Benefits & Features

Protects Against

• Viruses, Spyware, Worms, Bots, in OS & Applications, Rootkits
• Identity Theft & Phishing, Intrusion
• Inappropriate Content, Spam

Preventative Measures

• Effective, automically-configuring, stealth firewall keeps hackers out, prevents programs misusing the Internet, and blocks sites that try to exploit OS or App vulnerabilities. Malware cannot disable it (PC Mag)
• Monitor computers on your network: what features are on or off, virus definitions date, the five most recent threats & more
• Real-time SONAR (see above) identifies malicious bots by behavior
• Safe Web accurately indicates each search result's threat-level with a green, yellow or red icon & warns when opening dangerous pages
• Blocks selected information from leaving your computer but allows specific passwords for specific sites
• Improved - Safer for banking, browsing & gaming
• Norton Identity Safe allows you to define personal data that must not leave your PC
• Stores & encrypts your passwords & other confidential data
• Improved - Fills in online forms at your request to save time & protect you from keystroke loggers

Recovery

• Automatically detects & removes spyware, viruses, Trojans, bots & Internet worms
• New - Boots & optionally deep cleans heavily infected computers
• Norton™ Insight allows quick scanning by using the results of millions of customer scans to only target files that are at risk without sacrificing security

Filters

• Fast, now built-in, spam filter with custom phrases
• New - Create individual profiles for parental control
• See Safe Web, above

Usability

• Pulse (micro) update every 5 min
• Silent mode for games & movies
• Schedules resource intensive tasks for when you’re not using your PC
• Fastest, lightest Security Suite
• New - Intelligence-driven Norton™ Insight technology targets only those files at risk for fewer, faster scans
• New - Installs in under one minute & requires less than 7meg disk space

User Comments 2008 edited

19 Sep - rating: 3 out of 5 Safe Web Net

The privacy/parental password allows anyone to unencrypt private data unlike ZoneAlarm's safer refusal to unencrypt. Worse, your kids, say, could send private data since Norton doesn't password-protect sending.

16 Sep - rating: 1 out of 5 Accountant

MYOB Accountants Office (AO) couldn't open data file with Norton 2009 installed.

17 Sep Virus Bulletin

It doesn't measure product quality but, out of interest, we counted the updates over 4 weeks. Norton 2009 did 6,202 micro-updates! Kaspersky came distant second with 696. McAfee 21, Trend Micro 30.

9 Sep - rating: 4 out of 5 PC Magazine

Feeble spam protection is little different from the previous version. What a dud! It tossed more than a third of valid mail … missed nearly 30 percent of undeniable spam. Leave it turned off and instead use Cloudmark, iHateSpam, or SPAMfighter.

17 Sep ZDNet

Despite its free telephone support, Norton Internet Security 2009 lacks adequate online technical support and, either intentionally or not, drives users to its paid technical support services.

19 Sep Safe Web Net

Remote monitoring means only that: monitoring. You can see a problem on another computer but you can't do anything about it remotely. BitDefender offers remote configuration.

9 Sep PC Magazine

Parental Control offers custom profiles for each child based on site categories but not control of how long kids use the internet - a big ommision. Kids can't get around the controls by using an unsupported web browser but unless the block-by-IP-address option is on they can get around the controls by typing an ip address.

30 Jul Download.com

Google for Symantec's contract with the Attorney General to report downloaded music & movies. A Norton scan relays the file names & your IP address to Symantec's database & to government officials.

25 Jul Download.com

Why, when a program I pay for to protect me fails & allows a virus into my computer, do I have to pay an additional $99 to fix it?

23 Jun Download.com

Norton leaves behind garbage after an uninstall, haunting your system. Cnet mentions that needed Norton Removal Tool to completely remove it.