Entered CNET Catalog: 09/13/2006
SKU: 0037648275323
Manufacturer: Symantec Corporation
Manufacturer description
The chaos and rapid growth of the World Wide Web have created the perfect environment for malicious and damaging entities that threaten your PC and your identity. The important documents stored in your computer must be protected from hackers and other virtual prowlers. With Norton Internet Security, you will be able to enjoy your computer with confidence, knowing that viruses and spyware will be either blocked or removed. All kinds of malicious programs will be removed automatically, including the damaging side effects.Product summary
The good: Norton Internet Security 2007 has a lower price, runs faster, and includes cutting-edge rootkit and behavioral monitoring features found nowhere else.
The bad: Norton Internet Security 2007's single-user-license edition is no longer available (minimum now is a three-user license); requires twice as much disk drive space as McAfee or ZoneAlarm; no antiphishing toolbar for Firefox; no ID vault or password protection.
The bottom line: Norton Internet Security 2007 makes significant gains over last year, including cutting-edge rootkit and behavioral monitoring features found nowhere else, but the overall package could be serious overkill for the average desktop owner.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/16/2007
Setup and interface
Norton Internet Security 2007 is available in a boxed set and online. Either way, Symantec has lowered the price: Norton Internet Security 20007 is now priced at $69.99 for a three-user license. Note, however, that Symantec no longer offers a single-user license for Norton Internet Security 2007. Competitors McAfee and ZoneAlarm also charge $69.95 for their three-user licenses, but they still offer $49.95 single-user licenses, as well. Our installation from disc proved uneventful. Upon its completion, we needed to set up our online Norton account. Ostensibly, the account is useful when downloading optional features available from Symantec, but it's also a clever way of getting you to register your copy of the software.
Once installed, Norton Internet Security 2007 occupies 350MB of hard drive space--more than twice the file space required by either ZoneAlarm or McAfee, but given all of the included features, it's not as bad as it could have been. Like McAfee, Norton runs some nonessential services in the background, such as Norton LiveUpdate, which can reduce system performance on older machines. Unlike McAfee, the fully installed Norton runs only two active scanning processes.
The Norton Internet Security 2007 interface is simpler and much cleaner than last year's. For example, instead of having different desktop windows open for the Norton Protection Center and Norton Internet Security, these are now combined into one window with tabs. Unlike last year's version, the Norton Protection Center is more of an information gateway, linking to helpful how-to articles first before mentioning additional products or services available from Symantec. We approve of this change.
When you first launch Norton Internet Security 2007, a new sidebar window displays your system's current security status using the now-common green-yellow-red security rainbow. Norton provides a Fix Now button, but unlike McAfee's own Fix button, Symantec takes you to another screen where you must then choose what to fix and so on. For people who want to tweak, that's fine; but most home users will simply want whatever's wrong fixed and may find the extra step annoying.
Should you decide to uninstall Norton Internet Security 2007, you'll note that there is no uninstall icon listed in All Programs; instead, you'll have to use Microsoft's "Add and remove programs" from the Windows control panel. After we rebooted, we found a handful of registry entries remaining but no files or folders. While this wasn't nearly the mess left behind by Trend Micro, it was not as clean a removal process as ZoneAlarm's.
Features
Norton Internet Security 2007 adds some new protection, but the bulk of the changes provide deeper protection with its existing technology and most of those enhancements come from just one product: Norton AntiVirus 2007. A quick check of the UI reveals that several features--Norton AntiSpam, Norton Parental Control, Confidential Information Blocking, and Ad Blocking--are missing from the installed product. Following a growing trend by security vendors who realize the "one size fits all" model no longer works for Internet security, these are now offered a la carte, available for download from Symantec as needed.
New in the Norton Internet Security suite is Symantec's own antiphishing protection tool. Using an add-on toolbar to Internet Explorer, Norton Internet Security alerted us to suspected phishing sites, or those known to Symantec to be otherwise suspicious or fraudulent. You may continue on to the suspected site if you wish, and you can also report additional sites. Support for Firefox was promised but was still missing in the final release product we saw. Unlike McAfee, which makes its SiteAdvisor antiphishing tool available as a stand-alone toolbar for both Firefox and IE, Symantec's antiphishing tool is available only within the suite.
In testing, Symantec's antiphishing tool detected four out of five active fraudulent sites, results on a par with those of the free toolbar download from Netcraft and significantly better than those of the built-in detection within Microsoft's new Firefox 2.
Also new is a behavior-monitoring and blocking feature acquired from a company called Whole Security. Called SONAR (formerly Behavioral Malware Detection (BMD)), the Symantec version of this feature will become active in mid-January on thousands of Norton Internet Security-and Norton AntiVirus-protected systems worldwide. The company claims that through monitoring alone it has detected thousands of new malicious code scripts and incurred very few false positives.
In terms of enhanced features, Norton Internet Security 2006 already offered some rootkit protection, but Norton Internet Security 2007 takes detection to a new level. Symantec has extended its Veritas VxMS enterprise technology to the consumer level, allowing Norton Internet Security 2007 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. Norton Internet Security 2007 can also throttle its antivirus scanning engines so that either the full system scan or a quick scan runs in the background, giving priority to applications such as Microsoft Word. Other antivirus engines already have this technology.
One enhancement we do not agree with is Symantec's decision to disable firewall alerts by default. Symantec already does this with its antivirus alerts and insists that most people do not want to be bothered with granting or denying programs' access to the Internet. We disagree. Years ago, firewall alert messages were a problem, but today, a properly configured "smart" firewall should have access to a vast database of allowed applications, thereby minimizing the need to alert users except when a new or rogue application is detected. We found the silence frustrating. Advanced users, who sometimes need to monitor their Internet access, must now drill down within the configuration settings to enable the alert messages.
The Norton Internet Security 2007 suite does not include wireless router protection. In fact, none of the Internet security suites we've seen includes the ability to configure WEP or WPA protection on common household wireless routers--vital for any secure Wi-Fi connection, and it's a mystery to us why more vendors aren't including it within their security suites. Norton Internet Security 2007 changes your firewall protections based on whether you are connected to your home network, an office network, or a public wireless network, such as that of an Internet cafe or a commercial airport, but Windows Vista has that capability built in.
Missing from Norton Internet Security 2007 is thorough protection from identity theft. An ID vault for storing passwords and credit card information is de rigor in Internet security suites from McAfee, Trend Micro, and ZoneAlarm, yet it is missing from Symantec's suite. For that feature, the company directs you to buy its new Norton Confidential application.
Also missing are system diagnostics and backup features (available in McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007) and enhanced Internet transaction security (available in ZoneAlarm Internet Security 6.5). For built-in backup, Norton users will need to purchase Norton SystemWorks 2007.
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. Overall, 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.
To determine how well a product will protect your PC we refer to test results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. 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 firewall tests, we used NMAP on a closed system with a router connection, however, we were unable to scan the Norton Internet Security 2007 PC; all other vendors tested produced at least some results in the various tests performed. Norton hides or "stealths" a PC from criminal hackers, which is good, though we're suspicious of what we can't see.
Support
The Norton Internet Security 2007 download site has a 32-page PDF manual, which is surprisingly light and almost useless when it comes to critical information; the index, for example, is only 2 pages, and it doesn't list information on configuring the firewall settings. The updated, automated, online technical-support service works with only Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, not Firefox. Fortunately, the redesigned FAQ knowledge base still works in both IE and Firefox. If you're still having trouble finding an answer, Symantec offers live technical-support options. In our tests, free online chat required a 15-minute wait, free e-mail averaged about 72 hours for a response, and a live conversation over the phone cost $9.95 and required a 30-minute wait. But to use any of these options, we first had to first fill in our name, address, e-mail, and telephone number--this despite already having set up a Norton Account.
By going deeper, and by breaking apart its Internet security protection into individual modules, such as Norton Save & Restore and Norton Confidential, Symantec risks weakening Norton Internet Security 2007 against its competition by making it only one part of a larger puzzle. Essentially, Norton Internet Security 2007 is a very thorough antivirus-and-firewall combo with a few other security features thrown in, but it lacks data theft prevention, which is what most people want in an Internet security suite. There's also a weird duality, with features for home users that'll annoy advanced users and advanced-user features that most home users will never need. We prefer ZoneAlarm Internet Security 7; it strikes the right balance and gives end users the most complete Internet security package on the market today.
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 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164out of 164 user reviews
internet security products
Pros: it is a good name in<a href="http://www.stargatelog.com"> internet security products</a>.
Cons: not one of the top<a href="http://www.stargatelog.com"> internet security products</a>.
out of 164 user reviews
Works fine until something is wrong on computer
Pros: Good firewall and ad blocking protection
Cons: Will freeze your applications on computer while scanning your files
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007= Not Impressive Software 2007
Pros: It was a 90 day free trial that came with my Acer laptop (laptop was running Vista).
Cons: The Norton's firewall is not compatible with Windows Update, and the software itself is a system hog. It requires way too much CPU and RAM usage. It also makes VIsta look like a snail.
out of 164 user reviews
Slows Internet Explorer like cold molasses
Pros: With Norton who needs a virus?
Cons: Slows Explorer to a standstill
Norton immediately slowed internet access to almost a complete stop, constantly pesters me, installed a toolbar I can't figure how to disable. Fortunately I just have the trial version and will definitely uninstall, but resent the time wasted.
out of 164 user reviews
Intrusive and Error Prone
Pros: apparently this product, when it works, is very effective.
Cons: when this product does not work, tech support will not know how to fix it.
I started getting an autoprotect error halfway through my subscription. I was told to uninstall and reinstall. A month later, the error came back. This time, there was a link provided to a tool to fix the problem. I ran the tool; it was a dirty dirty lie. The error continued to pop up every time i booted. I contacted tech support, and again the solution was to uninstall and reinstall. Awesome. I was told to get into cleanboot mode and use the Norton Removal Tool. Funny how THEIR removal tool does not actually remove their program fully... I was told to manually remove all Symantec folders. One of these was access protected so I couldn't view or delete the contents. I spent several hours with tech support for this issue, and we booted in safe mode, regular mode, & cleanboot mode, and then we deleted symantec folders in my registry, we checked that the symantec core lc service was disabled (what the hell is your service still doing on my computer after i uninstalled, you parasite...), etc etc.
Tech concluded several times that we should just skip that folder since it didn't want to be deleted. I said that was crap. I was then told I would have to reformat my computer to get rid of the folder. I started to get just a bit ticked off at that idea, at which point the tech said he'd take control of my computer. I have no idea what else he planned to do to it, since he had just concluded 3 seconds earlier that I needed to reformat. Luckily before I agreed to that someone in the office who clearly knows more than several of norton's techs showed me how to get control of the folder. What a waste of time. Oh, right, so after that I reinstalled, and joy of joys, 2 of my last three boots have revealed the SAME ERROR.
This is going to be fun...
Norton may have a historically great name, but either the product needs to not have errors all my life OR the tool you link to fix that error needs to work OR your tech support needs to know how to actually fix it and not provide 'reintall' as the catch all.
out of 164 user reviews
BAD SECURITY SOFTWARE
Pros: NIGHTMARE TIME!
Cons: Uninstall Tool does not clear away all files
She finally took her computer to an IT person who found 6 Trojans and 3 adware files!!
After removing them, the IT person ran a Norton scan, as it suddenly became available to open and use after that. The Norton scan gave a "no virus and/or spyware found" notice. IT person ran some more scans after the Norton scan from free software downloaded from CNet and found 3 more trojans!!
I am dumping my Norton Internet Security and going with a different software.
Plus, want everyone out there to know this horror story and "USE NORTON AT YOUR OWN RISK!
CNet editor shoud rethink thier ratings Norton hasn't gotten better, it's gotten worse and doesn't protect like it claims.
out of 164 user reviews
Works fine
Pros: Low cost with rebate.
Cons: Phone support not free.
out of 164 user reviews
Painfully Slow Startup
Pros: Haven't had any viruses
Cons: So, so, so slow at startup
I was initially impressed by reading that the virus engine had been upgraded and was sold on the superior protection.
It's NOT worth it. I use my computer less now to avoid this frustration.
out of 164 user reviews
WORST THAN 5 TROJANS TOGETHER
Pros: if you wanna know how a virus acts in your computer then go and pay $72 the the experience
Cons: from the time i pick it up from the shelf at best buy till I trew it back to cust service for my money back .... everything!
Why do people call norton a virus? because does whatever it wants in your computer. Restrict access to you trusted programs, gives you silly alerts about the programs you really know they mean no harm to your comp. And here comes the worst part:
1. It lets real viruses get in to your computer (I had to use Spybot - Search & Destroy and Avast to kill those virus).
2. Its really a pain to uninstall norton.
Now before you pay lots of money just think twice.
Norton was an excellent antivirus when there was no competition...back in 1997.
out of 164 user reviews
Total absolute garbage.
Pros: Protects you from infections
Cons: Slows system down to a level where you would live with infections for a working system. Also has the ability to destroy your internet access.
out of 164 user reviews
Works Great
Pros: Nice layouts,updates,very fast scan,good overall performance
Cons: none so far
out of 164 user reviews
This product worked fine
Pros: Lots of settings options. Easy to use
Cons: Live update kind of slows me down a little - but not long
It seems that when it comes to antivirus and firewall apps, people have problems with installation and updates. I also have a feeling that the only time someone bothers to make a review is when they really hate the product, and that's why the reviews are so low. So in my case:
It installed fine. As a matter of fact it was really easy.
It continued to receive updates for the entire year.
It was easy to use and configure.
I like this product and the only reason I'm not renewing is becuase I don't want to pay the $50.00.
I will admit that when I fist log on, and live update starts to download and install new definitions, the system is noticeably slower. This, however, only lasts a few minutes and then everything is nice and fast.
The point: I'm not in love with the software, but I don't hate it either. It did what it was supposed to do without problems.
out of 164 user reviews
This program is the worst program ever.
Pros: None I know of.
Cons: Slow, hard to remove to unremoveable and the security sucks.
out of 164 user reviews
failed its task
Pros: no pros at all
Cons: didnt even detect the virus and spyware in my notebook!
out of 164 user reviews
My worst experience ever!!!
Pros: Hard to think of any when its been a nightmare
Cons: Too many to mention
I finally gave up on Norton when the supervisor actually told me this was the first he has heard of any problems with NIS 2007. I had gone to c/net to see if anyone else was having so many problems, because they make you feel as you are the only one. I demanded a refund and told him to goto c/net and see how may people are unhappy...
out of 164 user reviews
Horrific, works great until you shutdown the first time
Pros: Easy to use, large amount of features
Cons: Activation does not last and is a hassle when having to activate the product every other time.
Internet Security worked great until I logged out of my computer. From that point on, I had a 40/60 chance that it was going to ask me to activate the product (which I have done over 200 times since I purchased it a few months ago).
Tried out their help desk live chat session twice. The first experince was awful and I knew more about the computer than the "IT" helpdesk person reading thier troubleshooting script.
Tried help desk again a month later. This time they were much more helpful and showed me a trick (that was only supposed to be done once) of changing the date to sync with the update server. Worked great... for a week. Am now back to having activation issues. I am uninstalling the product today and will try another firewall/anti-virus combo.
Bottom line is that Norton worked great, while it knew it was activated. Once it got out of sync it would take days to activate it again.
Way too much hassle for something that I paid a large amount of money for.
out of 164 user reviews
Customer support is non-existent
Pros: covers everything
Cons: bogs processor down. If you need to reload NIS, plan to buy another copy.
It is a terrible CPU cycle hog.
When I have had occasion to reload Norton, it counts toward the 3 computer activation and tech support is only good if the question is written on their book.
out of 164 user reviews
This program is a giant steaming pile of garbage.
Pros: None! it wont work even though it was preloaded
Cons: Everything! its the epitome of crapware!
out of 164 user reviews
2007 Was Awful - 2008???
Pros: Comes in nice yellow box
Cons: The box is better than the product
out of 164 user reviews
Fine until you get a virus tthen they want $100 to fix it
Pros: Easy to uninstall
Cons: They charge you $100 to fix your system once you get a virus
out of 164 user reviews
This is a great, fast and simple internet secuity for the adverage internet user
Pros: FAST, simple to use, wooks dicreetly, doenst have a really annoying firewall program like Zone alarm or CA
Cons: Virus Definitions not verry detailed, not verry good for the really advanced user (no password protection)
out of 164 user reviews
install errors
Pros: adequate protection
Cons: cant install
out of 164 user reviews
Pain in the CPU
Pros: Might work
Cons: Sucks CPU cycles and won't take no for an answer
out of 164 user reviews
After installing 2007 the nightmare begun..
Pros: I have not found any..
Cons: Can I say, all
out of 164 user reviews
Vicious vile software that is a virus in of itself
Pros: At one time, virus protection
Cons: Now, a virus that hogs resources and prevents efficitent networking and is a pain to configure.
Do NOT buy this product. Do NOT support this kind of development that treats users like they are too stupid to protect themselves. If you are just wanting to surf the net, then get a simple virus program. Leave this garbage to collect dust on the shelf.
out of 164 user reviews
Forget CNETs high rating - NIS is the worst!
Pros: Can be uninstalled
Cons: I paid to buy it
out of 164 user reviews
Don't buy this product
Pros: 60-day return policy
Cons: Set-up incompatible with Dell CUs
out of 164 user reviews
Not A Viable Product
Pros: Can Be Uninstalled
Cons: Hard To unistall, Untested patches, Ineffective, Biased Site Reviews
I always kind of set my level of fear gage based on history. I don't believe anyone will debate the fact, that history repeats itself. The company who is trying to force the search engines to accept it's site advisor results as authoritive, has a shady past. That's right folks, They're a bunch of crooks.http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/2006/01/mcafee_settles_.html Remember all that money that folks lost in the tech bubble, well Mcafee was leading the pack in misleading, lying and stealing from it's share holders. I can hear you all out there now, saying that was so long ago. Well it seems that ever since then Mcafee has been stealing from the Stock Holders.http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2028241,00.asp
Sure Heads did roll, but when does it end. If a company wants the search engines to enforce it's rating system on the world, don't you think that first it should quit breaking the law, and even if they don't, get better at it. Now I'm sure we're to the point where you say, isn't it possible for the company to be crooked and not abuse it's power as the internet.
Well I decided to check out how it works. It took me Two Minutes to become a site reviewer. Next I wanted to find out what a site reviewer does? So I went straight to the top, to see how the crack Mcafee Reviewer did their jobs. I ended up at reviewer Dean’s page. Not even Mcafee knows who he really is, because you don't have to provide that information when you join. The first thing I noticed was, he had 45 reviews a day. Wow I thought he must really work hard to review that many sites. Then I noticed that all of his reviews were cut and paste. Many were attacking products that compete against Mcafee or offer software at low prices. There was a post about a Trojan at a site, but when I clicked to read the review, Mcafee itself opened 30 windows on my computer and almost crashed it. I know I don't want dean shaping the Web, his agenda is obvious and dubious. To be number one, even if it means posting lies.
Now let's talk about the technical aspects of the Mcafee software. I called in last week and it seems that Mcafee had downloaded a patch in their software that made it impossible to connect to the internet. Their solution was to give you an URL, where you could download the fix for their patch. Having worked for CA in the past, this didn't surprise me. Before I worked for them, I beat them out as an independent contractor, because they didn't have people with enough experience to do the job. Let's not stop there. Mcafee is poorly engineered. It chews up even powerful computers. It's killed more computers, than small pox has killed people. Here's an example of poor design. McAfee scans data as it comes into the computer, and every time you open it there after. If it wasn't infected on the way in, when did it become infected? After it destroyed years of my emails, I sent the problem to Microsoft, and they informed me that the vendor Mcafee, was working on the problem. This was probably caused by my large number of emails and that Mcafee scans all those emails each time it opens Outlook. Anytime I see some one trying to take over the world, I get afraid. Especially if that company has repeatedly broke the law. Uses unfair business practices, and last but not least, is technically incompetent.
Be afraid, Be very afraid.
out of 164 user reviews
Don't waste your money
Pros: There is none - program crashes
Cons: Completely unstable
Its an absolute miracle if it will actually install with out an error. After hours of "micky-mousing" the program to install it only runs for a few weeks and then gives errors every time it tries to load updates!
Have used the program on multiple machines with similar results.
Norton's famous repair technique is to unistall and start all over again and again and again....
This is the last time I will be sucked into this junk! There are many better products out there (switched to Zone Alarm)
Hey Cnet WAKE-UP!!! How can you give this program a good rating when the average review is poor???? Try demoing this product on an average computer for a few months and lets see what you come up with!
out of 164 user reviews
they have created their own end with this junk
Pros: none, no really, not a single one
Cons: I need much more space but how about, it doesn't work
The real joke is that people switch to McAfee and then get pissed off, switch to Norton and all they do is trade customers every few years. They are the only game in town.
out of 164 user reviews
Causes many problems with Windows Components
Pros: Protection
Cons: Locks up several Windows components
1. Error message 0x74985c9 upon exiting IE.
2. Cannot use Windows Backup when Norton Internet Security 2007 is running.
3. Cannot use Windows Add/Remove Software when Norton Internet Security 2007 is running.
4. Cannot format an external hard drive to NTFS when Norton Internet Security 2007 is running.
5. PC is running very, very sluggish while running Norton Internet Security 2007.
I thought this was issues with my pc and spent $130 to have my pc checked. Come to find out all of these issues were the result of me installing Norton Internet Security 2007. The only I have been able to resolve the above issues is to turn off all "protection" in Norton Internet Security 2007, use the component needed (i.e., format), and then turn all the "Protection" back on. I At this point I think I'll just switch back to McAffee.
I am having all these issues on Windows XP Pro. . .all programs have been updated.
out of 164 user reviews
Simply the best
Pros: Easy to use, more than one computer, very good scan.
Cons: Doesn't like other firewalls.
out of 164 user reviews
An Insult to the art of Programming!
Pros: Money Back Guarantee (not an original thought!)
Cons: Real-time Performance, Installation time
out of 164 user reviews
A very poor product!
Pros: There is no pros
Cons: Too many to list
It slowed down my PC down to the point that it became impossible to use it for any application.
Sent an email to their help desk... and this yielded no positive response. After several tries at contacting Symantec's help deot I finallY gave up (seems a similar theme in these reviews!)
I tried removing it and got most of it off (there is some symantec bits and pieces on there that I can't remove!)
Noticed a dramatic improvement in speed. However, whenever I try to access other anitspyware companies' url, it redirects me to google, either as a search or advising the url is invalid.
I tried contacting Symantec thru their live chat - and got no help. After lengthy tries at getting help - I gave up... again!
I am now looking at having my pc completely reformatted and any trace of Norton removed.
I do not recommend any Symantec product... the negative reviews here far outweigh the positive reviews...
I stress... DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!
out of 164 user reviews
Really bad
Pros: Nothing is good about this product
Cons: It doesn't install, so basicly it doesn't work
out of 164 user reviews
Conflict with Systemworks - Horrible Support
Pros: Believe the firewall works well
Cons: Conflicts with other Symantec apps, and app processes hang.
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 not so great so far.....
Pros: nothing significant
Cons: Tech support just ridiculous, uninstall process cumbersome
out of 164 user reviews
2007 totally revamped...Much better than past years
Pros: No hand holding... it takes care of it's self
Cons: I would like to see it upday
out of 164 user reviews
NIGHTMARE! June 03 to June 30...still trying to make it work
Pros: There are no PROS available: even to help with such a minor installation as this should have been.
Cons: I cannot review the product itself, because the installation and support is a disaster!! I am just about ready to apply for a refund and get their "letter of destruction" but that failed as well.
The first XP installation made my computer freeze, shutdown, and basically shot it to Heck. The first online pro was going to transfer me to technical advisor: He left me hanging and I never reached another specialist. The second one told me that I had to use Norton Removal Tool first. The instructions with the product installation downloads do not mention that. So I tried that instead of using the Control Panel Removal.
I assumed the problem was the Norton Systemworks, since 2006 did not have it and that worked great. So, I downloaded Removal Tool, and reinstalled NIS 2007 without Systemworks. It is kinda working OK. But, I paid for the bundle not the renewal.
My second XP cannot get past the installation process. I get "error 0" and "communication error". It won't even start to download the product.
My Vista cannot even get the Norton Removal Tool onto the desktop. I do have the latest upgraded version according to their website, and I am looking all over creation for the fixes.
I have spent hours trying to install, uninstall, reinstall, and after all is said and done....they say I have zero days left on my subscription & I cannot simply get it activated. Quitting is not my forte, but there was NO technical testing on this fiasco, so I want a refund.
My advice...look elsewhere friends!
out of 164 user reviews
Norton equals bloatware
Pros: None it is garbage
Cons: Everything by this company
out of 164 user reviews
Catastrophe
Pros: Wouldn't know
Cons: Installation failure causes system corruption
out of 164 user reviews
real crappy piece of junk
Pros: the only pro is the money symantec makes on defective products
Cons: does not run in vista 64 and customer support is useless
out of 164 user reviews
Killed two computers
Pros: None that I can see
Cons: Worst POS ever
out of 164 user reviews
a mixed review
Pros: works really well on my Compaq PC
Cons: slows down my Sony Vaio PC
out of 164 user reviews
Norton Internet Security 2007
Pros: antivirus protection
Cons: lsot features that I've had for years with Norton
out of 164 user reviews
I really hoped it was as good as claimed.
Pros: Neat buttons, colorful, intensive logging.
Cons: No customer support (thanks for nothing Symantec), and it let so much through (completely updated with suggested settings enabled) it was hard for me to fathom that it was actually running.
out of 164 user reviews
What the small print givith, Symantec taketh away
Pros: Have not knowingly contracted any viruses yet
Cons: No Parental Control per User
out of 164 user reviews
Pleasantly Surprised
Pros: Nice interface, user friendly, non-intrusive
Cons: No easy way to turn the program off temporarily
The only annoyance for me is that you have to open the program and shut down each security feature one at a time. I wish they'd allow me to right click the icon in the system tray and choose "exit" or "close program". This would be useful when installing new programs or drivers that require anti-virus to be shut off prior to a clean installation (i.e., graphic card drivers).
Thanks Symantec, for getting it right again!
out of 164 user reviews
I will never trust norton products again
Pros: phishing and antispy
Cons: the new spam and ad block sucks, the product bogs down computer.
out of 164 user reviews
norton has some really wierd problems
Pros: havent used it long enough
Cons: far too many
Now calling their helpline is no good.. Iv been trying for a week and i can never get through.
PS: I tried running my system with all sorts of protections turned off and man was it fast. (Took 25 seconds by the clock to be fully loaded, against 4 minutes with Norton turned on)
out of 164 user reviews
could be better
Pros: works for everything else
Cons: NO SPAM CONTROL!!!!
out of 164 user reviews
Ad-Blocking no longer included out of the box
Pros: NONE due to reduced user customization features
Cons: Reduced customization options...my last NIS!
I have had NIS 2002, 2003, 2005 and now 2007. Each year the usability of the product has gone down. I can't find the info I need AT ALL in the 2007 version. Apparently ad blocking is turned off by default (as it was in the earlier versions - so that I don't miss ads I "need" according to SYMANTEC!! - LUDICROUS!) but THIS time, you don't have access to turn ad blocking on? I haven't finishing fiddling yet but apparently it involves a separate download from SYMANTEC - which is assinine!!
I originally stuck with NIS because they bought out one of my favorite ever programs - @Guard/AtGuard - and incorporated it into NIS, so I tried to give Symantec the benefit of the doubt for years...but no longer. I'm shopping for a replacement
Goodbye Symantec!
SW
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 is a solid, easy to use security suite. Useful for both novice users and experts.
Pros: Easy to navigate through interface, uses up less memory and resources, excellent anti virus, firewall is barely noticeable, blocks ads, filters spam, has fraud detection, installation is easy
Cons: you have to download the add on pack (why it wasn't included in the install, I don't know), doesn't work with Firefox or Opera, firewall is barely noticeable, spyware detection isn't very good,
Installation is easy, takes about 20 minutes or so and you have to activiate it while installing. Most of it is painless.
The firewall is the most interesting aspect. By default, it automatically allows programs like Internet Explorer, Firefox, AIM, Trillian, Windows Media Player, etc.. to access the internet so you don't get bothered by those pop ups asking you to allow access. However, many people prefer to get those pop ups. So this aspect is both a positive and a negative.
Fortunatley, the firewall is very customizable you can have it prompt you every time a program wants access, or you can have it never prompt you and let Norton make the decision. I have mine set up in the middle, I get prompted when a program Norton does not recognize tries to access internet.
The Anti-Virus scan is the best I've seen in a while. It doesn't slow your PC down, and its fairly quick.
The Add on pack is really neat, but I'm wondering why Symantec didn't put this in the regular installation and just give you an option to install it or not.
The ad blocking is my favorite part, sites load faster and look much better with ads being blocked. Not all ads are blocked, but most of the ones that take forever to load are blocked.
The add on pack is nice and its easy to turn any feature of it off.
The fraud detection tool is a nice addition, but it would be better to make it less of a toolbar and more of just an icon or something. I mean, it's a huge toolbar on IE. Also, it doesn't support Firefox and Opera which is something I wish they would work on.
Overall, Norton 2007 is a quality security suite that is overpriced (along with all other security suites). But its features and presentation is top notch and it has given me a new security favorite in Norton.
It's better then Live One Care and McAfee, but Zone Alarm and Kaspersky might be a little better.
UPDATE: I was not aware of this at the time of my review, but Norton updates disable System Restore. Make sure you disable Norton before you use a system restore.
I wish I could lower my score to 6, cause this is absolutley ridiculous.
out of 164 user reviews
Don't understand all the hub-bub
Pros: Ease of loading, speed of use, protection, price
Cons: nothing I have seen
out of 164 user reviews
Not worth the hassle
Pros: Security is good, and prompt rebates
Cons: It uses to much CPU time, and has activation/subscription problems.
Today I got a message saying I needed to activate it. I followed the directions, and it still said the same thing. When I tried it again, it said my subscription had expired. I have only had this new copy for four months so that is not possible.
I am uninstalling this, and will not buy another copy.
out of 164 user reviews
Horrible software! It simply messed up my computer completely.
Pros: Can not even find one good word for it
Cons: Buggy and slow down the computer!
Have to format and install OS again on my machine, then installed Norton 2007. The Norton 2007 slow the entire machine down.
out of 164 user reviews
It's hard to walk away from a company that I've believed in for so long....
Pros: Easy to install.
Cons: Not consistent in its operation.
out of 164 user reviews
Horrible experiience : it is the worsr anti virus and anti spyware software on the market
Pros: less user interfernece
Cons: Slow! and miss a lot of spyware
Second the background scan engin starts at the times you like to run some other applications, and it takes about 40-50% of your CPU cycles.
Third, the LiveUpdate components keep crushing on my computer from day 1 I installed it. I can not believe Symantec could not fix it 6 months after release.
I bought a new Dell machine , and fresh installed Windows XP. Norton Internet Security 2007 can not even install on the machine. The installer simply crushes!!!
out of 164 user reviews
Don't Waste Your Time And Money
Pros: None that I can think of
Cons: Resource hog! Fat & Clunky software. Symantec, What are you doing!!!!
If you want a virus scan that runs fabulously with minimum foot print on your machine. Norton is NOT it. Go for ESET NOD32. Read their great reviews on the web.
out of 164 user reviews
Very unhappy with this product !!
Pros: None that I can think of
Cons: 39 days left on account amd counting
out of 164 user reviews
Appears to be comprehensive security suite.
Pros: Comprehensive, easy updates.
Cons: Difficult, if not impossible for wireless networks.
out of 164 user reviews
Everything I need
Pros: Works smoothly in the background
Cons: A pain to install
NIS 2007 seems to do this. For example it has a trusted application list so you're not being preseneted with decisions about whether you should allow some obscure dot.exe to jump on line (unlike Kapersky, which my son installed for me - it nearly drove me mad with incessant queries).
The controls are easy to understand too. You can disable parts of the suite quite simply (unlike McAffee on my other machine) and I'm delighted it doesn't have a spam filter. Get over it, just delete the messages when they arrive.
I have a 3 machine licence. The first installation was quite hard. For some reason it hung at the end, but it seems to work. Also it seems you have to go online to register the product before it will operate: go on Internet without any security? is that a terribly good idea???
Installation two on a new Dell machine was fast and trouble-free.
£34 for a 3 licence product from amazon.co.uk - so it's good value...
out of 164 user reviews
7.8 Rating on Norton is Fantasy, CNET Editor Rating Credability is Getting LOW
Pros: Norton Looks Pretty & Protects PC
Cons: Perfomance Hit is Incredible, Bad Support, Harder to Use
How CNET can give an editor rating of 7.8 is beyond me. There are many CNET ratings like this that make no sense.
I cannot rely on CNET reviews anymore.
out of 164 user reviews
Good product
Pros: NIS 2007 (10.2) is a really good product but...
Cons: NAV toolbar is dead and you have to separately download add-on pack from the inernet and PRODUCT ACTIVATION
out of 164 user reviews
Better than Norton Internet Sucurity 2006
Pros: Protection again'st most things out there. Nice Interface to use. Quick compared with 2006.
Cons: Demanding on smaller HD's. Expensive compared with other options. Does not pick up on tracking cookies.
Great other than that.
out of 164 user reviews
No Granular Parental Control
Pros: Nicer user interface.
Cons: No granular parental control.
Unfortunately, NIS 2007 had reduced that granularity to a single setting that applies to all users within the PC. For me, this meant that access for all users will need to be down graded to that of my 3 year old.
On the bright side, Norton is making arrangements for my upgrade purchase refund. (Which brought the rating from 4 to 5.)
In the mean time, I would be evaluating whether to go ahead with the NIS 2006 renewal or to obtain a replacement product.
out of 164 user reviews
Try something else for God's sake.
Pros: None I can think of.
Cons: In few words it stinks.
out of 164 user reviews
doesn't work well with vista
Pros: It keeps a history log
Cons: Norton seems to run rough with Vista. As of right now they don't have a program just for Vista. live update does not update all files because there is a issue with one of the files. It doesn't name it
Norton seems to run rough and has alot of flaws with the Vista program. I purchased it and it told me to go to the website and update the system to Vista updates. I did that. When I ran the scan through live updates. It kept telling me there was a error. When I reported it to symatec. They said they had no fix as of yet. But, that I should uninstall and reinstall. If that didn't help the situation, I had to deal with it. Some product. So, my opinion it was a waste of money.
out of 164 user reviews
Terrible thing!!!
Pros: virus protection
Cons: Slows down and freezes the computer
I was one hour with tech support and was not able to fix my problem.
I have read all the reviews and no one is satisfied with NIS.
Please, do not get this product as it will cause to make your computer run extremely slugish.
out of 164 user reviews
Terrible customer service experience!
Pros: Familiarity with Norton products
Cons: Could not install on Vista 64 bit OS
out of 164 user reviews
Great, until it breaks
Pros: When it works, it is solid. Covers all the main functions in home PC security for a high-speed attached device. Licensing system is now much better.
Cons: When it breaks it is difficult to get quality support. Uninstallation is a chore. Too buggy to use effectively.
Currently, I have NIS 2007 installed on my PC. I upgraded from NIS 2006 because I was beginning to get the dreaded "Symantec User Session has encountered a problem and needs to close" error. Digging in reveals this to be a problem with the ccapp.exe program of NIS. I've tried everything to isolate this issue. I got through to Symantec support twice, once on chat and once via email thread. The chat person told me to upgrade to NIS 2007 (free with 1 year left on my 2-year subscription.) No joy. The email person told me to uninstall (using Norton Removal Tool) and reinstall. I've done that. No joy, although it did run error free for 24 hours. The email person also told me to try the old "disable all your startup / services / win.ini but Microsoft and Norton" routine. No joy. I'm going to try the uninstall routine one more time tonight, along with a manual scan and clean of registry / common files / etc. (Something similar to this happened a few versions ago and this "purging" before reinstall got it smooth again.) If that doesn't work, I'll move on to another product.
The reason I don't abandon NIS right off the bat is because, as an IT professional, I know that all software will, sooner or later, have problems with the OS, with a patch, with another piece of software or driver, something. I like to give it every chance. Plus, once a product I've been using fails me without remedy, I cut it loose forever and move on to something else. I used to be a "loyal" McAfee user, prior to Norton. Then, about 8 years ago McAfee ran into some problems with a build and couldn't resolve it in a reasonable time. I moved on to Norton. It may be time for me to move on to something else.
The real issue here is customer support. Symantec (nor any other outfit) cannot rely on outsourced CSO whose response is limited to "Run LiveUpdate", and, "Reinstall the Product".
out of 164 user reviews
Disappointing experience for a home computer user.
Pros: Easy on-line purchase, download and installation. Broad spectrum of protection.
Cons: Does not support Firefox browser or e-mail where your ISP requires and SSL connection. Poor technical support.
out of 164 user reviews
Crashed System
Pros: Fast download/setup
Cons: Crashed system, hogs resources, not user friendly
out of 164 user reviews
Great Revenue Producer for Symantec
Pros: Great Training Ground for Learning to Install/Uninstall Software
Cons: Set aside a few weekends to spend with your computer
I am trying to use Firefox and every 3 seconds I get a Warning Low Risk dialog box and I have to click it. This has been going on for 1/2 hour. I tried to change the setup on the Firewall, but when I click on the firewall, it freezes my machine. I think I may have d/l a virus! No wait, I couldn't since I haven't been able to get on the internet with that computer! Thanks NIS! I'm safe!!!
I am marking on my calendar that in 359 days from now, not to renew the POS. Oh wait, NIS reminds me every day how stupid I was to buy this POS.
My advice to Symantec: Now that you have outsourced your customer interface of your company overseas to save millions - how about investing some money and make this software a little more intuitive, less bulky, and more seemless? Have you been reading the message boards out here? You don't have a lot of happy people. Unhappy people tell others and then they tell others. And so on. Sell one crappy product and you just lost 10 sales.
I don't know about the rest of the people reading these reviews, but I find it extremely irritating to spend 50-70 bucks on something and get treated like garbage by a bunch of smug techs butchering the English language and acting like I am a complete buffoon.
I would give this a 1 rating, but the popup window here at CNET says that would be rude of me and I don't want to appear rude.
out of 164 user reviews
Great product
Pros: great protection, smart firewall, minimum system drag
Cons: none so far
out of 164 user reviews
Getting worse every year
Pros: the brand name makes me feel secure
Cons: it hogs system resources, and features are being taken from it
Why Symantec takes a good product and makes it worse is beyond me. I have a McAfee program on my laptop that provides solid protection, yet doesn't seem to drain the computer of its resources nor slow down start up time. I'm very disappointed with what Norton is doing and I would no longer recommend it without qualification. If you have previous editions, I would recommend keeping them (if you want to stay with Norton) and buy the extended subscriptions instead.
out of 164 user reviews
Absolute waste of time, energy, and money....
Pros: None that I can find at the current time. Been to busy installing...uninstalling...i nstalling...uninstalling...cal ling customer service,
Cons: Customer service, Installation, ADD-ON Pack for the features I started with Norton for in the beginning.
out of 164 user reviews
Usual Rubbish
Pros: Does the Job (mostly)
Cons: Bloat, Bloat, Bloat
Q. Why do these products have to be so resource hungry?
A. Written by Lazy Money Grabbers who depend on fear (not design/programming excellence) for their sales.
out of 164 user reviews
Greatly improved product.
Pros: Not as much overhead as before. Does it's job well & without annoyance.
Cons: Annually increasing expense.
out of 164 user reviews
Upgraded from Norton Internet Security 2005
Pros: I was able to add my wife's laptop computer as well as my son's desk computer for the price of one product.
Cons: I found the new user interface visually easy to navigate and this suite also apperas to run scans at a more robust pace.
I have had the 2007 suite installed on all three computers in our household and all is well. I am very happy with my purchase.
out of 164 user reviews
Better than most Internet Security Suites out there
Pros: Not only do you get a Powerful firewall and Antivirus, but you get ad blocking. Can't get that in most suites
Cons: Installation can be a pain and some bugs need to be worked out
Another problem that I have had with this suite is that it invades every part of the system, thus slowing it down a bit. This is the price you pay for great quality. I have had every version of Internet Security beginning with 2003 up to now with 2007, and I can honestly say that I have never had a virus on my computer. I have had this computer for about 3yrs. now. I am a satisfied customer.
out of 164 user reviews
Basically 'works', but has many short comings
Pros: Protects against threats
Cons: Slow, Poor support, Impossible to tune to fit certain needs
out of 164 user reviews
Do not buy this program!!!
Pros: I wouldn't know
Cons: impossible to install, ridiculous cost for tech support
After buying this program I tried to install it. Midway through the CD install it told me there was an error and it couldn't continue. What error? Oh, I don't know. Some error called -67489980. Nice, okay. At least I know what's wrong with the install. I check out the
out of 164 user reviews
Excellent Suite,Best Of 2007!
Pros: Excellent Anti-virus,Firewall,Anti-Spyw are,Anti-Spam
Cons: Nothing....
If you really take survery most of the people who have bashed norton here haven't even touched in years...So,Please try it Yourself!
************************************************
Norton offers excellent protection from viruses,spyware,trojans and as well blocks all hackers from reaching your pc...
This version virtually protects you without any irritating prompts....
Independent test conducted by labs av-comparatives have shown that norton performs very well against viruses and stuff...
You will also find no slow-ups...no high cpu-usage and no blue-screens...
This will keep your pc up and running like new without any bad-guys reaching your pc...
out of 164 user reviews
Terrible product
Pros: Garbage and worthless
Cons: Useless with no support
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 Installation Headaches
Pros: Almost Free after Rebates
Cons: Installation may require re-installation of many other products
NIS 2007's installer started and then immediately stopped informing that "Another Installer was Running." Then nothing. It would not re-start unless the machine was rebooted; but again it stopped.
After more than 2 hours of waiting for a chat response on Symantec's chat support board... including a dropped chat by an analyst... the advice was to run Symantec's Removal Tool.
This removes ALL Symantec products and several other products such as ACT. Installation of NIS 2007 will then also require the REINSTALLATION of all other Symantec products and any third party software such as ACT that is removed. All reinstalled software will, of course, have to be UPDATED (repeatedly) and all databases restored.
No wonder Symantec delivers NIS 2007 with 3 licenses and large rebates....
What is so special about this newer version of Norton Internet Security anyhow that makes it worth this much trouble and time? Maybe its better to just renew my virus subscription and forget about updating the security software until I buy a new computer or hard drive...
I am a very unhappy Symantec customer. I don't think NIS 2007 is worth the effort; it's still not running. My retailer (BJ'S) won't refund my purchase and Symantec might; but only after 45 days and alot of paperwork.
out of 164 user reviews
Horrible Product - Avoid
Pros: If you get all the rebates it can be purched for free.
Cons: Failed to install on 1 out of 2 machines and after much effort was returned for refund.
out of 164 user reviews
stupid, horrible, computer damaging, damn, sob, software
Pros: reduces the time you need to get your first heart stroke
Cons: all features
see the unistallation crashed in the middle of process and now the parts of the software that prevent me to give any logic USE to my internet are still working while the software configuration and uninstall program are gone or wont run...
will throw my new computer to the trash because can no longer use internet..
wish could give it 0 rating instead of 1 :S
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 itself, the worst virus my system has experienced...
Pros: None to report
Cons: Product installation crippled my computer, support was innefffective, de-installation leaves me with unresolved problems
First the operating environment details. I'm running XP-Pro SP2 on a 2.6ghz pentium with 1GB of RAM.
Upon the de-installation of the existing NIS 2006 and Spyware Doctor applications, I proceeded with the installation of NIS 2007. The installation appeared to go cleanly, but upon attempting to restart, my computer hung on shutting down, and upon attempting to come up, I got a blank desktop with no task bar, start menu, or desktop icons. Later, as I was working with Symantec support and was able to get a desktop back, I also experienced things as not being able to bring up the control panel or click on the 'My Computer' icon. Of course, I had no internet access during the whole ordeal.
Since I couldnt find any phone number contact in the ridiculously minimal instruction manual that came with the package, I called my local ISP to find out what they knew about the affects of using NIS 2007. Through them I got a phone number for Symantec support. As a side note, the manual points out ways to get support if you have access to the internet and email, but gives no direction if you dont have access to those.
Over the course of the next 4 days of working through my issues with NIS 2007, my experience with Symantec support left me with the impression that they were mostly incompetent and quite innefective. I give Symantec credit for having 24/7 phone support, and I did work with one knowledgable support person there named Jay, but most of the experience was frustrating and time-consuming. The help desk is located in India, and the first problem is that they couldnt hear me though I was speaking loudly. The next problem is that I had to answer the same questions repeatedly as if the person didnt understand my answers. On a number of ocassions, I felt the person on the other end was just going through a script, and wasnt listening to what I was saying or reading my growing case notes. I got passed around a lot to different people and spent a lot of time on hold. They kept trying to get me off the phone even though we hadnt worked through the problem completely. In one instance, the helpdesk person was trying to tell me that things were all fixed even when I had told her there was an activation error during the re-install we were working on.
Having worked with tech support and edited registries, and tinkered with start-up configurations and various services settings, I could never get NIS 2007 to install (tried four times). Trying to un-install the package turned out to be almost as difficult and troublesome. Uninstalling has left me with problems with my computer I have yet to work out. I still cant use my scanner because it complains about a symantec DLL issue. I have no idea why that would be.
The CNET site warns me that assigning a '1' is an extreme action. Based on what I've experienced, I would rate this product less than zero if I could. There was nothing that went right, and a lot that went wrong. Having tried to install this program only caused harm to my system which I'm still trying to undo. I cant believe Symantec could put out such a pathetic piece of software with such inffective support. I'm returning NIS 2007 and trying my luck with Zone Alarm.
out of 164 user reviews
No expert but am pleased with 2007 after upgrading from 2005
Pros: Seems to take less from my PC resources.
Cons: Runs faster and extras downloaded choice
out of 164 user reviews
Cnet hit the nail on the head
Pros: for the most part a great internet system
Cons: memory intensive esp when running scans
out of 164 user reviews
Frustration with LiveUpdate and Registration
Pros: I was happy with the 2006 version and expected good performance withe the 2007 version.
Cons: LiveUpdate Glitches
I now have a message that my subscription has expired. Again, I have just installed the 2007 Norton Internet Security. What's wrong with this picture?
Are many of Symantec's customers having the same problem?
out of 164 user reviews
Happy With Product
Pros: Does a Good Job Knocking down virus threats and doesn't seem near as bulky as previous versions which were resource hogs
Cons: Haven't found any yet
Scott
out of 164 user reviews
Excellent product so far
Pros: Ran as fast as previous software
Cons: None that I can find
out of 164 user reviews
Ok at best, but I hope you never need customer support
Pros: More security than you need,
Cons: Resource Hog, No parental control, Abysmal Customer Support
out of 164 user reviews
CNET gives 7.8? HUH? What were you thinking?
Pros: User opinions show I'm not alone.
Cons: Worst program ever written in the history of programming
They said they have update to fix problems. WRONG!!! I updated and same problems, plus new ones. Windows Media Player freeze. Whole computer freeze. Many error message pop-ups.
I've always respected CNET and their opinions, but this time(7.8 very good), for some reason, they are really, really wrong.
NIS2007 automatically scans your computer any time it wants and YOU CAN'T STOP IT. I've disable the scan, but it doesn't matter. It runs regardless. It runs in the backround and you'll know because the hard drive is frantically spinning and the computer runs unacceptably slow. Your production will suffer terriblly. I've lost many hours of work and production.
It is MY computer, NOT Symantec's. I want to be in control of my computer.
out of 164 user reviews
Symantec Cheats Repeat Customers
Pros: Good software
Cons: Multipack licenses are a customer cheat
out of 164 user reviews
Worst product they have ever made!
Pros: Have yet to find one
Cons: Resource HOG!
out of 164 user reviews
Not worth the time nor money
Pros: Downloads easily
Cons: Too many problems
out of 164 user reviews
Locks Up alot!
Pros: Looks Nice
Cons: LOCKS MY WHOLE SYSTEM UP CONSTANTLY HAD TO UNINSTALL
out of 164 user reviews
Great program!
Pros: Works seamlessly in the background.
Cons: Required an add-on (free), which I found through trial and error.
out of 164 user reviews
They haven't activated my renewal nearly 2 months after billing me
Pros: None: it's not working
Cons: Renewal process is a mess
out of 164 user reviews
Use the CD as a frisbee
Pros: Proven antivirus and firewall protection
Cons: Difficulty installing program; bloated software that bogs the computer down
My brother bought Internet Security along with his new computer and asked me to get everything set up for him. I had problems from the start. Difficulty with the install process, numerous error messages, etc. Had to uninstall initial installation and start over again. Got everything working and updated, after 4 hours...and I have a 5 megabit connection.
After everything was set up the way he wanted and all of the updates installed, the program is still a drag. Takes the computer an extra 20-30 seconds to start up and ready to work.
I normally agree with CNET's reviews, but I may have to re-think that if they keep giving good reviews to "big" programs that are total garbage.
out of 164 user reviews
Very hard on system resources
Pros: Runs in the background with little user input required.
Cons: Seizes up to 50% of CPU resources randomly.
out of 164 user reviews
Excellent firewall and antivirus solution
Pros: Firewall and anti-virus are solid as ever
Cons: Details of license hard to find, don't like phishing filter taking up precious real-estate on browser
When I turn off the Norton phishing filter in favor of Microsoft's more seamless IE7 filter, I receive a permanant warning from Norton that my machine is exposed. I wish I could tell it to ignore the phishing filter, or notice that I'm running another. As it is, I now can't tell when I have a real security risk, as I have a perpetual "false positive" as it is continually telling me that there is something wrong.
Turns out, just turning off the Norton toolbar in IE solved my issue. Problem resolved. Everything works great.
out of 164 user reviews
Don't Upgrade if you don't have to!
Pros: New GUI. Reliable as usual for protection.
Cons: Slowwws everything down...pc, internet connection, pc shutdown errors
I will make this short and sweet....If you don't have to upgrade from 2006, D O N 'T!!
Downloaded the upgrade to NIS 2007 along with Norton Systemworks Basic upgrade online yesterday for a 2 year license $104.00, kind of a good deal so I thought!
I am a tech and this has twisted me since yesterday to the point of wanting to take a hammer and smash my laptop. Thank god I had only renewed my 2006 NIS and SystemWorks Basic 2006 rather than buy a whole new 2007 thing on my MAIN business PC.
Long story very short: got the usual "28 days left before expiration"...blah blah on my laptop for both NIS and the Systemworks 2006. I decided to upgrade both for 2 years. Bought it online, downloaded first the NIS 2007, installation went okay.
Then went to download the supposed "free" Systemworks Basic 2006 upgrade, basically same version I own but I needed a new license so I decided for free, I'll redownload it and possibly there'd be some new things that my older 2006 version lacked. Wrong, so damn wrong.
I was told to first UNINSTALL my original Systemworks 2006 which contains Norton GoBack, which I love and rely upon. I felt crappy thinking I was going to uninstall it for fear what happens if things don't go right with the uninstall, how could I go back now?
Well, I did the uninstall and had to restart and guess what? GoBack comes on with an 'interrupt' message and do I want to delete my entire history on the "C" Drive. I attempt to do it as I figured I had to as part of SystemWorks newer GoBack. After 20 minutes, I'm still uninstalling history at 2%, so I stopped and shut down. Restarted for the next 2 freakin' hours and could not bypass GoBack, not get into my system anymore, told it was crashed by GoBack, had a zillion error messages such as no more AutoCheck, whatever that is. And so, after screwing around with a hundred ways to try and bypass GoBack, I found that I had to re-enable the software, and luckily, just lucky for me, I didn't do the "C" Drive history delete as my last 7 days were still in tact in GoBack. I was able to restore.
The kicker of it all: I had to run the damn 2 hour antivirus scan all over, yes the new version is a killer for taking that long to do a full scan.....AND, I got the message that I had to renew SystemWorks in 28 days again, even though I had a new vesion and a 2 year license, it wouldn't accept the key codes at all. I hit the button to "renew" and it now cost me another $49 plus tax for ONE YEAR.
I am going to contact Symantec today to protest and demand my $49 back as I should have had a free upgrade as they promised for 2 years. I'm sure I'll be in Square One going no place with them.
This ends my love affair with Norton forever.Lesson learned...if it ain't broke, don't fix it! So so so true.
Find something better or don't upgrade.
I thought it was just me but after doing some research a few ohttp://toolbar.google.com/fixmenuthers found like me that if you go into View Toolbars in IE6, my Google Toolbar and my Norton Toolbar were obviously mixed up because if I deselect the Google Toolbar, Norton disappears and vice versa. I had to reset the Google Toolbar to fix everything and here's the reset:http://toolbar.google.com/fixmenu
Also, when the Norton Fraud Monitoring green taskbar is displayed, I notice when I exit any website or the Internet for that matter, it has almost a double page display. I realized though it's the shutting down first of the Monitoring toolbar and then the page exits. Just plain weird if you ask me.
out of 164 user reviews
A product that's always been dependable for me, far less intrusive than McAfee (I use it at work)
Pros: Unlike most competitors defends against rootkits
Cons: Not compatible with SpyBot; some tools like spam filter are a separate download; high retail price if you can't snag a rebate
Reading a number of the bad user reviews it mostly comes down to problems installing the product and poor customer support. That's the bottom line with all these security products. Installs can be a problem for some users. For example, Zone Alarm is top rated by C-Net. I know 2 people who've used Zone Alarm in the past and both had serious problems with it. One had a nightmare trying to uninstall it.
C-Net docks Norton for not including it's Confidential, a feature found in competing packages. That's fair. Oddly, however, they gripe a bit for it HAVING a feature not found in competing products: advanced root kit protection. I work in the software industry. You can't read trade press without reading about how serious a problem root kits are. This is an essential protection ALL anti-virus products should include. So, if you spend some extra $$$, Norton is probably the most complete product offered right now.
Norton's interface is completely revamped from my previous version to make it simpler. Personally, I prefer the previous version though that's a matter of taste.
When I first installed the product I was bummed that it didn't have anti-spam protection. A day later I discovered it is included in a separate free download from their web site. This is a tad strange. Why not include it as part of the install prompting the user if they want to install it? I bet many users never realize that parental controls, anti-spam, etc. are available.
The anti-phishing protection that integrates into Internet Explorer is far, far faster than the built-in protection that ships with IE7. That's a welcome feature.
If you've been using Norton before like me, Norton 2007 should give you no reason to switch brands. I got a $40 rebate on my purchase bringing my net cost to $14.50. However, 1st time users might find it an expensive buy unless they can find a similar deal (e.g., rebates bundled with Taxcut or TurboTax).
out of 164 user reviews
Destructive
Pros: Cheery yellow box
Cons: Incompatible with everything; tech support & customer service awful
It would not install on my computer at all when my main drive was named F: rather than C:. Norton will only install on a C: drive. Period. Of course, I could not have my $60+ back.
Destroyed one new computer because it had some reference to McAfee remaining after McAfee was removed via add/remove programs.
Neither Symantec nor the DSL service provider could get DSL to work after installing Norton on three different computers.
Nightmarish.
out of 164 user reviews
The pain you put me through is unbearable...
Pros: Works at times!
Cons: Works at times!
out of 164 user reviews
Complete disaster! Runs at snails pace..Causes system malfunctions..Unusable!
Pros: None found so far..well, at least I was able to uninstall it.
Cons: Technical support dept. not helpful and condescending.
For my computer to run correctly, I had to turn off all Symantec processes at Start Up. Caused some start up programs to not run. Conflicts with my DVD player software, Photoshop, and other programs. Runs scans in backround, even though feature is off. Boot up went from 30 secs. to 6 min. Page loading went from seconds to sometimes 5 minutes. There's many other problems but you get the idea. Previous versions were not a problem, but NIS2007 is just aweful.
This is my LAST Symantec purchase.
out of 164 user reviews
May not be feature-rich, but it's far less instrusive than Zone Alarm
Pros: Stays out of your way while it gives you the protection you need
Cons: May not have all the features some people want
Norton requires far less handholding. It downloads a list of recognized programs and doesn't bother you for permissions. It installed easily without interfering with my home network.
The Zone Alarm folks will probably say, "Sure, but Norton's not as vigilant." I leave the effectiveness testing to the professionals. All I know is, when I ran a system-wide scan with Norton, it flagged a couple items that Zone Alarm had missed.
out of 164 user reviews
Not as good as 2006
Pros: Easy install, runs faster than the old versions.
Cons: No anti-spam.
Although the download was fast and easy, the desktop menu way more complicated, difficult to find where to personalize it, and it doesn't have the anti-spam feature from the 2006 version. That was something I came to like, after I had used Spam-Bully for a while, I just began to rely on the Norton Anti-spam and got rid of the Spam-Bully.
I returned it right away and will look for something that does what I want.
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 is a good overall product.
Pros: Searches deeper through your system, find rootkits, keyloggers, better virus protection, enhanced intrusion prevention, phising and firewall.
Cons: Takes a while to scan your computer, uses alot of processing power, not for use with other high processing applications, doesnt update definitions as much as should and really hard to uninstall.
out of 164 user reviews
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Pros: Decent product performance for first 3 months
Cons: Customer service tech call center
out of 164 user reviews
Norton Internet Security 2007 Add-ons
Pros: I haven't found any as I am not sure the product works
Cons: Parental Control doesn't block anything
out of 164 user reviews
Abysmal customer support
Pros: Can't think of any
Cons: Failed to install in my new computer, slowed my laptop to glacial speed.
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 3-PACK buyers BEWARE !!!!
Pros: sure its cheap
Cons: marketing trickery!!!!
out of 164 user reviews
Norton internet security 2007
Pros: NONE whatsoever
Cons: To numerous to list.
Despite Norton's denial that they were responsible; I found a partial solution in PC World. The Norton removal tool corrupted the winsock. There is information at find.pcworld.com/55546 and /55531 that will help restore at least some internet functionality. I can now connect with my laptop wirelessly again though I still am blocked from internet access with my browser.Thanks for nothing Norton!
out of 164 user reviews
Never buy this product
Pros: virus detection is good
Cons: Everything else sucks
The security certificate presented by this website has expired or is not yet valid.
Security certificate problems may indicate an attempt to fool you or intercept any data you send to the server. We recommend that you close this webpage and do not continue to this website." Rather Ironic if you ask me... par for the course with Symantec. Never again Symantec... I hate you.
out of 164 user reviews
Scan Slower Than Molasses
Pros: Now scans for spybots as well as viruses
Cons: Took 12 hours to complete scan of 80 gig hard drive.
out of 164 user reviews
Better than 05 and 06 versions
Pros: More user choice and better layout
Cons: Manual keeps getting smaller while packaging continues to be wastefull
The install instructions should prominately tell installers to use the uninstall tool from the Symantec web site but does not. Otherwise, XP uninstaller sometimes leaves fragmants that result in a failed install.
Finally, I had to hunt for an upgrade rebate as the box only had offers for combination puchases. And, Symantec has always been the slowest when it comes to rebates, when they have not outright lost my submissions. So please just lower the price!
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 works well without sending pop ups
Pros: Quick and efficient
Cons: None after two months
out of 164 user reviews
Over-priced and Doesn't Protect
Pros: Doesn't keep computer safe
Cons: Over priced
Downloaded Ad-Aware se which cleaned up my computer. Already have the 2007 Norton now, but will never purchase it again. There are much better products out there that cost much less!
out of 164 user reviews
Why such hatred towards Symantec/Norton?
Pros: Easy install, unintrusive, gets the job done
Cons: Why do you need to pay $10 for extended download period?
NIS 2005
This was a good product, but not spectacular. My two major peeves with this version was that you were not allowed to change the location of the program within the start menu, and it took an insanely long time to load. When you want to boot your computer and get going, it isn't good to have to wait two minutes for NIS to load so you can finally go on the Internet.
NIS 2006
This was a much better product. In the year I had it, I never had a virus on my computer, and I got rid of AdAware because Norton protected my computer flawlessly. You could put the start menu folder wherever you wanted, it loaded much faster than the 2005 version, and overall I have to say I was very happy with it. My one peeve was that I found the menus within the program to be very unintuitive, as it would take me twice as long as needed to find an option I needed to turn on/off.
NIS 2006
Installation: took about a half hour to install and download the initial updates via their LiveUpdate program. Once installed, it worked flawlessly. However, I don't understand why anyone would pay $10 to be able to download the program within the first 60 days. Come on Symantec, this is not cool.
Loading: Loads just as fast as NIS 2006. No complaints.
Menu Structure: Finally, an improvement! Everything is much more logically laid out, it's easier to find the options you want to find, rather than wasting time mucking through unintuitive menu structures.
Overall: I would give this program a solid A. For $50, it does everything I would expect a program to do.....antivirus, firewall, spyware protection, and now it even tries to detect fraudulent websites. I wish I understood those giving this program such low scores as to why they harbor such hatred towards Symantec. It's like they're McAfee or freeware fanboys that will never like any Symantect product, so they feel the need to trash every iteration of this product. Granted, not everyone will have such a positive experience with this, or any program...there are always differences in computer setup that can screw something up. But if you want a good all-in-one product that will protect your computer, I recommend this product.
out of 164 user reviews
Service Sucks
Pros: Okay against common viruses
Cons: Does not protect against spyware and malware
out of 164 user reviews
my own experience with NIS 2007
Pros: lower price, better protection for 3 pc's...
Cons: the ones I need are wireless protection for my wireless network... and you might want to add that mobile protection for my symbian phone for free :D ...
the pros:
lower price, better protection for 3 pc's.. oh and look Cnet, I have norton confidential being updated by live update... sheesh... whoever reviewed this software must be sleeping a lot...
the cons:
the ones I need are wireless protection for my wireless network... and you might want to add that mobile protection for my symbian phone for free
...the ones others need are better parental control controls (lol) and anti-spam add-ons, file shredder and back-up (er.. Cnet guys, you might want to add a dvd burner, a media player, a microwave oven, an airconditioner, celphone functionalities... sheesh...)
out of 164 user reviews
I wish I hadn't upgraded to NIS 2007
Pros: I can't think of any.
Cons: Fewer features. Loads slowly.
out of 164 user reviews
Horrible service, the worst I have experienced
Pros: none - product would not work
Cons: too many to list
out of 164 user reviews
per user controls missing
Pros: runs silent, doesn't bother me much
Cons: per user control elliminated. add on pack a secret.
I consider this market immature, and thus annual product upgrades are a necessity. But for all the forward progress Symantec made over they years, they really suprised me this time. It's a step backward.
It's back to NIS 2006 for me and now I can't trust Symantec to do a better-than job. I'm going to have to read all these reviews in the future rather than do a carte-blanche update which I have done for over 10 years now.
I can't wait to hear Symantec's response - If they replied, they've kept that pretty well hidden. I'll bet Peter Norton is glad he left...
out of 164 user reviews
I should be paid to use this software
Pros: hmmmm, well, it never has found a virus...
Cons: over 9 hours to install, reinstall, resolve conflicts
out of 164 user reviews
Horrendous! Do Not Buy This Product! Worst Ever!
Pros: Simple user screen with easy-to use tabs when they work
Cons: Difficult to install; needed steps not listed in guide or software; awful support
out of 164 user reviews
Pitiful, Defective, Sucks
Pros: I only lost one day trying to install and correct errors.
Cons: I remember when Norton was a reputable company.
out of 164 user reviews
Parental Control Feature Is Worthless In This Release
Pros: Antivirus and Firewall Bundle
Cons: Parental Control Is Worthless
First of all, it is not included out of the box, you have to download it separately. This was never explained in the packaging and has left many parents with their kids exposed to the full internet.
As for the feature itself, it can only be enabled for one account which is worthless. NIS 2006 and earlier versions allowed you to set up separate profiles for each user in the family. As one other reviewer stated NIS 2007 is more "computer" control than "parental control".
I guess what most people are really upset about is that Symantec removed this feature and never informed its customers. It is not the new customers who are upset, it is the long time customers who are parents. As a parent, trying to find good parental control software and figuring out how it works to protect your children is not easy. I thought I had a great relationship with Symantec (a name I’ve trusted for a long time). I've been a customer since the DOS days.
This oversight by Symantec does have a happy ending. I did some research and downloaded CyberPatrol's parental software. I installed the 14 day trial on my kids’ computers and it works great. It has many more features that NIS Parental Control ever had and can be configured for each account (like NIS 2006 Parental Control). My kids don’t like it so it must be working! It will cost me more money, but at least they tell you what you get with the software.
I have no relationship with CyberPatrol and I'm sure there are many other good products out there. As a parent, I just don't have time to evaluate and figure them all out.
Since I already paid for NIS, I will continue to use NIS for its fine Antivirus and Firewall.
out of 164 user reviews
One year forward, two steps back (I'm disappointed)
Pros: Includes a great antivirus application, 3 user license
Cons: Less features & Symantec will force you to download some of the program
First, if you are an adult looking for internet security you're problably better going with Zonealarm. The main reason I had used (and recommended) the Symantec product was that it offered (originally) a good product geared towards systems where many people shared the same PC.
One of the main features that's missing this year is the ability to have the program recognize multiple user accounts on a system. So when you install this product everyone on the computer is treated the same. This can be a real annoyance because web sites that you block for a young child (like adult humor sites) are now blocked for you as well.
Another feature missing is the ability to classify users as child, teenager, adult, etc.. This used to be a great way to establish settings for all the various members of your family. Now it's gone.
In the Symantec product a lot of these features were contained in the parental control area. This used to be an intregal part of the product. Well, not any more because the parental control is now considered an 'Add-On' by Symantec. It gets better than that because upon installing the product you may, or might not, notice that parental control isn't installed. I noticed and went searching. Finally figured out that in order to install the parental control you are required to download the 'Add-On' from Symantec and install it seperately. Apparently Symantec doesn't think this is a very important feature, but in my opinion it's the ONLY reason to go with Symantec's product (at least in prior versions).
In a nutshell I don't recommend this product. For adults looking for protection there are better products. For adults looking to protect their family this product may work if you don't mind everyone having the same security settings. I'll be searching for a suitable alternative.
Another note on this sub-par version from Symantec.
The 2006 version could be setup to prevent your kids from using software that accessed the internet. They could install software, it just wouldn't be allowed to establish a connection until you authorized it. This version does not have that ability. Which means that the kids can install anything and instantly gain internet access. It is then up to you to monitor what has been installed and then deny access when you find something they shouldn't be running. In my opinion the 2006 version got it right and the 2007 version again demonstrates it's lack of functionality.
out of 164 user reviews
missing alot
Pros: none at all
Cons: to many to put here, realy slow down my lap top uses alot of resorces
out of 164 user reviews
will not use again!
Pros: better than nothing
Cons: caused a bad crash
out of 164 user reviews
VERY Disappointed !!
Pros: Nicer UI and More "Automatic" settings.
Cons: Parental controls ruined.
The parental controld on NIS have always been much better (IMHO) than on McAfee or others. However, in NIS2007, Symantec has trashed this feature. First, you need to "find" and install an optional add-on to get parental controls in the first place. It's like a little Easter egg hunt on Symantec's site. Their documentation doesn't even mention parental controls or how to get it - guess they don't care about keeping existing customers happy and informed. Also, some dolt at Symantec seems to think that a SINGLE set of controls is sufficient for all parental control settings. My "users" consist of a 5 year old, a 16 year old, and two adults. There is no way that a single set of controls is appropriate for this set of users. If this isn't fixed by the time my subcription runs out, there'll be one less symantec customer in the world. Also - the "Restrictions" log page no longer indicates the user who flagged the restriction. So it is now much harder to keep an eye on which kid is going where.
out of 164 user reviews
Peace of mind with Norton
Pros: Nice and easy to understand UI, not too intrusive as with version 2006
Cons: lengthy scan time
out of 164 user reviews
Downgrade from NIS 2006
Pros: Improved Engine and Interface
Cons: Loss of Parental Controls and Anti-Spam
out of 164 user reviews
Very Slow old technology
Pros: Easy to use, Good Support
Cons: Slow, Bloted
out of 164 user reviews
Poor----Absymal
Pros: none none none
Cons: confusing interface, virus detection, firewall is a joke
I was never satisfied with its performance in those 3 days. It did not detect viruses which were detected by Pc-cillin House call. Firewall does not even tell you what all programs are trying to access the internet.
I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU ALL TO try ANY product BEFORE buying IT
out of 164 user reviews
More disappointing than earlier releases
Pros: None - product was uninstalled
Cons: Change in interface, poor technical support
I didn't like the new interface, it was not very intuitive navigating through the product. Just finding the basic stuff the 2006 NAV screen displays (subscription, date of virus definitions,...) was a chore.
Symantec's Tech Support page is insulting. They display a young red-headed guy but you get the support from someone in India. Also the use of a U.S. names for their India employees is arrogant.
I installed McAfee and will do the same on each of my PC's when NIS expires.
out of 164 user reviews
Bait and switch -- Missing features
Pros: Can't think of any right now.
Cons: Dupes you into purchasing without explanation of missing features from the previous version.
out of 164 user reviews
needs improvement
Pros: its a liitle to tigh3t
Cons: it blocks programs that should be ok
out of 164 user reviews
Don't buy this product
Pros: Good feature set (when it works)
Cons: Does not install... poor tech support
Unacceptable!!
out of 164 user reviews
Parental Control Useless
Pros: Better spyware, antivirus
Cons: Parental control
out of 164 user reviews
best norton product in years
Pros: smart firewall, excellent spyware and av detection
Cons: none, the so called left out features, most of us don't want or need
out of 164 user reviews
stop wasting money
Pros: it is norton there are none
Cons: good luck in support
It is a resource hog and scans come up clean
time after time,try
AVG,Avast,Antivir,kapersky or free and you will see a difference.
better off dealing with viruses instead of paying like 75 for norton and 75 bucks each time it doesn't work
Norton is still producing and will always produce software that is pretty much useless.
resource hog, believe me when I say it would just be easier to deal with viruses,why purchase a program that has no means of support
Call norton you will pay as much for the support as ya do the program and you will be punted to someone else who can not help you.
out of 164 user reviews
A solid upgrade from earlier Norton versions
Pros: No-hassle operation, improved tech support
Cons: Minor installation hassle, incompatibility with Spybot
out of 164 user reviews
NIS 2007 refused to install
Pros: Uninstalls previous version but leaves Norton Update on disk
Cons: Program refused to load but deletes your old version leaving you vulnerable to attacks.
NIS refused to load until it could remove Webroots Spysweeper (the number 1 spyware product on the market) and spyware doctor. So I lost both programs and NIS 2007 still refuse to load. Great at removing things but a poor installer, probably dealing with the activation part of the program which has had many problems since its introduction in Norton 2004. Like not giving people credit for the remaining days left on their previous version subscription. Secretley deactivating your legitmate NIS software exposing you to trojans, viruses and worms. Many of these programs were purchased at Best Buy or other retailers and created serious problems for Norton's customers in 2005 and 2006. These cases have been well documented by many norton users on various web sites and blogs.
NIS refused to load until it could remove Webroots Spysweeper (the number 1 spyware product on the market) and spyware doctor. So I lost both programs and NIS 2007 still refuse to load. Great at removing things but a poor installer, probably dealing with the activation part of the program which has had many problems since its introduction in Norton 2004. Like not giving people credit for the remaining days left on their previous version subscription. Secretley deactivating your legitmate NIS software exposing you to trojans, viruses and worms. Many of these programs were purchased at Best Buy or other retailers and created serious problems for Norton's customers in 2005 and 2006. These cases have been well documented by many norton users on various web sites and blogs.
out of 164 user reviews
360 turn around for them
Pros: Finally improved firewall pup's and antispyware
Cons: Have to configure to keep low profile tracking cookies off - have to install add on pack for parental control and antispam
It's slimed down to get down to business which others have already done though. Panda Internet Security has been doing it for a couple years now. Bloatware is optional this year with everyone else now.
McAfee offers all levels of x - in 1 Protection for all flavors of users. Zone Alarm just added other security features for credit protection not offered by others.
Symantec is late on the ball with it's more comprehensive security program called Nortons 360%. NIS 2007 is the slimed down version with a free add on pack option.
More than McAfee could do since it offers a version with antispam and parental control and charges a higher price if you want it in thier different levels of protection.
I've been using Panda Internet Security 2007 (PIS 2007)and it's very low on cpu/system useage. Slim and yet the most powerful hueristic engine on the market. Catching Zero-Day viruses better than anyone else. It freed me from the bloatware all the others have been feeding me for over a year now.
That's why I gave Symantec an 8 and not higher on my vote. It's perfect for alot of users now. I can recommend NIS 2007 secondly to someone IF they don't feel in thier own opinion PIS 2007 wouldn't work from them.
It dosen't ask hard to figure out firewall questions or dosen't ask them at all still giving tight protection. Something since Panda PIS 2006 has already been doing. Very unlike Zone Alarm even the best firewall. With not only IN / OUT but OS firewall protection, yet not end user proof. Either letting in a virus or blocking a valid program from accessing out. Making it defunct or other programs your system relys on. All do to hard to understand questions that was better left answered by the prodcut specialist rather than end-user.
One of the two things I didn't like is the low risk tracking cookies it leaves on one's computer unless you choose the option to block them too.
The other let down is parental control that only allows one setting for all users.
Panda Internet Security 2007 let's a supervisor have password protection to all surfers and keeps them from diabling parental control. Gives the supervisor ability to edit each filters to suit each user independantly. Easy to change surfer's who have to type thier password for thier level of protection in order to surf. All on the fly from a click on the one task bar icon it shows.
Symantec also caught up with wise programming choice without cluttering the task bar Only Proctection Center is on there with option to put NIS icon as well. Something Panda has been doing already again.
One other thing I commend Symantec on is removing the push on other symantec products by using NIS to do it. Leaving one feeling they don't have full secuirty if they didn't upgrade and options to purchase riddled in it.
So there you have it in my own opinion. I've tried beta McAfee 8 in 1 protection, I've owned ZoneAlarm 6.0 - 6.5 2006 for awhile. Symantec user for many more years before that until I discovered Panda Internet Security a year ago and realzied there is equally tough security out there. Doing a better job how it handles it with thier end-user all around.
Bloatware sucking the life of my computer was over a year ago for me. It's the others who are playing catch up.
Microsoft OneCare opened up the door to everyone getting off thier chairs and giving us the levels and options each individule user might need. I personally don't like my security backing up, system preformance slowing me down to crawl.
out of 164 user reviews
Norton Comes Back Strong and Wins Over Former Critic
Pros: Strong product feature set with light demands on system resources
Cons: Some features require download of add-in rather than allowing users to select product options during install
The out-of-the-box slimmed down version of NIS is light on resource usage while providing superior protection. The antivirus, antispyware and firewall make a formidable combination, and features like rootkit detection are an added bonus.
The only negative that I see is for those that want added features (e.g. spam blocking, parental controls), they have to download an add-in from Symantec's web site. These features should be options the user can select on installation (although anyone who uses any security suite's antispam features is, by definition, using a poor solution for dealing with the spam problem).
After having downloaded and tried new versions of products by Trend Micro, Zone Alarm, Kaspersky, and others, all put a bigger drain on system resources than NIS 2007. And while a few other security suites are equally light on their feet, their quirky performance and substandard feature set rule them out as competition for NIS.
So while I can't believe I'm saying this, NIS 2007 is the best choice of the new internet security suites available this fall.
out of 164 user reviews
why CNET put the review of the beta product on this page???
Pros: Much lighter on memory and simpler interface, no-hassle firewall
Cons: Virus def. updates not as frequent as, say, Kaspersky and it is missing some features, but they are downloadable as add-on packs for free on symantec website
I can't really comment on antispyware, as I can't really test it.
Next time, CNET, do get yourself a full product before publishing this review.
For you norton haters, I suggest that you give this version a try. I was a norton hater too, but with this version, symantec is clearly trying to making up for their past mistakes.
out of 164 user reviews
Parental control doesn't work properly and no tech support
Pros: Cleaner easy to use. So easy ... it doesn't work.
Cons: removed usefulness of parental control and provides not useful tech support
There is an add on pack that provides parental control. I installed it and set it up and turned it on. Thats the problem, its either on or off for all users. In the past a supervisor account turned it on for the children and left it off for the adults. This needs to be called computer control instead of parental control. I called tech support and of course I talked to 5 people in india that could not understand english very well and had little to no knowledge of how the software worked. I know tech support doesn't make money for software companies and they have to out source to pay the least amount of money but this is horrible service. There should be a law that requires after you are not satisfied with non american, non english speaking, incompetent tech support personnel you are put in contact with an american that can speak and understand english. Furthermore this person should know how operating systems work and their products so they can actually help. If not, then they should not be allowed to say things like they provide free 24/7 tech support, as this is symantec lying. They are providing no tech support just people that cannot help.
out of 164 user reviews
Why update from last year??? it`s the same boring thing
Pros: A little little bit lighter
Cons: Everything almost
It is the same old thing from like 2005...
It just looks lighter like 10%...
No big changes...
Only a lower price so that people won`t run away to the new trend micro internet security 2007 (much better)... Because people will run from this...
out of 164 user reviews
incompatible
Pros: good program
Cons: cannot be used with zone zlarm, spysweeper
out of 164 user reviews
Good product again.
Pros: Better performance, better capabilities to detect and destroy viruses and spyware.
Cons: None. I do not see any shortcomings in the 2007 release atleast on my PC's.
out of 164 user reviews
Parental Control Add on pack
Pros: better performance
Cons: tries to be too automated at times
out of 164 user reviews
Much fewer options
Pros: can't come up with one
Cons: No perantal controls/Slow surfing
I Have been a loyal customer to Norton Internet Security for 5 years now but with this new piece of garbage for 2007 with no parental controls I will never buy another another symantec product again. Soo long Symantec hello MacAfee.......
I Have been a loyal customer to Norton Internet Security for 5 years now but with this new piece of garbage for 2007 with no parental controls I will never buy another another symantec product again. Soo long Symantec hello MacAfee.......
out of 164 user reviews
Back to basics,light and fully automatic
Pros: Less memory usage, automatic firewall settings
Cons: somewhat slow at system startup due to liveupdate, expensive
out of 164 user reviews
what it does it does best
Pros: optimized performance and user interface
Cons: a bit pricey
Anyhow, the virus scanner seems to have improved noticeably. While 2006 version removed all the spyware on my machine as soon as I installed it, it did take a while to scan. This time the scan seemed to be pretty fast.. oh, for those of you reading, please make sure to set up weekly scans to ensure best performance of your machine.
One of the most noticeable aspects of this version over the previous one was in the main program interface. Not that I use it much--you don't really need to unless you want to schedule a scan or kick off a manual scan which i do sometimes. But the interface changed noticeably. the layout was much easier to get around than previous versions. Also, it's much snappier. Kinda tells you they're listening to their customers, as the past few years users have complained norton products are bloated, which i tend to agree with, being a long time user..
Anyway my only complaint is that the product was not inexpensive, like zone alarm.. But as they say you get what you pay for. My biggest concern is staying protected..and I have no doubt that symantec is the leaders in that department.. viruses, trojans, malware, spyware etc. I think it's worth the extra few bucks to ensure nothing gets through. why pay less if the product fails to protect you once?
anyway I hope this has been helpful for those of you out there looking for firewall suite.
out of 164 user reviews
Better than 2006 in some ways, but missing key features
Pros: Somewhat less bloated than earlier versions, slightly less onerous install
Cons: Dropped Parental Control in 2007 version
Windows Vista is reputed to have strong parental control features, and Symantec they probably figured they could drop the feature now.
If you just need firewall and anti-virus, try ZoneAlarm. It's faster, cheaper. In my case, I'm sticking with NIS 2006 (to give Symantec credit, they refunded my purchase).
out of 164 user reviews
Just more of the same....
Pros: Has been trimmed down in size from 2006 edition.
Cons: Bloatware that often causes more problems than it solves.
In this day where cable providers such as Comcast provide essentially the exact same product for free one would expect Symantec to step up to the plate and completely blow away the free offerings. Do they? Nope.
They charge around $50 - $80 for either an a'la carte solution or an all-in-one solution. Seems high considering ZoneAlarm has been giving away their Firewall program for years and McAfee is partnered with Comcast as well as some smaller Cable ISP's.
If you are considering buying this product PLEASE look around at all the reviews.. you'll find that I am not alone in my total distaste for the current Norton offerings which is too darn bad... Once upon a time Norton products were THE app to have... now they are just a money-making machine with total disregard to the legacy they have destroyed.
out of 164 user reviews
Needs much work
Pros: Not sure, because I couldn't get it working
Cons: Missing functionality & Not working as expected (I did not pay to Beta Test)
Like every year I upgraded Vs just renewing my subscription.
I did not like the fact that when I downloaded the product it automatically started the installation (I was not given the choice of download only.) I cancelled the installation when it stopped with a pop-up telling me that I had to un-install MS Defender due to incompatibility. This was just as well because it gave me the opportunity to un-install the 2006 version first.
When I upgraded last year I still had at least two weeks left on my 2005 subscription, but ended up loosing that time, despite what customer service told me, once I installed the 2006 version. In order to avoid loosing the remaining subscription time on the 2006 version, so once again I contacted customer service, who told me in I would need to un-install 2006, install 2007, and then they would add the time onto the 2007 subscription. She passed me to technical support for the un-install/install process after which I was told I just needed to run Live Update and the time would be added on to my subscription.
Well, not only didn’t the additional time show up, but I started getting error messages left and right after Live Update completed. I restarted my computer in case one of the updates required a fresh start (even though I was not prompted), and the problems did not go away, but at least I was given a message telling me I needed to run check disk due to file corruption. I ran check disk with the slash “R” option to correct any problems found and noticed the only files that had problems were from Internet Security.
Things seemed better until I attempted to look at settings and received a message telling me one of the program files was not valid. Technical support gathered information and told me they would get back to me within 48 hours. I was told I should leave my system in the current state during this time, which seemed OK to me since the only problem seemed to be changing NIS settings.
Well, my scheduled Perfect Disk 8 defrag ran and recommended that I execute an offline defrag and that is when I got fed up used my backup to restore my computer to the exact state it was in the day before I attempted the Symantec upgrade.
I have left a number of things out, but I feel this is already over done!
Well,
It is now Monday, September 18, 2006 and I have not heard back from Symantec Technical Support. Boy, am I glad I was able to restore my computer to the day prior to the installation of Norton Internet Security 2007!
For those interested, Symantec’s press release says, and I quote, “An optional add-on pack with Anti-Spam and Parental Controls will be available for Norton Internet Security 2007 customers who desire these features.” It would have been nice to know this before upgrading since I have invested the last year to beefing up my Anti-Spam black list! It would have also been nice if the Technical Support agent had told me it was completely removed Vs telling me the tool bas was removed but the product would still block Spam.
I intend to wait until my 2006 subscription is up, but if I don’t hear back from Technical Support by then I may have to look at changing all five of our computers to another product.
