- Price: Free to try (30-day trial); $39.99
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP
- Date added: September 09, 2008
Symantec has been listening to its users, and this year the company delivers a slimmed-down and faster Norton AntiVirus 2009. Almost all the security vendors this year have recognized the changing threat landscape and have rethought traditional protection. Norton Antivirus 2009 is available as a full-function download, free for 15 days.
We especially like the Insight feature, which identifies “trusted” files and applications and doesn’t waste time rescanning them unless there’s been a change. No other product does this. The redesigned logic behind Norton AntiVirus 2009 clearly shows in CNET performance testing: it is faster and considerably lighter than last year’s version. Norton continues to win awards in third-party effectiveness testing. Lagging behind, though, is Symantec’s technical support. While Norton users now have free telephone support, Symantec still doesn’t provide enough of a knowledge base, or even an adequate user’s manual.
Once again, this year it emphasizes its premium services a bit too much. That said, Norton AntiVirus 2009 presents a remarkable transformation of a product and is worth a second look.