Norton Internet Security 2010

Norton Internet Security 2010 Features Description

Norton Internet Security 2010 is the comprehensive antivirus and antispyware solution allowing you to browse the Web, download and install files, shop or bank online without worry.

Norton Internet Security 2010 is a sleek, lightweight yet powerful antivirus engine that keeps you protected without compromising your PC's performance. Independent tests have proven the maturity of this software and it has now left its competitors a way behind when it comes to performance and virus detection rate. Symantec claims there has been over 100 improvements in speed and reliability in this new version and this seems to be proved true.

Norton Internet Security version 2010 has been completely redesigned now focusing on speed, performance and the ease of use. Even the jaded Norton-opponents will give up their fears after installing this software (which installs in under 4 minutes without a reboot) – the new Norton 2010 works just great and is easy to uninstall too.

The new version of NIS 2010 now includes the Norton Protection System that is cutting-edge technology that keeps you protected from a range of well known threats as well as unknown online dangers that may harm your safety.

Norton Internet Security integrates the whitelisting system called Norton Insight, that distinguishes between potentially dangerous files and those perfectly safe to reduce system performance impact during routine antivirus checks. In other words, only the files at risk will be inspected which results in more speedy virus/spyware scans.

To lower resource consumption, Norton continuously monitors system activity and kicks in only at idle times so that your system is not bogged down while you work. Norton Internet Security 2010 will also lower its activity while you are gaming online or extensively use your broadband bandwidth so that you won't even notice it is running.

Norton Internet Security 2010 installs rapidly. Securitybay's tests have shown that this software will require no longer than 4 minutes to fully install. And you won't be required to reboot your machine. Just install it and you are done.

Like its predecessors, Norton Internet Security 2010 includes award-winning technology for removing viruses, spyware, Internet bots, rootkits to safeguard your computer against rouge hackers and criminals. NIS 2010 also monitors home LAN/Wireless network for intruders and helps to resolve security issues on your household PCs.

Norton Personal Firewall is of course included in this suite. It is automatically monitoring all inbound and outbound traffic for improved safety.

Norton Internet Security 2010 comes with improved Norton Identity Safe built-in that protects your logins, passwords and credit card information whilst you shop, bank or read emails online.

On top of that, Norton Pulse Updates get you a fresh definition of viruses and spyware every 5 to 15 minutes giving you up-to-the-minute protection from the latest threats.

Another addition to Norton Internet Security 2010 is the real-time SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response) detection method, that recognises newly emerging threats before a virus definition is officially released.

Another new addition to NIS 2010 is Norton Recovery Tools that is able to recover severely damaged files on your disk that have been infected with malicious software. Norton Recovery will attempt to repair damaged files even if the system has been rendered unbootable and won't start the usual boot sequence without removing the virus.

With Norton Internet Security 2010 and its downloadable Parental Controls add-ons, parents get more control over what is being viewed by their offspring on a PC. This tool allows you to individually adjust access rights and alerts to every user so that you can step in when you spot your child visits inappropriate websites.

In an unlikely event you get into difficulty running Norton Internet Security 2010, the Symantec's tech support is right there for help. The range of telephone help varies across countries and regions, in some of them there is free telephone support and online support (chat and email). Other countries are covered by free email and chat support.

Norton Internet Security 2010 includes personal firewall, anti-spyware and anti-virus software packages and other features that make Web surfing safer. Its code is cleaner, performance better and the retail price much lower.

Installation & First Steps

Installation of Norton Internet Security is simple. Once the installation wizard has confirmed your system is sane, you can continue with the installation process tailoring NIS components according to your preference. The default settings, however, are fine for most users.

Norton Internet Security learns during the installation process about your system and common tasks you perform daily on your computer. It learns what you normally do and what tasks should be allowed and what should be banned from occurring.

For instance, Norton Security will learn about the programs we frequently use and allow them access to the internet.

After a day or two Norton Internet Security should be well informed about your online activities and should permit requested actions automatically.

Core Features

Firewall is one of the Norton Security core components that can detect inbound and outbound traffic generated from and to your computer.

Another features are anti-virus and anti-spyware components as well as automatic updates for those components. Norton Internet Security downloads every update automatically ensuring the virus definitions are up-to-date.

Program and definitions updates are loaded automatically in the background.

After installation is complete, a full system scan is performed. This is repeated every week.

Program Operation

Norton Internet Security works quiet despite of a number of its background processes. Norton, however, doesn't make its presence constantly felt.

With a simple interface and no alerts or pop-ups Norton Internet Security remains relatively quiet.

How does it allow access to the internet

Norton allows applications access to the internet without making much fuss. By doing away with the asking if the user wants to grant access to an application, Norton reduces the risk of a bad choice.

It comes with an application pattern that can automatically detect trusted programs without asking the user.

Technology

Symantec has slimmed down its Norton suite by reducing the component count.

There are still some basic components such as anti-virus and anti-spyware tools but if you require additional features such as anti-spam, parental control or data privacy you will be required to download additional components from Symantec's site.

The anti-spyware component comes with some nice built-in options; for example you can block emails containing attachment images or non-sense text. You can also block messages out that contain HTML code or JavaScript -- a potentially dangerous content.

Symantec has introduced its Web Caller ID (WCID) technology to detect if a visited web site is a legitimate one or likely to be a phishing site.

The WCID technology examines the content, referring source as well as the URL itself to establish, whether it is a phishing site. Norton Internet Security displays a notification each time a potentially dangerous site is visited.

Many independent tests and reviews showed this to be a highly reliable method to fight phishing scam.

Norton Security adds new features and extra protection when compared to its predecessor. Norton AntiSpam, Norton Parental Control, Personal Data Protection (Confidential Information Blocking) and Ad Blocking are optional and can be downloaded from the Symantec's website.

Antispyware

This edition of NIS comes with built-in antispyware features that protect your PC from keyloggers and other computer spying software.

Anti-phishing

Norton Internet Security comes with a brand new anti-phishing tool which uses Internet Explorer toolbar to alert to suspicious sites, depending on user's choice, to block them out. Tests showed the anti-phishing mechanism to be highly efficient and can detect four out of five potentially risky sites.

Behaviour-monitoring

Norton uses a behaviour-monitoring and behaviour-blocking tool to collect information about user's behaviour whilst surfing the Web. This information is later used for optimising security settings.

Enhanced detection

Norton Internet Security 2010 uses an enhanced detection method, which relies on Veritas VxMS technology, formerly used only in Symantec's enterprise solutions.

This technology compares files within a directory to files on the volume level to quick and precise detection of malware and rootkits operating on a PC.

Norton Internet Security can run its antivirus routines performing either in a quick or a full system scan either in the foreground or in the background allowing the user to continue their work with other applications.

Performance

Norton suite improves a lot on last year's CNET performance tests. Norton's scan speed improved mainly with individual file scans, but there's been also some slight improvement with boot time.

Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus have also been tested by two leading independent antivirus software testing organisations – AV-Comparatives.org and Checkvir.com – where it outperformed the vast majority of competitive products catching 98 per cent of malware and earning the highest test rating.

If you no longer need the application, you can uninstall it in one easy step. Uninstalling Norton Internet Security is pretty straightforward and it is explained in more detail in the application help. Disabling some services is an option if you don't want to uninstall the programme completely.

Windows Vista

Norton Internet Security is compatible with Microsoft Vista.

Norton Internet Security 2010 delivers protection from all online threats such as viruses, spying software, bots and hackers trying to break into your computer.

Norton Internet Security 2010 by Symantec safeguards your online identities, passwords and protects your home network against virus and Trojan outbreaks. Wireless networks are now protected too.

Norton Internet Security 2010 protects your home network from online identity fraud, and with its Pulse Updates every 5 minutes it blocks even zero-day viruses.

Norton Internet Security 2010 has been completely reengineered, to make lightning-fast. This software installs in under 1 minute and loads in just a few seconds during system boot.

NIS 2010's Norton Insight checks only those files at risk, ensuring quicker scans and lower memory consumption.

This method is based on the community feedback - Norton gathers information about system files that are safe and potentially dangerous files directly from Norton users that send this information to Symantec as they use Norton Internet Security.

Like Norton 360, this software now includes Pulse Updates downloading virus definitions every 5 to 15 minutes for bleeding-edge protection against the latest threats.

Norton Internet Security 2010 comes with free telephone support and electronic support. If you need help, just connect to a remote agent that will assist you for free.

All customers are eligible for free download of virus updates and program updates during the renewable service period.