can get in, neither can viruses. You don't need to be there. Now they opened up a possible Pandora's Box.
Finally, before you remove Norton, you must download the Norton Removal Tool. Google it, because it is buried deep on Symantec's website. Uninstall Norton, then run the Removal Tool. It will prompt you a visual confirmation -- yet another mind-boggling decision by Symantec. The visual confirmation is case-sensitive and they do use letters that look the same upper-case and lower-case.
Need help? That costs extra, by the way.
The man on the box of Norton must be the guy laughing all the way to the bank. If you get it, you will be crying instead.
User Rating: 2/10
Very disappointed! Phone support failed repeatedly!
Pros: Files and downloads appear to be checked quicker than with previous versions.
Cons: Phone support from India was a disaster. I was shuffled from one "tech" to another over the course of 3 weeks without any solution.
User Rating: 8/10
I was spoiled, already installed on HP notebook
Pros: No install hassles as it was done at factory
Cons: Is there something better out there
User Rating: 1/10
Norton is Really Kaspersky
Pros: almost free with rebate
Cons: requires uninstalling not only other S/W but Norton Internet Security as well
User Rating: 1/10
NAV 2007 is a non-starter
Pros: none known of
Cons: Can't activate, no tech support
After 4 separaatel calls to tech support (waiting on hold for over 30 minutes each time) and following the many uninstall, restart, regedit, etc instructions, nothing helped. At one point I was instructed to "wait for two hours, then run live update and all will be fixed." Of course, it was not.
Then, followed instructions to download the latest update version of NAV2007 -- and the same problems came up. Then I was told to run their online NRT -- because the product removal process often did not remove all of the product.
On the fourth call, the tech specialist said I should wait while she checked their symptom DB for "the answer." After hanging on hold for 35 miunutes, I gave up and ordered/installed and ran NOD32.
I took a sum total of 25 minues from start to finish -- no hassles.
Mr. Thompson should spend more time focusing on the operations of his company than beiong on GW's anti-virus gov't task force. Symantec will be out of business if their products and service continue their downward spiral.
They have lost a 15+ year customer forever.
User Rating: 2/10
Over Rated By CNet Look at the Reviews.
Pros: No Pro's.
Cons: Does not support Windows Vista 64 Bit.
User Rating: 1/10
Do not buy this product
Pros: nothing noticeable
Cons: Poor installlation
User Rating: 1/10
worst install of all time
Pros: I suspect there must be some - if I could just get it installed
Cons: yet to succeed in getting the product installed
User Rating: 1/10
Biggest piece or CRAP ever!!!!
Pros: Absolutely none.
Cons: Absolutely EVERYTHING!!
User Rating: 
6/10
Always worked for me
Pros: Virus protection always worked well for me in the last 5 years.
Cons: Rebate method is what I thought AV was protecting me from.
User Rating: 1/10
Very Poor Software
Pros: Nothing Good to say
Cons: This software kill two of my computers
I have been a Norton user for over 10 years. It was pretty good for back then. There stuff has been getting worse and worse over the years. This latest one is very bad. For one thing it loads itself several times into memory and pretty much slows the computer down so much that a high end computer because about as good as 386. When you try to unistall it things go from bad to worse. I have 3 computers and on two of them I needed to reformat the hard drive and reinstall all my software. One the 3 rd one all I needed to do was fix the MBR. I have waisted many hours on their crap software. I have never used such poor software.
I could go on and on about how bad Norton is.
User Rating: 1/10
One hour on hold waiting for support
Pros: Norton Systemworks is a very comprehensive package.
Cons: Nightmare to install unless you've used their tools to uninstall old symantec programs.
User Rating: 1/10
norton is overated, over priced, and do not stand up to thier word
Pros: Can't think of anything postive about norton, symetec or who ever they are
Cons: They won't send rebates, say you didn't send in orginal receipt and of course you don't have orginal receipt , sent it in
User Rating: 2/10
Norton is only a name that everyone knows. It is an unreliable product for keeping you virus-free.
Pros: Norton 2007 is better than 2006. Big deal.... so is every other product.
Cons: Norton seems to add a new definition 3 days after the virus has crashed your PC.
User Rating: 1/10
Are you kidding??
Pros: Easy first installation
Cons: If you have to reinstall or need help, forgetdaboutit
When I went to reinstall after a battery problem, after a day it kept telling me that my subscription had run out - though I had most of a year left. My emails to Norton went unanswered, and calling customer service was a nightmare. I had to fill out a fairly long questionnaire online to get a customer number, just to be able to talk to a real person on the phone. That took long enough that it wasn't until TWO DAYS later (with no virus protection and only my windows firewall) I finally had enough time to try to tackle it again. After waiting more than two hours, I finally got someone who spoke almost no English and could only reply with stock phrases. He was rude, had no ability to help beyond telling me to reinstall (well, duh!), and wouldn't stay with me while I found the patch he told me to download. The next day my internet protection reverted, as usual, to telling me it was expired.
Because I waited over a month to install the original version (buying early to avoid my service running out), I am now out of the return eligibility period. After I uninstalled it and the live updater kept calling for attention, it took me awhile to figure out it wasn't refusing to uninstall, it's just that the live updater must be uninstalled separately. What a mess. I'm out the $70 bucks I paid, several points higher on my blood pressure, and thoroughly disgusted by their their lack of concern for both their employee (who must have all sorts of people mad at him) and me - their now ex-customer.
I'm now using FREE Avast (antivirus) and Zone Alarm (firewall), and I pay for Webroot (spyware). I pay less than a third of what I had been for security, and have never been happier. Zone Alarm takes a little attention to set up, but allows you to control things better, and it was fairly intuitive. And best of all, I didn't have to call anyone to figure it out.
Do yourself a favor. Avoid Norton like the plague. They are corporate blood suckers no better than Microsoft.
User Rating: 
3/10
Needs a bit of improvement...
Pros: Good detection rates according to av-comparatives, decent level of options
Cons: Slow, resource intensive, less than intuitive interface, as well as a bit buggy
Scan times were excessively slow and I felt the user interfaces in previous versions were laid out better.
User Rating: 1/10
Buyer Beware
Pros: I guess it's better than no virus protection at all
Cons: Abysmal customer service
User Rating: 3/10
I don't recommend this product.
Pros: The Name ?
Cons: Terrible virus detection
User Rating: 6/10
UI generally better
Pros: like the scan choices
Cons: including willingness to accept automatic Windows updates is insulting
User Rating: 1/10
Please don't waste your money!
Pros: They kept a customer for over 10 years, just 2 to lose one.
Cons: Gave them 2 years to get out of the toilet...just keeps getting worse.
User Rating: 2/10
Pure, unadulterated excrement, trash, garbage, rubbish, filth?
Pros: Does work at times!
Cons: Does work at times!
User Rating: 7/10
Norton Internet Security 2007 is a good product.
Pros: It digs deeper into your computer system to find viruses and sweeps keyloggers and rootkits, an improved intrusion prevention, spyware, phising and firewall protection.
Cons: Takes up alot of processing power to run application, slow file scanning, doesnt really update definitions as much as should and really hard to uninstall if needed.
User Rating: 9/10
Works better than McAfee!
Pros: Good virus &trojan protection, spyware & adware protection is improving! Works with spysweeper, zone, pest patrol, ton of other programs. Firewall is also silent but powerful doesn't annoy you.
Cons: Little slower than your average free antivirus program but that is because it is protecting you.
User Rating: 1/10
Works Great!!!
Pros: None whatsoever
Cons: Bogs system down
User Rating: 3/10
Slows down computer terribly!
Pros: Not many pros! Tries to stop everything.
Cons: Too many pop-ups and wants to shut down windows regularly.
Slows down my computer terribly!
Too many pop-ups and wants to shut down my IE 7.0 window regularly.
I have had Norton on my computer having 2004 and 2005 on it.
Each new version is worse than the prior version.
This 2007 is not worth what is charged and does only complicate our being on our computer.
User Rating: 3/10
No more NAV for me
Pros: reasonably good virus protection
Cons: Unreliable, difficult to install, unusable on older systems
A few more comments on the NAV 2006 install on the other two systems. These were both Dell laptops running XPSP2. The install failed on both systems. Was able to fairly easily remove and reinstall on one of them but the second system had an operating system file corrupted by the NAV install. Symnatec was no help with this (wanted me to reinstall the entire operating system) but my local cable internet provider was able to help and we got this system running after about a week of hassles and many hours on help lines. Mid year this sytem had the NAV GoBack software lockup and prevent the computer from being used. Symantec help did allow me to uninstall this and get the computer working again. Bottom line is that after last years price increase I decided to investigate other options before renewing NAV this year and I'm glad I did. Forgot to mention that Kapersky found viruses left behind by NAV on two of my systems. No more NAV for me.
User Rating: 1/10
I will never buy another Norton product after purchasing 2007 anti-virus!
Pros: I have not found any yet.
Cons: After taking many days and ours to install, uninstall, etc. , incompatible with most everything on my computer.
User Rating: 5/10
Another disappointed consumer
Pros: Easy Install
Cons: Will not allow for use of built-in MS vpn client
User Rating: 1/10
Anti-VIRUS should NOT replace my FIREWALL
Pros: having a hard time finding pro's - considering never purchasing Norton's again
Cons: Incompatable with previous version of same product (2006). Incompatable with Zone Alarm.
Frankly, I would have been less upset with Norton's Anti-Virus if it had let me know earlier that it was a firewall as well as an anti-virus software. But I'm looking at the box, and nowhere on it does it mention the word "firewall". The box gives no indication that it will replace any firewall software on your system. And when you begin the installer, it gives you a little window that tells you what software it's incompatable with. For me, it said Norton's Systemworks. That's because I'd had an older Norton's product installed before. Since that was the only thing it listed, I wasn't too put out to uninstall, reboot & try the install again. It's done that before. But on my second install of it for this same machine, it pops up with another piece of software that I'm supposed to remove. Sadly, this time it's Zone Alarm firewall. I'd already shut the firewall off in case the anti-virus installer had issues with it's protecting the system from the installer. But NAV wanted it uninstalled, not just disabled or shut-down.
When I purchased Norton Anti-Virus, I wasn't intending to replace my Zone Alarm Pro. Zone Alarm works well, and I had no plans ditching my paid-for firewall.
In fact, looking at the box for NAV07, this version doesn't even DO firewall things. It doesn't block suspicious programs, disallow unauthorized programs to connect to the Internet, block hackers from accessing my computer, or prevent unknown threats from entering my PC (seriously, it says this on the box) ... Only Norton Internet Security does that. Since that's why I have Zone Alarm... Why would I get rid of Zone Alarm?
So, NAV insists I must remove my firewall, opening my computer up to unwanted Internet access by software that I had been blocking... all so that Symantec Norton's can tell me what software to purchase. I suppose if I complained about this to Symantec/Norton, they would suggest I use Norton Internet Security. Except that I believe Zone Alarm does a better job.
Maybe I should buy a MAC or switch to Linux...
User Rating: 2/10
Highly invasive software, bugs galore, abysmal support
Pros: It has the potential to be one of the best solutions on the market if only their support would take appropriate action on bug reports
Cons: You'll need to use a blowtorch if you ever want to get rid of it, too many bugs, online technical support is abysmal
I found that with the Internet Worm Protection enabled, my computer was freezing up at least a dozen times a day. I then took some very labour-intensive steps to troubleshoot the problem which took upwards of 40 hours in total. I found that certain updates that were released through Live Update were forcing my hard drive from it's native DMA 6 into DMA 4 or 5 at random. This slowed my system down to a crawl and made it's responsiveness very choppy.
After having told Symantec's support of my findings, they could only offer a useless recommendation of "Update your virus definitions". Symantec used to have great support many years ago, but it is now the worst I have ever dealt with. They simply don't listen.
Good luck to you if you ever need to remove this software from your system. I've had one hell of a time and it's still not completely gone. Seems like formatting the drive again is the only way to go.
User Rating: 2/10
"Customer Serive" is a misnomer
Pros: maybe it's better than nothing
Cons: their customer firewall is inpenetrable
User Rating: 1/10
This product is useless!
Pros: Slows down your PC so you can play very old games easily
Cons: Misses viruses and spyware
2.annoing firewall issue with VPN - I had to disable FW while using VPN - Symantec cust service was not helpfull with FW config.
3. very annoing Outlook email filter - it would place important emails from my usual clients into Junk folder regardless of rules . Fix - disabled filter.
So in Sept 2006 I decided to upgrade/update to 2007 version expecting some discount. Called customer service in India - what a bunch of ignorant folks - they couldnt explain the difference between update and upgrade, compatibility issues - what is compatibility?? And no discount.. So I ended up doing my research and finally getting 2007 upgrade. Upon installation it told me that
1) I have to remove PCTools Spyware Doctor because Norton is not compatible with it!
2) No email filter
3) UI is worse and the programm is even slower and takes more RAM.
On a positive note: you can istall it on 3(?) PCs, which is what I have at home and I was able to configure FW to work with my VPN.
2 days later I catch some 1.5 year old trojan
which causes IE to open constantly - Norton reports nothing. I call Symantec - they want to charge me $60 for removal of that trojan - and what is it that their software suppose to do?? Wasted 2 hours on the phone with india - no help there..
Disabled Norton and ran PCTools and it cleaned my PC. Enabled Norton. About 1 week later got more spyware. This time Norton recognised spyware (1 year old trojan), but was unable to remove it! Had to use PCTools again and it worked.
Later my friend's company's network (very large, carrying a LOT of peoples personal data) was compromised and exploited to the ridiculos levels - all PCs and servers were running Norton 2007 Corporate edition. Kaspersky came to resque there. Sounds like a law suit to me.
This was the last drop and I decided to get my money back - you have 60days for that.
Summary: I had been using Norton/Symantec products since 1992 in a professional env. They used to be good. But apparently Symantec went the way of outsourcing which boosted corporate profits and lowered product and customer service quality to junk level. I am not going to spend anymore of my hard earned american dollars on this third world product.
User Rating: 8/10
Follow McAfee's Example
Pros: Lighter On System Resources and Includes New Detection Technologies
Cons: Support Is Expensive and Terrible
Never upgrade as soon as a new version of NAV is available because there will always be growing pains and problems with new releases that will be fixed in latter releases. In other words, not to be rude, but I always allow other people, just like you, to be the Norton guinea pigs. A practice you all should obviously adopt as well.
Norton has fixed the incompatibility issues with ZoneAlarm Free. Now you can use NAV 2007 with it with no problems. Since NAV 2007's initial release, it has been updated and is more stable.
I really appreciate the fact that NAV 2007 code has been rewritten to be lighter on system resources and provide faster scans. This was a major complaint about NAV for quite sometime and has been finally addressed. NAV has always had a rock solid detection rate.
Finally I'd like to point out that Symantec should follow's McAfee's example by providing FREE online support via chat. All McAfee customers can chat free of charge, 24 hrs a day with a technical rep. As a matter of fact, McAfee has even added more reps so that customers don't have to wait long. Symantec is probably the richest AV out there and I know they can do the same. With this option, a reps thick indian (or any other) accent will no longer be a problem provided that he is able to adequately chat in the English language online.
At the very least, Symantec should provide a forum, just like McAfee as well. McAfee has it's issues too but Support in my humble opinion is not one of them.
For the most part I like this version of Norton than any other previous versions and will be recommending it.
Correction. Symantec according to this review does offer online chat. I just checked at Symantec's site and I couldn't find it so even if it does exist, it is not easy to find and probably for good reason. A free phone support call is limited to 10 minutes. I guess you'll have to make a half dozen calls before your problem is fixed. LOL. Premium support is still $69.
User Rating: 1/10
False advertising - Not compatible with common firewall option
Pros: Really do not have a pro.
Cons: False advertising - Not Compatible with Superior Products
User Rating: 2/10
NAV 2007 full system scan runs and runs and runs
Pros: I found installation to go smoothly, and removal and reinstall.
Cons: I have not had a full system scan finish normally since I upgraded
I do not know if I am protected. I do not know how many items are on my computer. I have had a scan running now for 25 hours. It has scanned almost 20 million items; zero risks have been identified; if this is right, Symantec should warn users.
I ran Quick Scan once during a reinstall and it completed quickly and finished normally. (It said it did.)
Techies may understand what is happening, but I do not. I am neither a technie or novice. I've supported my system for the last five years. Novices should beware.
User Rating: 8/10
Excellent Product
Pros: Excellent scanning
Cons: Harder & longer to install
User Rating: 4/10
First Impressions... "Aye-Carumba!!!"
Pros: Bubbly Interface and large toggle switches
Cons: Missing some good parts
User Rating: 1/10
Incompatible with Zone Alarm Pro
Pros: I didn't get far enough into installation to determine any.
Cons: Incompatible with Zone Alarm Pro
User Rating: 9/10
NOT incompatible with ZoneAlarm, works fine
Pros: The industry standard for decades. Nearly free with rebates.
Cons: Have to do the rebates.
I've used NortonAntivirus on and off for years. McAfee caused my DVD drive not to work until I uninstalled it. NAV 2006 was trouble-free for me, and when my subscription expired recently I got the NAV2007/Ghost bundle from BestBuy for FREE: $70 and $70 in rebates. Just had to pay tax.
Thumbs up!
User Rating: 7/10
Its excellent detection and worm protection system outweighs its slow performance.
Pros: Excellent Detection. Worm Protection. Nice User Interface. Faster startup than previous Symantec products.
Cons: Slow virus scanner. Slow installation. Expensive phone support.
User Rating: 3/10
Symantec Home for Software Orphans
Pros: Systematic LiveUpdate, Virus and Spyware detection
Cons: Getting rid of orphaned software from previous versions
User Rating: 4/10
No Per user parental controls
Pros: easy to install, runs silently, elliminating alerts
Cons: No per user parental controls, add on pack is hidden.
User Rating: 2/10
Norton keeps taking my money
Pros: I only had to load it 3 times
Cons: It has never worked
User Rating: 1/10
Product and Customer Support are Defective
Pros: The office store agreed to refund my purchase money
Cons: product doesn't work; customer support was horrible
User Rating: 1/10
DONT BUY IT!!!!! NO GOOD
Pros: NONE AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cons: SLOWS PUTER, ERROR MESSAGE ON SIGNOFF
AND NO REBATE!!!!
BILL IN NY
User Rating: 1/10
NAV 2007 is pure c**p
Pros: computer virus' do less damage than nav 2007
Cons: wrecks havoc with your computer,
your kids may use) and the NAV 2007 will consume 100% of your CPU at random points during the gaming and lock up your computer, with the only way to unfreeze is to shut down and restart. Now when the kids are on with any of their programs running we have to turn
off Nortons anti-virus, kind of defeats the purpose of having it. Buy another product or
keep your old Norton anti-virus running. You will regret the day you installed this bugger.
User Rating: 1/10
What horrible experience!
Pros: Easy to uninstall and get refund...
Cons: Doesnt work...
I got a "Configuration incomplete" message following installation.
20 hours of support later... and 20 hours of reinstalls, regedits, script reinstall, etc. same message...
Norton had NO CLUE what to do...
Chatted with about 10 different tech support people and got only one that seemed competent and that spoke english. Norton should rewrite this software and move the english support center to an english speaking country...
User Rating: 1/10
RENEWAL SCAM - STAY AWAY
Pros: NONE - COMPANY IS DISHONEST
Cons: THEY RENEW YOU WITHOUT PERMISSION
THEY BILLED MY CREDIT CARD WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!!!!!!!
i WOULD GIVE THIS COMPANY A "0" IF C-NET WOULD LET ME!!!!!!!
User Rating: 1/10
Dreadful! Won't work with a range of security apps.
Pros: Disk makes a pretty yellow frisbee
Cons: Is incompatible with a whole range of other popular security apps
I refuse to be coerced into what I can and can't have on my system by an antivirus program that has always historically needed other apps behind it to pick up the stuff it misses.
User Rating: 3/10
Extortionware
Pros: OK Speed and Interface
Cons: Will NOT work with Zone Alarm
I feel that Symantec extorted the purchase of their firewall.
This will be my last NAV and Norton firewall purchase no matter how good the product are.
Update:
I caught Isearch.exe and NAV could not get rid of it.
The Symantec WWW site suggested a fix that involved deleting files and registry entries. Their information did not match what was in the PC.
I then tried a few anti-spyware programs and the old reliables: Spybot and Ad Aware. They did nothing.
NAV after scanning the PC in safe mode, regular mode and from the boot CD ROM, told me nothing was there. But, the Norton firewall kept telling me that this spyware was trying to access a server.
Finally, a friend of the family came over with a program that would purge the registry of the spyware's entries and that solved the problem.
Why did NAV tell me that the PS was free of all viruses, spyware, etc when it was not?
I went to my mail box and saw an envelope saying "your norton product reward is here."
It's a debit card with a $20 balance, not a check. They said that they wanted to save me a trip to the bank!
My bank is a block from my house.
More garbage marketing tactics!
User Rating: 4/10
Parental Controls and Anti-Spam Missing
Pros: Improved Engine/Improved Screens
Cons: Loss of Functionality
User Rating: 1/10
Horrible! Remove from your computer!
Pros: It keeps you from going on suspcious sites
Cons: It will erase your hard drive slowly
User Rating: 2/10
Resource/Memory Hog & Doesn't Catch Everything!
Pros: Virus scan works, Lots of features
Cons: Doesn't catch everything, slow, bogs down PC
One of the most frustrating things about Norton is that installation is hit and miss. Some machines take it well while others don't. And we'd have Norton actually running for a year just fine and then all of the sudden crash. Unistallation was often a pain and reinstallation as well.
Of course the most agonizing part about using Norton is that it totally bogs down the user's PC. It's an incredible memory hog. Ugh! Yeah, the protection factor is significant and it indeed does the job, but what's the use if your computer is so terribly slow you can't use it to its potential anyway? The fact is there are better AntiVirus scanning programs out there that cost less and work better without slowing down your machine than Norton AntiVirus.
Considering the fact that I have experience using Norton for well over 6 years with both the personal and corporate editions, I can honestly say that I would not recommend it again. Grisoft AVG is my new favorite. It has everything; SPAM protection, Spyware and Adware guarding and clean up utilities, Firewall, and EXCELLENT virus protection!!! In fact, AVG found viruses that Norton missed! And, best of all, it uses far less memory, scans WAY FASTER, and is a breeze to use!
The final word? DITCH NORTON!
User Rating: 1/10
Goodbye to Symantec
Pros: Is one of the best anti-virus packages
Cons: doesnt work with any thing, no true support
User Rating: 2/10
Wouldn't Install - Help is a joke
Pros: Free with rebates
Cons: Wouldn't Install
User Rating: 2/10
Don't purchase unless you're ready to spend hours in the installation process
Pros: Unknown; could not install
Cons: Online upgrade download & installation failed
User Rating: 2/10
Terrible download and installation process
Pros: Commonly accepted anti-virus software
Cons: Difficult and time consuming to install
User Rating: 1/10
Incompatible with Zone Alarm
Pros: None. It's useless.
Cons: This program will not even install if you use ZoneAlarm.
User Rating: 1/10
I am VERY disappointed!
Pros: None, I will not give up ZoneAlarm & Spy Sweeper
Cons: They are trying to force their problematic suite on us
User Rating: 2/10
Consumer Fraud
Pros: Good Anti-Virus Program
Cons: Failure to alert purchaser to incompatibility
User Rating: 2/10
The same old thing
Pros: None to mention
Cons: Everything almost
I don`t know...
It`s just a little bit lighter... No big diference for me... and the other things are exactly the same....
Since it was horrible it continuos so...
Better luck next time...
User Rating: 1/10
Trying to Force consumers to buy its more expensive suite
Pros: Cheap (until you find it won't work with Zone Alarm)
Cons: Incompatible with Zone Alarm
1) Only after completing the purchasing process, which I also paid more money for the CD to be mailed to me,
2) Only after downloading the product
. . . That's when I found out that Norton 2007 is incompatible with Zone Alarm.
So, that means I either have to go back to the Norton site and purchase its firewall program, which is not as effective as Zone Alarm. Plus, I'd have to pay more money for the software since I didn't buy it as a renewal/combo suite.
This sort of business practice is exactly what drives me away from a product. So, I went to Zone Alarm and bought its suite.
The downside is that the full Zone Alarm suite requires more computer resources to run, making my computer run slower. I'm also out of $50 bucks for the waste of buying Norton.
On the other hand, I have a very secure machine now and couldn't be happier with the Zone Alarm suite.
User Rating: 9/10
Great Product overall
Pros: Good performance this year. Great capability to detect and destroy viruses, worms and spyware. Anti-phishig features are good as well.
Cons: None. Very satisfies. Installed on my machine fine.
User Rating: 1/10
Can not install- microsoft glitch?
Pros: none that I can think of
Cons: can not install
User Rating: 7/10
Good anti virus
Pros: Though the it makes the system slow it is good
Cons: It should be better if minimise the file size
Virus protection is good. But in each & every sphare at internet it provides limited coverage. I don't know why, though I bought it from retailer and activated from Symantech. Somehow it is good comparison to the market.
User Rating: 4/10
The Gestapo is in charge
Pros: does mostly what it says it will
Cons: DEMANDS you live the Norton way
You VILL do it OUR way!!! AVG free and Zone Alarm free do everything that Norton claims, without the "screw you" attitude.
User Rating: 1/10
Norton Anti-virus 2007 is awful!
Pros: There are none.
Cons: Software won't install and run. I have tried chatting with a rep 4 times with no resolution. I have never had a problem installing software like this.
User Rating: 9/10
detects spyware and rootkits
Pros: New detection capabilities, faster, lighter
Cons: UI is different from what I'm used to
Scan speed is better, memory footprint is A LOT better. Your system will be faster with this than a standalone AV, standalone firewall, and standalone antispyware product.
The new user interface is a lot different from the old one, for previous users. It is much faster, but takes some getting used to because things are in different places.
User Rating: 8/10
it is much better than Norton 2005 and 2006
Pros: faster and smoother than Mcafee
Cons: have to run live update manually to get every updated
User Rating: 9/10
Excellent antivirus cabability, works great for me.
Pros: The ability in protecting the system from virus and spyware, in real time. It stops the virus and spyware even they get onto the system.
Cons: so far I have not seen anything outstanding
User Rating: 2/10
INCOMPATIBLE, STAY AWAY
Pros: Money back if not satisfied (I used)
Cons: Don't work with a lot of good software
User Rating: 1/10
Why Didn't Symantec Tell Me This Before I Bought It?
Pros: None...would not install.
Cons: Not for users of ZoneAlarm Pro or Spy Sweeper.
