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When the review quote on the back of the box is from 2004, it makes you wonder if the software inside is past its prime.
It’s even more worrying when the manufacturer itself can’t find that much to shout about. Despite this, Norton Internet Security 2006 does offer some new features – but are they enough to warrant an upgrade?
As usual, the suite comprises the latest editions of the Norton Firewall, Antivirus and Antispam packages. This time around there’s also an anti-spyware element, although the options for this are built into the virus protection side of the package.
On top of all this are features designed to protect your privacy while you surf, a quarantine area for isolating potential threats and optional parental controls for restricting access to unsavoury or potentially dangerous websites. You even get an online virus encyclopaedia.
All these facilities are tightly integrated and controlled via a single interface, rather than requiring you to launch several individual programs. This consistency helps make each element easy to use and its importance can’t be overestimated.
Perhaps the most obvious new feature is the Norton Protection Center. This sits either in the System Tray or the Taskbar and acts alongside Windows’ own security to monitor how well your system is protected.
It pops up with useful advice, offers to fix any issues and can be used to get an overview of your current protection level. Typically, it will also push users in the direction of other Symantec products if it feels you’re not covered in all areas.
Another addition is the Security Inspector, which checks for problems with browser and instant messaging settings, IP addresses and the strength of system passwords.
Our own test system fell down on the latter, prompting a quick rethink. Advanced options let you monitor shared folders and user access privileges, as well as keep an eye on Windows services.
Although the Security Inspector will be useful on PCs with several Windows accounts, we suspect most people won’t be using it that often.
Most if not all of the other improvements are behind the scenes. For starters, the 2006 suite now comes with 12 months of new product features (as and when they are released) as well as the usual protection updates.
It also includes the option to automatically renew your subscription if you can summon the courage to surrender your credit card details. In addition, the anti-virus engine has been updated to detect spyware and prevent anything hijacking your browser’s home page.
Other than these changes, there really is very little to recommend an upgrade from the 2005 version.
None of the new features can be considered a must-have – although this could change with the introduction of downloadable add-ons in the future. Simply renewing their existing anti-virus subscription could be enough for most users.
That said, there’s no denying that Symantec still provides one of the most comprehensive and flexible security packages on the market. Novices can happily let the system configure itself, while experts have the facility to tinker and tweak settings.
We’d like a little more information and control over the Spyware side of things, but on the whole Norton Internet Security 2006 is still highly recommended for those looking for online protection.
System requirements:
300MHz processor
256MB of Ram
325MB of free hard disk space
See also:
Hackers, spyware and viruses can’t escape this comprehensive package 13 Oct 2005
All Internet Tools
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