Norton AntiVirus 2010 is an improvement over last year's version. It now boasts "Pulse Updates" to virus definitions; according to Symantec, it can update every 3-15 minutes. Very, very impressive.
In addition to the faster antivirus definition updates, we're glad to see other solid improvements in areas like real-time protection
IMPROVED FEATURES
Their resource usage is quite a bit better that last year, but it's still an issue this year. And the spyware/adware protection wasn't incredible either.
Their resource usage is better, but still an issue this year. And the spyware/adware protection was far less than impressive.
After delivering an absolutely outstanding installer last year, we were hoping for an equally good un-installer this year. No luck. Uninstalling Norton is no where near as good as uninstalling McAfee, which sets the standard for fast, clean, easy uninstallation for antivirus software. Maybe next year.
Norton's email antivirus protection was average and not as active as we felt it should be. But overall, Norton AntiVirus 2010 delivers a respectable performance, holding a solid place in the rankings, offering a very strong choice for consumers.
With an instant download, installation was very fast and easy. It only took about 3 min to download.A typical install wizard will take you through each step of the process. Then just enter your license key and that's it. The most current definitions will be automatically downloaded to get your software up to speed fast. Total download and installation time was around 6 min, which is one of the fastest total antivirus software installation times we tested.
Overall, Norton AntiVirus 2010 is a considerably better product than Norton AntiVirus 2009 was. Norton's been able to reduce their resource footprint over past years' efforts quite a bit, making for a less bloated antivirus software.
