KEY POINTS:
Whilst Symantec's flagship consumer Internet Security suite has historically had a reputation for bloat, they've obviously been listening to customers, and have dramatically trimmed, tweaked and tuned the 2009 version.
A total re-design has not only given Norton Internet Security 2009 a considerably smaller footprint (100Mb of disk space for the base install), but has also resulted in it consuming less precious system resources, and enabling it to do significantly faster scans than previous versions.
First impressions of Norton Internet Security 2009 are that much needed improvements have finally been made to the user interface. A cleaner, leaner and more sophisticated look makes it far easier to navigate. Turning off individual security features is now dead easy, thankfully no longer involving a dive into configuration settings for 15 minutes of intense frustration.
The configuration settings page now features pop-ups to explain settings and Symantec have also added a bar chart to show how much (or how little) of your system's horsepower is being consumed as you're protected.
Increasingly complex operating systems and pimply hackers that seem to get more cunning with each passing year need to be combated with an expanding arsenal of security tools to keep PCs safe.
Symantec have thrown an exhaustive list of security widgets together that include antivirus and spyware protection, a firewall, identity theft protection, antiphishing, network security, botnet and rootkit detection, web-bowser protection, worm protection, intrusion prevention, website authentication, anti-spam, parental controls, confidential information blocking and a system recovery tool. About the only thing missing is the digital equivalent of a kitchen sink.
All these security, protection and prevention apps however don't seem to have made this iteration of Norton into the digital equivalent of Jabba the Hutt, thanks to the addition of what Symantec calls 'hite-list' technology. By placing trusted files, documents and other data less likely to be infected or tinkered with by malware on a "white-list" and not scanning them as often, virus scans can be significantly sped up as less irreplaceable CPU grunt is consumed keeping your PC safe and sound.
Several features also really stood out as being extremely useful. The inclusion of a network monitoring utility gave me an at a glance overview of the health and security status of all the gadgets connected to my home network. Equally nice was the recovery disk feature, which after a prolonged absence, finally makes a welcome reappearance so I can boot off the recovery CD should things go pear-shaped, allowing me to salvage valuable data or even attempt to repairs.
The verdict
Where the current trend of most big brand software bloating up faster than a Weight Watchers convention at Pizza Hutt, Norton Internet Security 2009 have bucked this trend to shrug off its ancestors bloated and slow DNA and re-surface with a lean build. Smart design features such as whitelisting also give it a welcome shot in the arm performance-wise. Add a good selection of security utilities and there's one hell of a lot to like.
Norton Internet Security 2009
RRP$79
www.symantec.com
