Monday, November 19, 2012

A Comprehensive Computer Fix, Norton 360 Is Not Without Its Faults


The Good: Easy to install, Easy to use, Inexpensive, Seems exceptionally proficient!
The Bad: Slows computer down.
The Basics: Outside noticeably slowing my laptop down, Norton 360 seems to be the ideal anti-viral and computer maintenance tool.


After spending a year using Panda Antivirus Pro (reviewed here!), I returned to the Norton family of software to protect my laptop computer. My wife found a deal online for Norton 360, so we decided to purchase that. $18.00 for a year’s protection for three PCs seemed like a great deal. As it turned out, Norton 360 was an exceptionally good deal. After scanning with and uninstalling Panda Antivirus Pro, Norton 360 found 111 viruses still on my laptop computer! That alone made it a great deal and made us instantly feel our computers were better protected.

My experience was with Norton 360 2013. I have used the program for about two weeks now and had a chance to play with its many functions. In addition to the antivirus scans the program provides, Norton 360 cleans the Windows registry and start menu. Like Panda Antivirus Pro, it also provides a firewall which, so far, seems quite effective.

Norton 360 is very easy to install. Our download allowed us to install Norton 360 on three computers and we had no issues with any of our Windows XP and Windows 7-based computers. Simply logging into Norton’s website after paying for the service allowed for the simple installation of Norton 360. This is a cloud-based program, which means that one needs to have an internet connection for it to work properly.

Outside the constant need for an internet connection to perform virus sweeps with all the latest updates, Norton 360 is very easy to use. Norton 360 installs an icon to the Start bar on Windows-based programs. The program is accessed easily by clicking there and opening the program. Clicking quick scan scans the relevant drive (usually taking three minutes or less) and a full scan option provides deeper scanning that takes half an hour (I have a 10 GB hard drive).

The only quirk I have discovered with Norton 360 is that, since installing it, my computer runs noticeably slower. Programs like Internet Explorer, Moxilla, Microsoft Word, and Outlook all take longer to boot up and run since installing Norton 360 and running both antiviral sweeps and Windows registry sweeps. I found this odd, but given the level of protection this software provides, it is hard for me to argue with the additional two to five seconds in loading that my computer now takes.

A wonderful antivirus and computer maintenance program, Norton 360 works!

For other computer-related reviews, check out my takes on:
Pinterest And Yellow Journalism
Star Trek Gameboy game
Ebay.com

8.5/10

For other software reviews, be sure to check out my Software Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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