Norton 360
Manufacturer: Symantec Corporation Part number: 11206511
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- For home and student use, we think Norton 360 represents the best value for ease of use, tools offered, and overall system performance. We recommend it over McAfee Total Protection and Microsoft Windows Live OneCare.
Read more
Where to buy
- Your zip code is 71101 (change zip code)
| store | customer rating | inventory | price | total price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Your One Stop Software Shop |  | In stock Symantec Silver Partner | Price: $79.99 Tax: $0.00 Shipping: Free | as of 12/10/2009 |
| Amazon.com Marketplace | | In stock | Price: $29.84 Tax: $0.00 Shipping: $10.77 | Your best price as of 12/10/2009 |
 | | In stock | Price: $42.96 Tax: $0.00 Shipping: Free | as of 12/10/2009 |
 | | In stock | Price: $42.95 Tax: $0.00 Shipping: Free | as of 12/10/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Norton 360 price range: $29.84 - $79.99
- Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi
- Reviewed on: 02/26/2007
- Released on: 02/26/2007
The good: Norton 360 is mercifully light on system resources; it's intuitive, covers most of the bases that a comprehensive security-and-performance tool should, and includes free online storage.
The bad: Norton 360 doesn't support Firefox or Opera browsers; doesn't include wireless security tools, doesn't provide an ID vault for passwords or credit card info.
The bottom line: For home and student use, we think Norton 360 represents the best value for ease of use, tools offered, and overall system performance. We recommend it over McAfee Total Protection and Microsoft Windows Live OneCare.
Setup
Our setup of the final shipping version was surprisingly fast and easy. Norton 360 requires 300MB of hard drive space, considerably less than Windows Live OneCare, but about double that of McAfee Total Protection. Like the others, Norton 360 requires 256MB of RAM. Like Windows Live OneCare, Norton 360 works on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Only McAfee works on Windows 2000 through Vista. Like the other super suites, the price includes installation on up to three different PCs (for example, two desktops and a laptop).
We really like the Norton 360 interface; it's unlike the interface used on the rest of the Norton 2007 product line. The UI for Norton 360 is clean, intuitive, and no-nonsense. A toolbar across the top allows quick access to scans, configuration for tasks, access to your Norton online account, in-program Help, and technical support. Below that, there's a line that displays any current system alerts, such as configuring your backup and recovery options. The main section includes modules for PC Security, Transaction Security, Backup and Recovery, and PC Tuneup. Each of these modules displays a color-coded status and a brief explanation, with an option for more details.
Within each module is a clean list of various diagnostics and tools and their status. You can't, however, tweak your firewall settings here, or exclude a second drive from your virus and spyware scan; for that you need to use the main screen's toolbar for Tasks and Settings. It's a minor inconvenience; casual users will appreciate the clean reporting style, but advanced users (for whom the product was not intended) will want to tweak right away and become frustrated at the extra step. Also within each module are access to Help and technical support, along with selected extra steps that include access to glossaries and tutorials on the Symantec Web site. Gone are the blatant links to Symantec shopping that encourage you to purchase additional products, which we've seen in the past. We also like the fact that Norton 360 appears on the taskbar as an indiscrete icon, not the loud and flamboyant, yellow pill design used in Norton Internet Security 2007.
Should you want to remove Norton 360, we didn't find an uninstall icon and had to use the Add or Remove Programs tool within the Windows Control Panel. Although there is a separate listing for Symantec's LiveUpdate program, we were able to remove both programs by uninstalling Norton 360 alone. Upon reboot we found no registry entries and no system folders for Symantec or Norton 360.
Features
Rather than simply bundle all of the features from Norton Antivirus, Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks, and Norton Confidential, Symantec went back to the drawing board and designed Norton 360 from the ground up. The result is a much more fluid experience. Even Symantec LiveUpdate, which sometimes feels like a clunky add-on to the other Norton products, is better integrated within Norton 360. Our initial update of the product was quick, with both LiveUpdate and Norton 360 downloading and installing within seconds.
Symantec pulled only the tools deemed most beneficial to the general user from all its product lines. Norton 360 includes antivirus, antispyware, antiphishing, antirootkit protection, a firewall, Symantec's new SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advance Response) behavioral monitoring software, and a vulnerability assessment tool to see what Windows updates your computer might be missing. An add-on pack of online tools includes Parental Control, Antispam, and other optional features such as blocking private data from leaking onto the Internet.
Norton 360 also includes tools to defragment your hard drive and clean up temporary files and other clutter than could slow your PC down. These tools are fine, but are nowhere near as complete as Symantec's own Norton SystemWorks. Norton 360 does include a backup and recovery tool, and provides up to 2GB of free online storage. Online storage is great if your home or office was somehow destroyed and you need access to your backup files from a remote location (think of Hurricane Katrina). For additional fees, you can increase your online storage volumes, up to 25GB at $69.99 per year. Microsoft Windows Live OneCare and McAfee do not offer online storage. All three products allow you to back up onto your hard drive, CD, DVD, or USB drive.
What's missing within Norton 360 are a few surprises. There are no tools specifically targeted for wireless home networks, a rapidly emerging area. Aside from help setting up such networks, we'd also like to see tools that help encrypt the signals with WEP, WPA, or WPA2, or at least monitor whether someone uninvited joins your home wireless network. Of the three super suites, only McAfee Total Protection includes wireless security.
For Internet privacy, though Norton 360 will authenticate a site via Symantec's own servers, it won't store your passwords or credit cards in an encrypted vault unless you download the optional add-on pack. Of the three super suites, only McAfee Total Protection provides an ID vault with the program itself. Total Protection also provides a data file shredder, a must if you have personal files that you don't want hanging around your hard drive after the fact.
We also found that Norton 360 is optimized for Internet Explorer only, and not Firefox and Opera browsers. It could be said that Symantec realizes that Internet Explorer users need more protection, but it would be nice to use the antiphishing feature in Norton 360 on Firefox or Opera. Of the three super suites, only McAfee supports Firefox; none support Opera.
Performance
If you've ever used a Symantec Norton product and then removed it because it was too heavy on your system resources, you'll be delighted to learn that Norton 360 feels light compared to the legacy of the past. We counted only three processes running on our task manager, compared with several from McAfee and Microsoft. This is a huge improvement over previous editions of Norton Internet Security, which tended to be very large.
Norton 360 uses the Norton Antivirus 2007 engine, an application that improves on last year's CNET Labs' performance test scores, although Norton turns in a mixed bag of results overall. On our iTunes test, Norton lost ground compared with last year, taking 208 seconds as opposed to 184 seconds last year. On our Sorensen Squeeze test, Norton improved, taking 317 seconds compared to 326 seconds last year. Overall, Norton showed the most improvement with individual file scans; it took only 117 seconds versus 320 seconds last year. But in terms of boot speed, Norton lost ground by taking 4 seconds longer, 66 seconds as opposed to last year's 62 seconds. Visit CNET Labs to find out how we test antivirus software.
To determine how well a product will protect your PC, we refer to test results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org, Norton AntiVirus 2006 earned an Advanced + rating (the highest), catching 98 percent of all malware tested, and from Checkvir.com, Norton AntiVirus 2006 was one of eight products to earn its Standard rating (also the highest).
For firewall tests, we used Nmap on a closed system with a router connection; however, we were unable to scan the Norton Internet Security 2007 PC. All other vendors tested produced at least some results in the various tests performed. Norton hides or "stealths" a PC from criminal hackers, which is good, though we're suspicious of what we can't see.
Support
Within Norton 360 there's in-program Help and then there's Support. Help consists of in-program FAQs, which are very detailed for Symantec. Either search a term or scroll through the index to find the topics you need. Support is Symantec's technical support for Norton 360. In the final release version, we were surprised at how little is offered. The knowledge base is cool, first diagnosing your version of Norton 360 for any known problems. If you still want help, the program asks you what help you need and provides a a menu of FAQs. There's also an envelop icon that leads you to e-mail and chat support (which are free) or telephone (which is paid; the telephone support service was not yet available at the time of this review). The user guide is a mere 30 pages and only includes the bare minimum of details; use the in-program Help instead. There is no tutorial offered.
Conclusion
Norton 360 is a good example of the "out of the box" thinking needed by traditional security vendors today. By starting from scratch and building an entirely new security product, Symantec has made long overdue improvements to its existing product line. Hopefully next year's release of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security suite will benefit as well. But Norton 360 is not for everyone. Designed for home and student users, advanced users will want more online-transaction security tools and wireless protection. That said, for home and student use, we think Norton 360 represents the best value of ease, tools, and performance, and we recommend it over McAfee Total Protection or Microsoft Windows Live OneCare.
User reviews
-
-
What I Hate About Norton 360
by Warpo Marx on June 10, 2007
Pros: Comprehensive, all-in-one package
Cons: It's as if Peter Norton had been abducted by aliens and replaced with AOL Pod People Programmers
Summary: What I Hate About Norton 360
I am profoundly disappointed that the Norton product name, which in the early days of the PC was associated with everything that was right ...Summary: What I Hate About Norton 360
I am profoundly disappointed that the Norton product name, which in the early days of the PC was associated with everything that was right about taking control and managing your computer environment, has fallen to the level of Symantec corporate group think. The best thing I can compare it to is AOL, which attempts to take total control of your computer because clearly they know best and you, the user, are an idiot.
INSTALLATION
I started with a new HP Pavilion laptop, having gone out of my way to find one with Windows XP installed instead of Vista. It came with a Norton antivirus product with a 90 day trial license; I don't remember specifically which one it was, but the user interface and performance were both familiar and satisfactory. About 6 weeks before the trial period ended, the warning messages started -- OHMYGODYOUWILLSOONBEUNPROTECTED! DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! Clearly, the Bush Administration has not cornered the market of Fear Mongering. I put up with these annoying popups on my system for several weeks. At the time of my choosing, I opted to buy an annual license for the product. My web browser popped up and gave me a choice of buying the same product, or buying the new and more comprehensive Norton 360 package at a discount (which turned out to be $30 higher than comparable deals that appeared in the following Sunday paper).
Having a single package instead of a half dozen different programs appealed to my desire for efficiency, so I bought it. Installation went as planned, and I began to learn about the programs shortcomings.
A few weeks later, I began getting popup error messages about a feature that was never explained in the program setup or in the error messages: "Symantec Network Proxy Service has encountered a problem and needs to close". When this happens in the program that has planted itself on your system as the great protector, it makes you uneasy at best. When the messages became frequent and annoying enough, I asked Symantec for help. Oh yes, they recognize the problem, they've seen it before. My instructions were to uninstall and reinstall the program. In other words, we're only pretending that we have a clue why this happens but your time is of no consequence to us so here's how you should spend an afternoon. I did, and the messages have stopped -- so far. I have been instilled, of course, with zero confidence that the problem will not recur since I don't know what caused the problem in the first place. And neither does Symantec. A repair patch or program update would have at least lulled me into believing "problem solved."
In spite of these annoyances, I foolishly decided I should install this comprehensive protection package on my wife's computer. Looking on my online Symantec account, I was able to find the option to buy another license for another computer, but I was not able to find the license for my existing download to tell me how many household systems I was entitled to install it on. I visited my local software store and saw that the Norton 360 packages (all of which were by now 50% cheaper than I had paid for mine) entitled the buyer to install the software on up to three household computers. OK, since I had paid more for the same product, surely I was justified in two installations.
With that build up in the story, you're probably expecting me to tell you how the installation on my wife's computer was denied. No, that wasn't the case. Instead, I removed her old Norton anti-virus, all the time listening to my wife asking why I was infiltrating her computer with software that I didn't seem to be the least bit happy with myself. These are the things that men do sometimes. I installed the software and rebooted the system (also Windows XP), which immediately went into the Norton 360 configuration screen, apparently gathering system information. I had to guess that's what it was doing, because it didn't tell me anything, it didn't allow me to do anything else, and it didn't end. This went on overnight and for several hours longer than a full virus scan and defrag should have taken. Fortunately, even the cleverest software programmers cannot disable the power switch. I killed the system cold and rebooted. Once again, the Norton 360 configuration window took over the system. On the third power down and reboot, I managed to open the Add & Remove Programs control panel and removed Norton 360 from her system, even while it was still purportedly configuring itself. I won't be putting it back on her system.
USER INTERFACE
The main window pops up from the task bar with four status flags and some high level task choices. Because I have my backup routine set to Manual (see BACKUP section below), I don't get a green 'good to go' check mark, I get a dismal grey 'Disabled' indicator. Shame on me for not letting Norton 360 run things for me.
Every time I click on a task or option, another window opens. If you drill deep enough, you can have your whole desk top cluttered with additional windows that don't replace each other. Just when you're getting used to this new window format, you finish a task and close the window instead of selecting the BACK button (which is nothing like the BACK arrow on a web browser), and you are back several levels farther than you wanted to go instead of just back to the prior screen that you had come from. Apparently, Symantec programmers have never seen how a browser window works.
BACKUP
The backup routine is incredibly slow in everything it does.
It begins by scanning your system to find all files that match pre-determined file types. Almost. The fact is that it scans the C: drive. This is a fair assumption for older systems. My HP Pavilion has a 240Gb hard drive in the form of two separate 120Gb drives, C: and D:. All of my data is on D:, but Norton 360 doesn't recognize this. It marks all of the C: files that match their standard file types, even if they are meaningless to me.
To set up the directories for backup, the necessary window opens and scans your entire hard drive to count the files that had already been marked for backup. With a 240Gb system drive, this takes a long time. To select the directories I want to back up, I open the selection window and tunnel down to the directory I want to select. I can pick one. If I want another one, even several of the adjacent directories on that screen, I can pick one. I have to open the select window separately for each one. Because my time is cheap, and some programmers have never heard of selecting multiple entries while holding down the Control or Shift key. After I have painstakingly selected all of the directories I want to back up, there is a penalty to pay for wanting to choose more. Because now that I have chosen all of these directories to back up, the next time I open the window to set up my backup parameters, the program will once again scan my entire system to give me an exact, up to the minute count of how many files I have marked and how much space I will need for the next backup. This invaluable information, which again takes a long time on my 240Gb system but it's OK because my time is cheap, is totally worthless. I don't need to know the total size of my backup requirements. I might be interested in how many new files there are that haven't been backup up yet, but even that information is not worth my time if my intention is to run a backup anyway.
The backup process itself apparently scans every marked directory & file to see if the filed already backed up needs to be replaced or not. I can't imagine any other reason why the process takes so long and the backed-up file count increments so incredibly slowly. Even if I only have a dozen files that have changed since the last backup, the scan still takes hours. I don't suppose anyone at Symantec knows how to maintain a database of files & directories to be backed up, and mark changes & additions in real time for a quick backup procedure. For years I had used DOS XCOPY to do backups based on the archive "A" file attribute. Not very sophisticated, but at least I got what I paid for.
The backup routine copies files individually, in standard format so they can be recovered individually very easily with Windows Explorer. This is good. But there is no intelligence built in to recognize when I move or delete files, so duplicate files and trash files accumulate indefinitely on my backup drive. My DOS XCOPY batch routine had this much intelligence, it was a lot cheaper, and a lot faster.
I do my backup on a remote drive that is not always connected. In order to avoid inane error messages for automatic backup, I have had to disable automatic backup and set it to manual, which gives me inane messages about not being fully protected. When I did allow it once to do the complete protection regimen with my backup drive connected, the program informed me that the backup on the remote drive appeared to be from another computer, gave me an option to over-write it or not, and sat there all night waiting for instructions instead of finishing its long routine. Why Norton 360 did not recognize that it had created that backup in manual mode is undoubtedly a feature of Symantec's product, like the numerous undocumented features that Microsoft has given us over the years.
FIREWALL
As with any new firewall setup, windows pop up initially as I teach Norton 360 what is valid access. The generic pop up informs me that "A Program Is Trying To Access the Internet". In order to find out WHICH program, I have to click a link and open an expansion of the same popup window. I am baffled why this expanded window would not have been the obvious choice to present in the first place. Once again, Symantec's programmers have made clear the value that they place on my time.
ANTI-SPAM
After running a scan, a window informs me how many items I have been protected from. It takes me 2-3 more clicks to find out what the items are, and I have an option to restore them. I don't have an option to delete them permanently. Therefore, as far as I know, their status is indeterminate, probably quarantined somewhere on my hard drive and wasting drive space until the end of time. If there is any program feature that prevents these items, once found, from ever bothering me again, I have no way of knowing.
DISK CLEANUP
Norton 360 decides who lives and who dies, and I don't have much to say about it. This can be especially annoying with browser cookies that I WANT to keep because they make my login automatic, or my TV Guide local listing profile come up formatted the way I want it. Cache Cleaner, a freeware program, does a much better job of letting me manage my computer the way I want to.
EPITAPH (or EPITHET?)
I won't be installing this software on any other computers.
As long as it doesn't force me to reinstall itself on my computer, I will probably tolerate it for the year I paid for. Unless there are some significant upgrades both in performance and in user interface, I won't be renewing my license. The inconvenience of managing system protection through several separate programs was nothing compared to the inconvenience of this all-in-one we'll-protect-you-because-you're-too-dumb-to-do-it-yourself package.
Oh, I suppose there's a market for this sort of thing. Unfortunately, the product purchase was not preceded by a mandatory market survey of user habits, patience and skill levels to warn me that I may not be the target market.92 out of 101 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!!!
by dwassel on November 5, 2007
Pros: NONE !!!!!!
Cons: This product is a mess!!
Summary: I have used Norton for years without issue. 360 messed up all 3 of my computers and once you put it on, you can't just take it off to ...
Summary: I have used Norton for years without issue. 360 messed up all 3 of my computers and once you put it on, you can't just take it off to fix the issues. If you have Quickbooks- watch out! This program has many compatability issues and will cause many more probems than it will fix.
Trying to get answers from Symantec is even harder than dealing with the product. Whenever I try to Chat or send contact them via the web I get an error saying windows has to close. Their live update won't even connect. STAY AWAY!16 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Amazing product..!!
by arjun78 on March 2, 2007
Pros: Light on system. Good features like online backup.
Cons: no wireless protection
Summary: After using Norton Internet security 2006 and earlier version, I was quite turned off with Symantec products. But this is an amazing improvement over their past history of products causing ...
Summary: After using Norton Internet security 2006 and earlier version, I was quite turned off with Symantec products. But this is an amazing improvement over their past history of products causing machine slow downs.
I tested N 360 Beta on my HP laptop with an AMD Turion 64 bit processor and 512 MB RAM. No problems till date..system is performing just fine..16 out of 26 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
ccSvcHst.exe uses >95% of CPU and runs continually for more than 30 minutes.
by edebler on June 7, 2007
Pros: Many nice features
Cons: It is a memory hog; especially the ccSvcHst.exe program!
Summary: The problem is: ccSvcHst.exe uses >95% of the CPU and runs continually for more than 30 minutes. This means that when my computer is booted-up and all other ...
Summary: The problem is: ccSvcHst.exe uses >95% of the CPU and runs continually for more than 30 minutes. This means that when my computer is booted-up and all other programs have completed loading; it will continue running for 30 minutes (or more) while using more than 95% of my CPU capacity making it (useless) for running other programs. I might have been able to LIVE with the problem if I could pause the program however, this program DOES NOT have a way to pause it!
There is obviously a deficiency in the design of the program. All of the technical suggestions and steps from Symantec technicians have proven to be fruitless! Check the customer comments regarding this program at CNET.com (http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-security-and-firewall/norton-360/4852-3667_7-32330411.html?tag=uoavrg) and you will find that it has a satisfaction rating of ONLY 49.9% (from 105 users). That's VERY bad for a product that should have been rated at more that 90%!
I believe my only recourse at this time is to remove Norton 360 from my computer and purchase another computer security program (non-Symantec). I purchased this program (in good faith) based on my previous (positive) experiences with Norton software and I am significantly disappointed with the Norton 360 product. Norton 360 has not lived-up to the performance lauded for it!8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Incompatible with other products
by halj78727 on March 21, 2007
Pros: Not sure. Never got it installed.
Cons: Doesn't coexist with SystemWorks and Windows Defender
Summary: I tried to install Norton 360 and it first uninstalled Windows Defender and then attempted to uninstall Norton SystemWorks. It tried 3 times to do the uninstall but apparently failed ...
Summary: I tried to install Norton 360 and it first uninstalled Windows Defender and then attempted to uninstall Norton SystemWorks. It tried 3 times to do the uninstall but apparently failed each time, though the only indication of failure was that it kept tring to uninstall it again. I contacted Symantec support via Chat, which worked OK. They provided a Norton Removal Tool.
The problem is that I still want to use the utilities in SystemWorks that aren't duplicated in Norton 360 (e.g. Undelete, defrag, etc.). Why would Symantec make these two products incompatible with each other?
Bottom line - I'm returning 360.8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Big Bro is messing with my PC. WHY?
by buzzy1400 on March 2, 2007
Pros: Software that holds hands with PCphobes while walking across the Cyber-Street
Cons: It is doing something-just what is the question, Makes me wonder who is looking up my "cyber-dress."
Summary: Along with the new year, the infosecurity software firms have brought us a new class of tools which are billed as the ultimate in computer security: apps which allow us ...
Summary: Along with the new year, the infosecurity software firms have brought us a new class of tools which are billed as the ultimate in computer security: apps which allow us all to leave out cyber worries behind. The idea behind each of these apps is they will do the "hard work" of keeping your PC safe. Not a bad idea as the internet has become more and more like Dodge City at high noon of late. As a result, protecting your PC has become increasingly difficult. However, the notion of removing my brain from the
loop is disconcerting.
Between Microsoft "One Care", McAfee "Total Security" and Norton 360, the latter is head and shoulders above the competetion in terms of actually protecting your PC from the bugs and a myriad of other dasterdly creatures looking for an easily exploitable hole in your security software. IE-Something that will create a real mess in your computer. While 360 is the "best of breed," unless you are brain-dead, this type of security application will bother you. Why? It is never clear exactly what the software is doing to make your PC safe. The most trouble aspect of these packages should make anyone ask precisely what data is being gathered about your PC use habits without your consent? Microsoft has been nailed for abusing this right in the past, yet continues to gather info through their "Valadation" program. In short, this would drive even an experienced novice user crazy and if you know enough to setup this program, I would take my business to a full service internet security package.
If you are in the market for "Dick and Jane" level security, learn a good deal more about your PC. Certainly, enough so that giving away your ability to make decisions about computer security just seems dumb-It is!.9 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Subscription based service, not one time purchase.
by feliusrex on March 1, 2007
Pros: Usable on 3 computers
Cons: Symantec site doesn't disclose anual fees
Summary: I was rather surprised that the CNET review didn't make any mention of the price of this product versus the other security suites. I did some digging on the ...
Summary: I was rather surprised that the CNET review didn't make any mention of the price of this product versus the other security suites. I did some digging on the Symantec site, and had to read through their FAQ to find out that it wasn't a one time purchase, but rather an anual subscription. Further more, they don't tell you what it will cost to resubscribe. While it's rather rare that such products don't have fees, they are still an important part of a purchasing decision, and 1) should be covered in the CNET review and 2) need to be disclosed in advance by the vendor. Buyer be ware of thise one.
11 out of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Norton 360 dropped the ball and allowed an older trojan virus penetrate thier software
by ripper1a on November 29, 2007
Pros: There are no Pros here.
Cons: can't stop an old virus and no support from Norton on repair.
Summary: Don't waste your money on this one. It will slow your machine to a crawl and not give you basic protection, then the factory will give less than any ...
Summary: Don't waste your money on this one. It will slow your machine to a crawl and not give you basic protection, then the factory will give less than any help brfore asking for more money. I paid about $100 for the program and to fix my computer they wanted another $100.00. What a waste of money, live and learn.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
360 is a Processor/Memory HOG
by wyatterp5859 on May 15, 2007
Pros: Integrates several needed progs into one
Cons: Should not be sold to anyone whose computer is more than a year old and has less that 1 GB Memory.
Summary: I own and operate a computer repair store and have seen about two dozen machines with Norton 360 installed (all by users). Without exception, they have ALL complained about their ...
Summary: I own and operate a computer repair store and have seen about two dozen machines with Norton 360 installed (all by users). Without exception, they have ALL complained about their machine being S-L-O-W-E-R! (remember the Taxi show when the question was asked: "what does a yellow light mean?) The minimum system requirements are way to simplistic and should be rated more truthfully. Lest anyone should get the wrong idea, I have used Norton Products for almost 15 years and that is what I have on the machine I am writting this with. My suggestion to Symantec: Up the system requirements to a 2 Ghz or above Processor and a minimum of 1 GB memory. Anything less will be agonizingly slow.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
A big improvement over previous version but with some quirks
by Cornickcat123 on March 1, 2007
Pros: Slick Interface, Sips Resources
Cons: No Firefox Support! Interface Has Its Problems
Summary: I have BETA tested this product for nearly 4months now. Norton 360 is a big improvement over its previous models. With this version you get everything you could possibly need ...
Summary: I have BETA tested this product for nearly 4months now. Norton 360 is a big improvement over its previous models. With this version you get everything you could possibly need from a security software. I was quite surprised to find out that this version does not use as much resources as before. 360 rubs smooth on any computer capable of running XP. Vista problems have since been corrected but it still has minor battles with the new OS. This will change over the next few weeks/months as Norton issues new updates. 360's new layout is both a blessing and a sin. I love the new interface and sleek buttons. It fits right in with Vista and looks sexy... Well for a security software atleast... On the other hand getting to some of the features can be quite irratating. It takes some time to get used to it. By default Norton attempts to learn the programs you have but I noticed it did give me some problems with some programs. The old versions would give me a pop-up on just about everthing but 360 is stingy. I had to manualy go in and change some programs which was sometimes difficult to do. So remember this. When in doubt, turn off your firewall and see if your program can connect to the internet. To sum things up, 360 will take a little getting used to by old Norton users since they fianlly ditched that tired old layout. A few other minor problems plaque 360 but they are what you expect from a security program. Nothing is perfect. Norton 360 is a something I advise users to buy in the near future.
6 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Symantec Corporation
- Part number: 11206511
- Description: Norton 360 provides all-in-one protection that keeps you, your family, your PC, and your information secure. This comprehensive solution combines Symantec's proven, industry-leading security and PC tune-up technologies with new automated backup and antiphishing features, providing a full circle of protection.
General
- Category Security applications
- Subcategory Security - security suite
- Version 1.0
- License pricing Standard
Software
- License Type Complete package
- License Qty 1 user
- License Pricing Standard
- Platform Windows
- Distribution Media CD-ROM
- Package Type Retail
System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Software Requirements Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
- Min Processor Type 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, 300 MHz, 300 MHz, 300 MHz, 300 MHz, 300 MHz, 300 MHz
- System Requirements Details Microsoft Windows Vista Business - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB, Microsoft Windows XP Professional - RAM 256 MB - HD 300 MB
Manufacturer info
- Symantec Corporation
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Symantec Corporation products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.symantec.com/
- Address:
20330 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95014 - Phone: 1-408-517-8000
