I don't enjoy writing reviews for suites of software, as I never feel that I have done justice to the entire program. However, I have had great success with this suite from Symantec as well as some major problems that the average computer user may not have the skill to fix. I thought my experiences may help someone make a decision regarding this software, and it may be useful to those researching the newly released 2005 version as well.

Why do I own this?

Several years ago our household moved up to Broadband connections for the internet. Along with the increased speeds and always-on connections, our vulnerability to hackers turning our PC into a ‘Zombie’ server for porn increased significantly. Believing the hype, I looked around for a good firewall and the name that popped to mind was obviously Norton. I was already using Norton AntiVirus, so why not buy a program that includes the best AV software and a firewall to boot? That was in 2001… Since then I have always bought the new version of the software when it comes out, as it has been cheaper to do so each year than to upgrade my subscription status. 2002, 2003 and now 2004 have worked their magic on my computer. With 2005 fresh out to market, I figured it was a good time to give you my impressions of the 2004 version.

What is it?

Norton Internet Security 2004 is an all-in-one computer security package designed to keep hackers, spam and viruses out. It also offers software variants to allow parental control, if that meets your fancy.

To run Norton Internet Security on your computer, the minimum system requirements should be considered to be:

300MHz or higher processor
128MB of RAM
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

Keep in mind, these are the minimum requirements. If you are running this on a Windows XP platform, you will need much more than this just to run the OS, although I have recently heard of a friend running XP on a 233MHz laptop. Slowwww, I would assume, but it does run!

All told, the package includes the following:

Norton Personal Firewall
Norton AntiVirus
Norton Privacy Control
Norton AntiSpam
Norton Parental Control

I do not use all of these variants for reasons beyond my control, as you will see. Before getting to that, however, I will explain the install and then discuss a little about each variant. Hold on tight, ‘cause here we go!

Installation

I happened to buy the retail version of this at our local Wal-Mart a little over 9 months ago. The package cost me $55 if I remember correctly, and came with a $30 upgrade rebate. Since my state has no sales tax, the total cost to the consumer (me) was therefore $25. This is much cheaper than if you try to buy all of the programs separately, that is for sure!

If you are considering buying this product, you should also be aware that it is available as a download or an OEM disc. Both should cost you less than the retail, although you will sacrifice the $30 rebate. In either case you will get the software without any supporting documentation and no hard disc in the download scenario. If you choose the download, be sure to save the downloaded file and burn it to a disc, as you will probably have to reinstall this software at some point in the future.

However you get the software, the installation will run automatically on your PC either by inserting the disc or unzipping and running the .exe file.

NOTE: Uninstall any previous versions of the software first! I had the 2003 version on my computer, and the software explained this to me and asked if I wanted to uninstall? Yes, I clicked… That is when the fun began...

I uninstalled Norton Internet Security 2003 through the program, and then tried to install 2004. The program told me that I already had a version of Norton AntiVirus on the computer, and therefore the software install would now quit… Good Bye!

OK… let’s uninstall NAV, right? The only problem with this is that it should have uninstalled with NIS, as it was a part of the install of NIS 2003. I went to the Add or Remove Programs file only to find that NAV was not available to uninstall as it had already been uninstalled!

A quick search of the database on Symantec’s website pointed out that the registry edits must not have been deleted, so I had to go into the registry and hunt down any edit that had anything to do with NAV or NIS… This is not for the faint of heart, and if you have never played around in your registry, I would not do this. Even if you have, I would suggest making a full backup of your computer using Ghost, Drive Image, TruImage, etc. first just in case you really hose up the registry… Yes, that is the voice of experience, although not experience gained during during this registry editing trip. This registry editing experience went well, and I was ready to install NIS 2004.

During the installation process, you will have to input an activation code similar to that found on Windows XP. The code is an alphanumeric code 24 spaces long. This must be put in within 15 days of installation or else the program will stop working. After uninstalling and reinstalling several times as well as modifying the parts present in my computer, I don’t think that this is nearly as restrictive as the activation process present with Windows XP. However, I have not tried to install this on another computer and activate it, which is what it is trying to curb…

OK, so now I had eliminated NIS 2003 and I was able to install NIS 2004… Phew! On to what each variant can do!

Software variants

Norton Personal Firewall

Norton Personal Firewall is designed to keep unwanted visitors out of your computer. It does this through blocking (masking) ports from unwanted use via the internet. During the initial setup the firewall will ask if you want to setup access to the internet for various programs that can in theory reach the internet. You can choose to work through this at the time or simply let the program warn you as new programs try to access the internet. This is the route I chose, and the program will prompt you to set access rules whether or not to allow access. You can allow or deny and choose to remember the response, thus keeping the notification and decision making step from occurring each time. You can also classify the program into several different types, such as email, chat, FTP, and many more. I have found no reason for this classification and think it is basically worthless…

The firewall will alert you to intrusion attempts, and you can track the origin of the hacker. I found this very interesting at first, using the program to discover who the ISP for the hacker was and reporting the occurrence. After very few responses, I stopped doing this. It is still nice to know that it is working, although this variation of the program is now dead on my computer. But more on that later!

Norton AntiVirus

NAV is the most widely known and used antivirus program around. Norton AntiVirus will screen incoming and outgoing emails and Internet Messaging programs(Yahoo, AIM and Microsoft IM) for viruses. This is the functionality that most folks associate the NAV program with. However, there is more to it than just this.

Through the Bloodhound Heuristics scanning, any downloaded executable files from the internet will be scanned prior to completion of the download for malevolent threats such as worms, Trojans, etc. There may be unknown or new viral threats to your computer, and this program compares the code to known virus structure to try and catch previously unknown viruses. I cannot speak to how well this works, but I do have it turned on at all times.

Script Blocking is NAV’s attempt to stop scripts from taking over your computer. I am sure you have heard of a computer becoming ‘infected’ simply by looking at the wrong webpage? This is accomplished through scripts hidden within the web page and then executed by your computer through the process of opening the page. NAV will alert you to the script and recommend that you stop the script from running. If you trust the source or know for a fact that the script is a ‘good’ script, you can also allow it to run. This has caused problems for some folks who use scripts to run automated tasks in a corporate setting, so some may disable this. For me, I leave it running at all times.

New to 2004 is the ability to block spyware and ad-ware, although I have not found this to be effective. Running SpyBot Search and Destroy as well as Ad-Aware 6 shows many programs slipping through the cracks.

Norton Privacy Control

Worried that your kid is using your credit card to buy items or services online that you don’t want? Worried that programs may be running and sending out your personal, sensitive data? Privacy Control is a program that was designed to stop the distribution of personal information. Enter in the last four digits of your credit card numbers, a portion of your name and address, etc. Whatever information you don’t want transmitted can be halted by the program, as soon as it notes that this information is being sent. The program will alert you to the fact that the information is being transmitted and ask if you want to allow said transmission. I have not utilized this extensively, as I purchase online myself frequently. There are three custom settings for allowing, warning and blocking of information transmission and the only person who can modify the settings is the administrator. Yes, you can block your information from exiting the computer via your kids sign on!

Norton AntiSpam

Norton AntiSpam is new this year to the fold. It is Symantec’s attempt to curb Spam from entering your inbox, and while I used it, it did work for me. It automatically integrates with Outlook and Outlook Express and Eudora. I used Outlook, and a toolbar was integrated into the program automatically. Once again there are three level settings for low, medium and high filtering. The higher you go, the more risk there is of identifying ‘good’ emails as Spam. You can also set your own rules for filtering of emails, which I have fortunately not had to use.

AntiSpam reacts by simply moving the suspected email to a folder called Norton AntiSpam Folder… Original, aren’t they? I would periodically check the folder and delete the emails that I didn’t want. You can also select the hot button This is not Spam! to send the email back to the Inbox and ‘teach’ the program as you go. Conversely, if the program does not catch spam and allows it into your Inbox, you can select the hot button This is Spam! and send it to the folder previously mentioned.

I stated above that I do not use this; I have found a free program that I like better called SpamBayes. It separates the Spam into Spam and Suspected Spam, so you can dump the Spam Folder without checking. The suspected folder will ask you to choose, and the program will learn… Much more user friendly in my mind.

Norton Parental Control

Parental Control is Norton’s answer to Net Nanny, CyberSitter and the like. Through this program you can set up your children’s accounts to completely disallow access to the net or allow access but to files limited to ‘kid friendly’. The program allows the administrator to set up access to folders based on content description broken down into several categories. You can also block programs, such as Instant Messaging, FTP and the like. You can block newsgroups as needed also. This can all be configured based on the windows sign ons, so you will have to password protect the initial sign on and keep the administrator password a secret…

I have had no need to use this as of yet, although I have read several reviews on this class of products, as my sister is having problems with her teen-aged children. Norton is viewed as acceptable by the experts, but not the most robust program available.


My Experience

Well, as you can see the functionality of this program is very robust. As a matter of fact, this is the best program for the various protections I have found. However, with the release of the 2004 version, I have had more problems with the software in 9 months than I had with all three of the previous version that I ran.

The first problem I had I already detailed above, and that was the problem with the installation. Some months later, I was dismayed to discover that I could not force the program to run a Live-Update, nor change any settings. When I clicked on any of the variants, it simply told me that I must sign in as an administrator to modify any settings… I tried to uninstall it, and again was told that that was not possible.

When I tried to open the interface and sign in as administrator, I was dumbfounded to find that there were NO accounts which I could sign in as… How was I to get this damn thing fixed? A quick search of the Symantec website talked me through again removing the program thoroughly through registry edits, working in safe-mode, and re-installing. This was a pain in the rear and not for the faint of heart…

Upon reinstalling, I noted that the Internet Security would not initialize on startup and instead required manually starting. Additionally, the Intrusion detection does not work, and several times when selecting to open a variant the program would tell me that a driver initialization failed. Back to the website…

A few hours of searching, reading, and trying yielded that I again needed to uninstall and reinstall, and this required me to edit the registry, erase files, etc. I went through and did what was needed and rebooted….

WHOOPS!

Turning the computer back on gave me a screen stating that the System32 file had been corrupted and was now unusable… Oh Crap! I discovered through the HTPC on the TV that this meant that the registry was hosed, and I found a Knowledge Base article on Microsoft for repairing/recovering the registry. After trying to work through this for about a half of an hour I used Drive Image 7 to reinstall a recent backup of my Windows partition. Now my NIS does not load on startup and I cannot use Intrusion detection. Additionally, I get annoying announcements that there has been a driver initialization failure, but at least the program works.

I am able to run Live Update on the computer to ensure the newest virus threats are detected and the program is completely up to date. I have not found any viruses or noted any intrusions, so as far as I can tell my computer is clean. I have frequently checked this with competing product website scans to ensure that NAV is catching all of them, and it appears to be working. That is what the program is on your PC for, right?

Tech Support

An extensive searchable knowledge base is available online and an automated email system is there for the use. Email support will be answered along the same hours as the call center, which is 8AM to 5PM MST Monday through Friday.

If all else fails and you absolutely must talk to someone, you can call 877-832-2810 at a cost of $29.95 per incident. I have never used the phone or email help, as I gave up and chose instead to use the program, flawed as it is, as it works.

I have had to use the knowledge base extensively, and would rate the service as Somewhat Helpful to Helpful depending on your knowledge of computers. The answers are there to find, although you may not like the solutions. If you don’t know what you are doing you can really muff up your computer trying to get it to work…


Overall

The firewall works, and the Anti-Virus is the best in class. Privacy control works well, although I don’t use this much. The Parental Control and AntiSpam work, although there are better solutions in each area. I do use this despite its flaws, but will not update next year unless a Windows reload is called for at the time.

Overall, Symantec needs to create better products that can uninstall themselves completely and protect the computer flawlessly. With all of the problems their software creates on customer computers, they should also revamp their customer support line to allow at least one live phone call free of charge. I give the functionality of the program four stars, as the Firewall and AntiVirus is great while the rest is mediocre. However, the big problems I have seen which have required uninstalling and reinstalling, editing the register, etc. have to drop this down to 3 stars at best.

I hope this review has helped you in your purchase decisions.

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Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 7.0
Norton SystemWorks Professional 2004
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PowerQuest Drive Image 7


Recommended: Yes