Symantec claim that Norton AntiVirus 2009 is leaner and meaner than its predecessors. But does the new version live up to those claims? Read this Norton AntiVirus 2009 review to find out!
Introduction
Note: to learn about the latest version of Norton, be sure sure to check out our Norton AntiVirus 2010 Review.
"Norton 2008: Another Bloatware Exercise." "Norton AntiVirus 2008: Resource-Hogging Bloatware." "NOD32 Blows Away Norton AntiVirus Bloatware." Search for reviews of older Norton products, and you'll find numerous headlines such as these. While Norton AntiVirus (NAV) has always been an effective product, it's also a product which has always had a reputation as ... well, resource-hogging bloatware. And that reputation is not undeserved. When compared to a product such as NOD32, Norton is indeed a big, clunky performace-draining lug of an application. Or, rather, it used to be. Symantec says that NAV 2009 is considerably lighter and speedier than previous versions. Let's see whether it lives up to those claims.
Installation and Setup
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Installation is speedy and entirely painless. Once the setup files have been downloaded, the actual installation process takes less than 60 seconds. No reboot is needed. No configuration is needed. The product simply works right out of the box.
User Interface
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Some security products can be confusing, but NAV is not. It has a clean and streamlined interface and all the options are right where you would expect them to be. The only extraneous item in the interface is the CPU Meter - which was no doubt included at the request of Symantec's marketing people! - but it certainly doesn't detract from the program's usability.
Features
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As you would expect, NAV offers real-time, scheduled, on-demand, IM email scanning options. Updates are pushed out extremely speedily - once every 5 to 15 minutes, on average.
InSight is a performance feature that's new to the Norton 2009 product line and it's also one that is particularly interesting. Here's how it works. Symantec collect information from their community of users about the files that are present on their computers (but don't worry, no personal information is collected and easy can opt out completely if you wish!). The most common files are analalyzed and, if found to be safe, excluded from scanning which results in faster, fewer and shorter scans. That's a very basic explanation - a more detailed one can be found in the Symantec blog.