BIOS: Technology Means Business

Symantec enjoys an enviable reputation for the solidity of its security software and its speedy response when new viruses or other forms of malicious code are discovered. Even if you already own a previous version of Norton Internet Security, the improved spam filtering is probably worth the upgrade price alone. If you currently don't have any form of security software on your PC, Norton Internet Security 2004 is one of the best all-round applications available. However, it's worth noting that the software requires product activation, similar to Windows XP, and there's annual subscription costs involved to keep the software fully up to date with the latest Internet-borne threats.

Pros: Excellent spam filtering and firewall tools; spyware protection
Cons: Slow AV scanning; requires activation; subscription costs

Norton Internet Security 2004 is the latest version of Symantec's suite of security applications for home and small-business users. The software solution consists of five main utilities (Norton Anti-Virus, Norton Personal Firewall, Norton Privacy Control, Norton Anti-Spam and Norton Parental Control), which cover most of the security issues regarding the integrity of data stored on your PC when connected to the Internet.

The software suite consumes some 220MB of hard disk space and it can also require substantial update downloads. For example, our test system required a further 21MB of hard disk space, which is a considerable commitment of connection time using a dial-up link. The software then took a further 15 minutes to complete the installation and another 45 minutes to perform a complete anti-virus file scan. Thankfully you only need to install it once.

If you've used earlier versions of Norton Internet Security, the matter-of-fact interface holds few surprises. Easy-to-navigate dialog boxes present the important information and enable you to modify settings for your own requirements. There's also pop-up windows that inform you of any part of the suite which needs attention, such as when it's time for a full anti-virus (AV) system scan.

Norton Anti-Virus 2004, one of the most popular anti-virus solutions, now protects e-mail and instant message attachments by automatically removing viruses, worms and Trojan horses. New built-in features also detect certain non-virus threats and threat detection alerts can be set to notify you of non-virus threats, such as spyware and keystroke logging programs. The software now also scans compressed file archives before you open them to help minimise the risk of infecting your computer. As before, Norton Anti-Virus updates its virus definitions transparently when you're using the Internet for other work.

Norton Personal Firewall 2004 is designed to keep hackers out of your PC and personal data in. The firewall software offers personal protection by automatically 'hiding' your PC on the Internet and blocking suspicious connections. Norton Personal Firewall 2004 also protects your privacy by preventing confidential information from being sent out without your knowledge. You can also establish different firewall settings for the different networks you access, with the program switching settings automatically as you work between, say, a site-wide network and a national company one.

New features of Norton Personal Firewall 2004 include a Web assistant to block ads and access other program options within Internet Explorer, and a Network Detector that lets you define firewall settings for different networks, which then automatically switches to the appropriate settings for the network you're using. This is a useful feature for laptop users who use their computer in two different places. Norton Privacy Control should help to prevent data from being sent out without your knowledge in e-mail, instant messages, Office attachments and Web forms, and Program Control automatically determines which applications can safely connect to the Internet.

The major new component of the suite is Norton Anti-Spam 2004, a new e-mail filtering system. Norton AntiSpam 2004 works with most POP3 e-mail clients and is designed to filter unwanted e-mail from your inbox by adding a 'spam' tag in the subject field. It also integrates with Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora by adding functions to their toolbars. Norton AntiSpam 2004 can also be set to block pop-up, pop-under and banner advertisements.

Norton AntiSpam 2004's Allow List should help to ensure that e-mail from family, friends and colleagues aren't flagged as spam, and you can use the Blocked List function to block e-mail from specific e-mail addresses. The program appears to note the source address of nominated spam samples, though, which isn't as useful as matching the subject or content. You can still set rules for spam recognition separately, however, and the program takes on your existing rule sets from older versions of Norton Internet Security

Norton Internet Security 2004, like Microsoft's Windows XP, requires product activation. Unlike Microsoft, however, Symantec offers up to five installations to account for changes in your PC's hardware configuration or reinstallation after a hard disk crash. You should also note that there's an annual subscription cost of £9.99 per annum, after the first year, to keep the software fully up to date with the latest Internet-borne threats.

Links:
Norton Internet Security 2004 Web site