Norton Antivirus 2012 Feature Review

With each passing year, antivirus programs are getting increasingly better at their

job of protecting computer systems from ever-worsening malware attacks. There are many antivirus programs, both free and paid, available in the market today. While free programs offer basic protection and a few advanced features, paid software packages go full-throttle in providing the latest cutting-edge security features. Symantecs Norton is a highly trusted antivirus suite and is regarded as the jack-of-all-trades when it comes to PC security. We will review Norton Antivirus 2012, the latest upgrade to join the pack. For problems with Norton, you may contact Norton technical support service.

As covered in earlier posts, an antivirus software is evaluated on several important parameters inclusive of: user interface and navigability; malware detection, prevention and cleanup; impact on system performance and new features.

If any present malware on your computer attempts to block Norton 2012 installation, a pre-install scan launched by Norton eliminates such malware and smoothly finishes installation, after a system reboot.

Norton 2012 presents a major improvement in user interface: most of the buttons have been moved to a background screen, barring the on-demand scan and update buttons, which are now prominently displayed in the foreground. This reduces on-screen clutter. The Settings tab looks different too.

When running a full scan, it is possible that Norton is unable to remove a persistent threat. If this happens, Norton antivirus flashes a Get Help message, which recommends you to run Norton Power Eraser or the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool (NBRT). NBRT is able to repair unbootable systems as well. Norton particularly aces in Rootkit and Scareware removal. Rootkit is a virus that takes administrative control of your OS, disabling any antivirus software in the process. Scareware is malicious software that tricks customers into believing their systems are infected and lures them to buying fake antivirus programs.

Behavior-based detection is a relatively new heuristic detection mechanism specifically targeting zero-day threats. Symantec calls it SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response, which works hand-in-hand with Nortons Reputation scan, wherein, user files, programs and downloads are referred against an online database. Any suspicious or uncommon files or programs are subject to greater scrutiny by SONAR. Download Insight and File Insight are similar to Avasts FileRep and WebRep; they maintain a whitelist of safe downloads /files on your computer. This improves scan time, as safe files need not be scanned over again.

Certain intelligent features incorporated in Norton 2012 enable good CPU and internet utilization. System Insight feature reserves system scans for when CPU is idle or not heavily utilized. When a device connects to a 3G network, non-critical Norton internet updates are saved for later. It is interesting to note these features are also present in other popular antivirus packages of today.

Norton Antivirus 2012 has been rated ADVANCED by AV-Comparatives and certified VB-100 by Virus Bulletin, two independent antivirus testing labs, which speak for Nortons effectiveness. If you face any issues with Norton antivirus installation, contact a third-party Norton technical support provider today.

by: Frank Martine

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