Let's face it. With all the scary malware and virus creeping around the internet, browsing and downloading can be as scary and unpredictable as little Dorothy wandering the forests of Oz. You've not been there before, and even if you have, you aren't sure what's in there and you expect to look up and see flying monkeys making off with your little dog. Fortunately, help is here and it definitely has more brains than the Scarecrow while having the heart and courage to confront and boot those flying monkeys and the wicked witch of the west. In fact, the Wizard never had tools this comprehensive or good.
As I said in my review of Norton Internet Security 2010 last year, probably the best thing about this suite is it is no longer the bloated, resource hogging monstrosity it once was. And setting the thing up is a breeze. I downloaded the file (which is pretty large) and ran the install. After Windows 7 throws up the obligatory roadblock to make sure you want to run the file, it takes just a few clicks to have your computer guarded from all the bad stuff that wants to eat its lunch.
The interface is simple to navigate, though it might look a bit intimidating. That's because it turns most everything on by default and most folk will do well to leave it at that. BUT, if you are a bit on the geekish side, one click will get you to lots of bells and whistles and sliders to mess around with and exercise your inner micro-manager. The main screen has three main settings, Computer Protection, Network Protection and Web Protection. There are 3-4 buttons in each of those sections, turned-on by default, to make adjustments. If you want, you can access the multitude of slider bars by clicking on Settings on the main screen. Click on Performance, and the screen will do a 360, giving you access to more graphs than a trigonometry book, including one that shows you how much CPU and memory usage you are experiencing while running a scan. Pretty sure of itself, right?
The protection from viruses and malware is excellent, with PC World magazine reporting that, in tests, Norton blocked 24 of 25 real-world threats and over 98.7% of all known malware samples.. Nothing is perfect, but Norton is pretty close. It also provides access to Norton Online Family to control monitor what your kids see online, Norton Safe Web, which allows you to input a web address and it will address the validity and safeness of the site BEFORE you go there. For a $25 yearly fee, there is also Norton Online Back Up which, once set up, allows you to one-click save your important files to the cloud.
The Norton suite also provides a software firewall that can either compliment or replace Windows Firewall and Norton Identity Safe password manager that will remember you passwords on websites so you don't have to. The one downside to this feature is that, so far, I haven't been able to get it to work with Google Chrome.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Norton Internet Security 2011 isn't a major upgrade from 2010, but probably one worth having. The interface is slick and easy to use. It scans all downloads quickly and tells you if they are safe, provides painless, yet effective real-time protection from viruses and malware and updates with the lastest definitions every few hours. Yes, it's kinda spendy at $70 for a year, but it is good for up to three PCs and you get to "set it and forget it". Everyone and I do mean EVERYONE should have Virus, Internet and malware protection. Not having that on your PC and/or laptop, especially with today's "always on" internet is akin to leaving your front door unlocked and placing a sign in your yard that says, "Door's Open! Come on in! ANYBODY!". Believe me, there are plenty of unwelcome guests trying to get into your computer everyday. Install and use Norton Internet Security 2011
