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Norton Anti Virus 2005

Norton Anti Virus 2005 is back and even better. Even with stiff competition, it still manages to get the job done well.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 

Norton Anti Virus 2005 

When it comes to virus protection the undisputed front runner has been Norton Anti Virus. Winning 18 consecutive one hundred percent awards and consistent high rankings with Virus Bulletin tests, time and time again Norton Anti Virus makes the grade.  Even with stiff competition, for reliability and performance, Norton is a standard favorite. 

2005’s incarnation is not vastly different in look and feel from the previous model, that is until you look under the hood. The noticeable differences are in speed, extended functionality and a new feature the automatic turn off and turn on feature, which can be a real time saver for those constantly installing new products. 

What this feature does, and it is also incorporated into their personal firewall, is that it allows you to turn off the automatic scanning for various periods of time and then will automatically spring back in action.  You can set this for a pre selected time range or simply stop it until you reboot.  For those of us that need to turn off automatic virus scanning during critical installs, but forget to turn it on again, this is a big convenience feature. To date I have yet to see any other virus program include this functionality. 

The big changes with Norton come with scanning and pre scanning functionality. Emphasis in this rendition has been placed on Internet Worm Protection, a new quick scan feature that scans the system upon receipt of the latest virus definitions, enhanced pre install that scans for infections that could hinder the installation of the program and of course scanning of in coming and out going email.  The newest feature sets focus on incorporating some firewall functionality directly into the program. However, do not mistake that expansion for a replacement of a solid firewall. You will still need an independent firewall. 

Detection of spyware, keystroke loggers, Trojan horses, worms and infections with compressed files before they are opened are highlighted in this version and naturally will improved over time as new virus definitions are released.  The biggest culprits to system security, email attachments and attachments found in various messaging clients are covered much as they were in the 2004 edition.  The titles include AOL Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo and Windows Messenger.  

Symantec’s big advantage in virus protection is that they are good about year around updates, make available frequent and generally keep on top of the latest threats.  The most immediate difference between this version and others is that it is faster and manages to do what it does well.  For those considering already using Norton, purchasing the new release is a pretty clear cut choice. For those just obtaining virus protection, this is a safe sure fire bet.  Also of note, it works with Windows 98 and ME, something that is become rare in the newer titles.

System Requirements 

70 Mb of hard drive space

CD Rom Drive

Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP Pro and Home versions

Internet access for updates

Email scanning support for Pop3 and SMTP clients

Support for the following instant messaging systems:

AOL Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo and Windows Messenger.