Norton AntiVirus 2002

Jonathan Bennett — 2002-05-07T14:45:11.000Z

Jonathan Bennett, PC Magazine, Tuesday 7 May 2002 at 14:45:11

Update to Symantec's established antivirus software.

Not much has changed in this update to Symantec's established antivirus software. Norton AntiVirus (NAV) runs on all versions of Windows, from 98 onwards, including XP. You can install NAV 2002 on a system running Windows 95B, but its antivirus protection defaults to NAV 2001 version of the signature.

It performs both on-access and on-demand scanning, although if the former is working properly, the latter is rarely needed. Email and web protection is also provided and configured automatically.

There's also a Windows Explorer toolbar added to your system, which allows you to scan individual files or groups of files by highlighting them and clicking the toolbar button. You can also access the NAV quarantine and backup folders through the toolbar. This add-on isn't going to be of much use most of the time, though, providing you have automatic protection turned on.

In addition to blocking infected downloads when you try to save them, the web protection utility will attempt to detect script-borne viruses. This uses a heuristic technique to spot virus-line script activity, and will block this type of virus without needing definition updates. However, if you have software that uses web scripts to retrieve updates, the program may interfere with this process. The default action prompts you when a script virus is detected, so you need to allow scripts you know to be safe.

As with previous versions, NAV includes the LiveUpdate utility, which downloads both virus definitions and program updates. With a default installation, LiveUpdate will run automatically whenever you connect to the internet.

So, while you don't have to remember to update your virus definitions, it could mean your connection is tied up with downloading updates when you don't necessarily want to. If you're using a dial-up connection, you might want to configure it to prompt you before downloading updates or disable automatic LiveUpdate if you're sure you'll remember to do them manually. One year's subscription to virus definition updates is included in the price of NAV. After that, a year's subscription costs $9.95.

You no longer need to configure your email client to protect against email-borne viruses. It intercepts any traffic on the standard ports for POP3 and SMTP, the protocols used by most email clients. However, this assumption of POP3 and use of the standard ports leaves the possibility of some email coming in without being scanned - IMAP mail.

If you're using regular software in standard configurations, you should have no problems with Norton AntiVirus 2002. Dial-up users should be aware of the default update settings, but if you have a permanent internet connection, this won't be an issue.

Contact

Symantec: St Cloud Gate, St Cloud Way, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 8XD

Tel 020 7616 5600

www.symantec.com/region/reg_eu/product/nav2002.html/

Symantec Norton Personal Firewall 2002

Ashley McKinnon. — 2002-04-19T10:45:54.000Z

Ashley McKinnon., PC Magazine, Friday 19 April 2002 at 10:45:54

Does the job asked of it.

With the latest version of Norton Personal Firewall, Symantec has included many new features and enhancements. With support for Windows XP, Norton Personal Firewall 2002 adds more configurable control over your internet connection and guards against hacker threats.

The software's interface is very intuitive and complete control over all aspects of the firewall is within easy reach. There are three default levels of access control: High, Medium and Low. These are selected with a simple slider bar.

For more experienced users, a customised level can be selected. From here, you can set the level of security for Java and ActiveX components. The overall look of the interface is comparable to Windows Explorer, with a navigation pane on the left and the information window on the right.

A handy feature Symantec has included in Norton Personal Firewall 2002 is the external Security Risk Scan option. This will connect you to Symantec's website, which then runs a scan on your system. It checks against the most common hacker-based threats and gives a report on any findings.

With LiveUpdate, the firewall will be kept up to date and the latest threat data can then be downloaded from Symantec's website. One year of updates is included in the purchase price. A year's subscription is then $9.95.

The software monitors applications that attempt to communicate with your system. Any outbound traffic is intercepted and the firewall will invoke a pop-up to ask what action you'd like to take. Options include 'allow communication for the session', 'always allow communication' or 'deny communication'.

From within the privacy control features, you can determine the level of information that's allowed in and out of your system. This includes cookie control and confidential data. As with the general firewall settings, you can select High, Medium or Low or a customised level.

Caution should be taken, however, if you're going to use this software in a networked environment. Under default settings, you won't be able to access any mapped network drives. Little is mentioned in the documentation about this.

Also, the firewall sometimes auto-configures itself to handle application communication and you're never really sure exactly what it's doing.

As a firewall, Norton Personal Firewall 2002 does the job asked of it. As an overall package, it's a worthy purchase.

Contact

Symantec: St Cloud Gate, St Cloud Way, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 8XD

Tel 020 7616 5600

www.symantec.co.uk

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