Norton Antivirus 2001- Faster & Smarter Protection!?
Written: Oct 29 '00 (Updated Oct 29 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Product Support
Cons: Not 100% ;)
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| rpllingrock's Full Review: Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2001 7.0 Full Version fo... |
As the Internet grows so does the threat of hackers and viruses. This is where Norton AntiVirus comes in to do the job. And quite well I might add!
Everyone should be concerned about a virus or Trojan attack and my goal in this review is to convince you that the threat exists and it is prevalent on the Internet. The tools provided by Norton AntiVirus lessen this threat by providing you on-the-fly protection and piece of mind.
Why Norton AntiVirus?
After using freebie anti-viral programs in the past, I soon realized that my system was vulnerable to virus attack because of infrequent program updates. After researching many anti-virus programs I have settled in on Norton because of their dedication to support and top quality products that are updated with fixes and enhancements on a frequent basis. You can find similar products, and sometimes at less expensive prices, but usually you get what you pay for.
What's New With 2001
As with most updates to Symantec's products, the majority of changes are not always noticeable.
Some worth mentioning include:
· Automatic updating of virus definitions when connected to the Internet. I for one like to have complete control so I've disabled this feature but maybe with a broadband connection I'd enable it.
· SmartScan- Supposedly uses less resource overhead. Personally I see no significant difference between this and the last version.
· Symantec has added more servers to their network that will help speed up the LiveUpdate feature. I never had a problem in the past and again no improvement here.
Features I Use
· The promise of compatibility with Windows Millennium is what enticed me to upgrade from the earlier 2000 version.
· E-Mail Protection. This has been my first line of defense against virus or Trojan code embedded in an e-mail attachment. I have it protecting both Netscape and Microsoft Outlook.
· Netscape Plug-In- Files downloaded through Netscape are automatically scanned before being saved. This eliminates the need to manually scan an archive before opening. Of course if you use Real-Time scanning, this will pick up any virus as it's being executed.
· Right clicking a file or folder brings up the context menu where you may choose to manually scan for a virus. This is best used before opening any unknown files on a floppy or downloaded from a non-trusted site.
· Rescue Disks- This comes in two flavors, Basic and Zip.
The Zip Rescue is available to owners of Iomega Zip Drives and will enable you to boot into Windows to troubleshoot system problems or to disinfect an infected drive.
With my pokey parallel Zip Drive this is the only reason why I keep it. On a few occasions it did save me much aggravation by allowing me into Windows to do configuration changes. This after using Partition Magic which totally screwed up my hard drive.
When booting up from a Zip disk, take a nap or better yet drink several pots of coffee because you may need it! This is a slow and painful process but does work very well!
The Basic floppy rescue disks will allow you to boot into DOS and at least allow you to remove or repair an affected disk or drive. I've never had the pleasure of using with v7 but have with past versions and successfully.
Don't bypass this most vital phase during setup, through all of your excitement of installing this virus protection. ;)
If your system does become infected, many times Norton will be unable to remove the virus while in Windows or while it's running. This happened to me once on one of my machines and thankfully I did have an updated set of rescue disks.
Finally, be sure to update your Rescue disks often. I update my virus definitions weekly but only update my disks monthly. It would be best to do this as definitions are updated but I'm too impatient to wait for my Zip Drive.
Updating Definitions
NAV will alert you when your definition should be updated through a pop-up window. You can elect to turn this feature off or change the setting to alert you in a set amount of days that you determine.
I don't recommend turning off this feature since your anti-virus protection is only as good as your definition file. I been caught several times not updating as often as I should have and paid the price dearly.
Using the Live-Update feature is by far the easiest way to update all of your Symantec software in one swoop. If you have several Symantec products such as Norton Utilities, any updated features or fixes can be had for one year from purchase. You may purchase additional subscriptions after this time. I never have since they come out with new versions by the time it expires! For me it's easier to upgrade to the newer version because that's how I am! Got to have everything new!
Manual updating isn't too hard either, but you'll have to manually install the files by downloading definitions at their web site.
Is It Perfect?
Not at all! But it's usually not the fault of the program, but the users error for not keeping the definitions up to date.
On occasion I'll come across a situation where a virus has implanted itself so deeply that even Norton AV was disabled by the virus itself. In this case the programmer of the malicious code implanted the virus to overwrite a necessary DLL file to NAV. This of course is an exception to the rule but proves that anyone willing to infiltrate your system can usually have his or her way without many problems.
Another more recent attack came in the way of a worm virus called QAZ. Norton AV failed to recognize the virus but was brought to my attention by Norton Internet Security. I found it odd when Notepad.exe was asking for permission to access the Internet.
Norton does have a feature called Bloodhound that theoretically detects unknown viruses. The settings are customizable from low, medium, to high. This has never detected a virus on my system but usually will misdiagnose an innocent program as an intruder. Most likely a virus such as this would be placed in quarantine, another NAV feature.
After disallowing access and updating my definitions, the worm was removed without harm but did spread across my home network. How did it get there to begin with? I may never know for sure.
The Downsides
Allowing NAV to run in the tray can suck up as much as 3.5 MB of RAM as verified by Norton System Information.
The requirements are 486 DX /66 with 32 MB, but on systems running less than a Pentium class or less than 64 MB RAM, you will feel the pinch in performance. This was tested on my Cyrix 166 32 MB RAM and can safely say that I'm glad my kids are using it and not me! ;)
Sometimes NAV will be unable to make a repair or remove a virus in its entirety.
Overall
The interface is clean and easy to understand. An overview is given on the status of everything from the age of your definitions and rescue disks; to the last date a virus was detected.
Most times a Trojan or virus lays in wait on your hard drive unnoticed. The damage it may be doing, if any, may not be immediately noticeable. After being infected, a system can sometimes run much more slowly than normal or has an increased number of program and/or OS crashes, and should be your warning sign. Many times though a virus can move on its merry way without any symptoms.
Recommended:
Yes
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