Protecting your PC from potential threats is something absolutely everyone should take into consideration. Failing to take necessary security measures to protect your PC can lead to fully avoidable performance issues or system failure. Comprehensive software like the new Norton Internet Security 2011 aims to provide a one-stop shop for all of your anti-virus needs. The question is how effective is it?
At first glance it is obvious that this latest Norton security suite has added a number of new features from the previous iteration. The first obvious change is improvements to the interface. While it may take some to get used to if you are familiar with the previous version, overall the changes are quite pleasing, functional, and all seem to make sense.
Many improvements to all of the different major components of the suite have been updated since the last version. One of these is Norton System Insight, which prompts you when you are using unnecessary system resources. This update extends the functionality of the feature, allowing you to click on spikes on the system performance map to view the cause.
The Norton SONAR component has also received an update in Norton Internet Security 2011 and brings an interesting new feature. This component has always been responsible for searching for potentially dangerous program behavior. However, you can now also control how the technology searches for threats and assigns protective measures from within Settings.
One new feature that we found extremely interesting is the ability to scan your Facebook wall. This is a feature that we have not seen in many other software suites. This feature will allow you to detect any potentially dangerous links or scams posted on your wall.
With netbooks lacking DVD drives on the rise, one new feature within the bootable recovery tool was definitely welcomed. The new feature allows you create a USB, CD, or DVD bootable device automatically. This is also something that many of the other leading software suites are currently lacking.
When it comes to the overall performance of the software, it has performed quite impressively in the majority of tests. First of all, the installation process is about as easy, fast, and painless as any other similar software suite. However, once installed the product also meets and surpasses most other software in industry standard performance benchmarks.
One concern when it comes to performance is how the software affects your overall system performance. For example, some similar software greatly slows down computer shutdown time, and even your overall performance when running programs. The latest Norton software, however, performed extremely well in these tests, only slowing down shutdown time by less than a second.
With all of the different software offerings on the market, it can sometimes be difficult to choose which product or products will be right for you. Norton Internet Security 2011 definitely provides one excellent option for a cost effective, comprehensive software solution. This is, in our opinion, certainly a major advancement over the last iteration of the best security software and a welcomed improvement.