Norton Internet Security 2008

Pros: Improved firewall, outstanding antivirus, low resource usage

Cons: Add-ons not always the best (but can be turned off / not installed)

Summary: I went back to using NIS with last year's edition (2007) after discovering that it offered excellent protection while not using a lot of system resources.

With NIS 2008, protection has improved while keeping resource usage low. Anti-virus continues to be among the best available. The firewall has been improved over 2007 to block most outbound leak tests and should now rate as one of the top one or two available. Anti-spyware continues to get high marks, stopping most before they can even install.

With respect to anti-phishing, I'm not sure that NIS offers better protection than what IE and Firefox already offer, but it's there if you want it and can be turned off if you don't (Firefox protection is new for 2008).

The Identity Safe feature was also added for 2008, and, while the service will be a welcome addition for some, it's not on the top of my list for now. Anti-spam and Parental Controls can still be added by means a separate download, but I favor Mailwahser for spam control and personal monitoring for keeping kids safe on the internet.

Insofar as the appearance is concerned, the change in color scheme was no doubt to better coordinate with Vista. However, regardless of color preferences, the user interface is still easy to use, and that's what really counts.

Norton products prior to their 2007 editions were often considered resource hogs. However, both the 2007 and 2008 editions of NIS offer unparalleled protection while using a relatively small amount of system resources. In addition, if you take advantage of rebates, you should be able to get NIS 2008 for 3 computers for under $30, making it an outstanding value.