Pros

• Norton 360 includes antivirus, internet security, PC Tune up and Backup features

• It provides licences for 3 computers

• It provides wide ranging protection against malware and other online threats which you won’t get in other security packages

Cons

• The sheer range of features in Norton 360 can be daunting for a less experienced user

• Can cause PC slowdown during scans

View side-by-side comparison of Premium Security Suites

Norton 360 is a leading premium security suite with the best features to protect your PC from online threats. Its features include antivirus, antispyware, antispam, antiphising, firewall, rootkit and botnet protection. Simply put, Norton 360 has all the tools to provide total protection and even tools to provide recovery should you lose data.

It revolves around four important segments which include Security, Identity Protection, Backup and PC TuneUp. This combination ensures all malware (malicious software) is kept at bay and your PC is protected from all angles.

The Parental Control features are impressive and ensure that your kids are protected online. Using passwords and rules, you can assign internet allowance to each child and ensure that they are safe as they surf the internet

Norton 360 is so impressive we found no problems with it. It has of course similar issues as other Symantec programs like high resource usage and uninstallation problems. But overall, this software is superb and provides excellent web safety.

Antivirus/ Antispyware Protection

This combination is one of the best we’ve found in our reviews and includes advanced protection from viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and bots. It protects you from the latest threats in real-time, and even has the capability to protect from unknown threats using the integrated SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response) scanning technology.

The antivirus and antispyware protection in Norton 360 is automated, ensuring that little intervention is required, and more protection is provided instantly.

Firewall Security

Norton 360 has a two-way firewall which protects you from malicious files and intruders. It also secures your outgoing communication from hackers trying to steal your personal information. It’s an ideal security for your operating system, applications and internet activities.

Internet Security Protection

Norton 360 includes the new feature, Norton Safe Web which brings a whole new level to your web browsing. From a glance, you can see the security level of each website in your search results. Each result has a quick security verification which you can scroll over for additional information. All the major search engines including Google, Yahoo and Bing incorporate this technology, ensuring your browsing is totally safe.

Symantec have also teamed up with Ask.com to provide a custom search.

PC Utility Tools

The PC Utilities in Norton 360 function to speed up your computer start time, and optimise the overall performance of your PC. Best of all, the utilities run automatically without need for constant tweaking and monitoring.

Ease of Use

Installing Symantec Norton 360 is a quick and straightforward process. All features will be up and running after a few minutes of installation, allowing you to easily tweak the advanced features to your needs.

The interface is not as cluttered and complex as past versions and you’ll find your way around the software easily. It’s now consistent throughout, so you won’t have problems looking for features that you need to use. With this combined ease of use and effective protection, it’s hard to see how a threat could make its way to your PC.

It protects all your incoming and outgoing traffic and the interface will give you all the features you need to provide this high level of protection.

In our Norton 360 review, we were impressed with the speed of scans and backups and other processes which were remarkably quick. The software aims to cover a lot of ground and it delivers on every security aspect.

Norton Insight is another feature that’s easy to use and allows you to scan specific files and not the entire PC. This allows you to save time and resources and provides greater security for your PC. And this feature has now been expanded with the addition of Norton Download, System and File Insight.

Other Features

A backup/restore function is included in Norton 360. It provides 2GB of online storage, more than enough for most PC home users. You can upgrade up to 25GB if you have need more space to store files and images. Additionally, backup is not limited to one location, but you can now backup to your hard drive, USB, CD and DVD drives. It performs backups automatically, and the great part is that it’s simple and it can restore damaged or even deleted files.

The Gamer Mode in Norton 360 is one of the best we’ve seen and it allows you to watch movies and play games in full-screen mode without interruption. So any pop-ups or Norton alerts are blocked to prevent disturbance to your PC use.

Technical Support

Norton provides 24/7 support through phone, email and online chat. The software is so good, you’ll find little need of the support, but it’s always handy when something goes wrong. They also provide support via a searchable knowledgebase which is good for troubleshooting and common error problems.

Summary

Norton 360 is a superb premium internet security product that has all the tools to protect your PC from malware and hackers. It’s very easy to use and despite the high number of features to get accustomed to, it’s still easy to handle and configure.