Norton 360 version 4

The latest version of the Norton 360 all-in-one PC security and protection suite is an enormous piece of software, not because it takes up a lot of space, but due to the sheer number of tasks it performs.

Fortunately it does most of them well, making it a good choice for those who prefer one-stop security software rather than having to use separate programs for anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware and spam protection.

Installation was fairly quick, although the first thing it does is to download updates over the internet, which totalled 78MB in our case (you can skip this step, but that’s not a good idea). There is no need to configure technical settings, although these are available buried in the rather complicated menu system – different tasks open in separate windows, making it easy to get lost.

The main screen displays the four protection categories – PC security, identity protection, backup and PC tune-up. It also includes anti-spyware, anti-spam and anti-phishing protection. The price of the software includes 2GB of online storage to be used by the backup tool, or you can back up using any hard disk or CD/DVD drive.

Norton 360 takes control of almost the entire security of the PC, including the Windows firewall, but it did this without upsetting any of our existing security settings and without fuss. The program used little memory, and had little noticeable effect on performance in everyday use – the only exception was during full virus scans, but normally these will only run when the PC is idle. All alerts and background tasks can be turned off temporarily, or a special quiet mode can be automatically activated when any particular program is running.

Quick virus scans only took a few seconds, thanks partly to the Norton Insight feature which identifies ‘trusted’ program files that do not need to be scanned. This has previously been available in other Norton products but it’s new to Norton 360. Identity protection includes the Identity Safe login manager, which can securely save all your usernames and passwords for websites. Parental controls are not included, but Norton Safety Minder is a free separate download.

New additions include more detailed information for downloaded files and the Norton Safe Search browser add-in, which shows whether websites listed in search results are safe before you click on them.

We were impressed with overall level of protection offered, and the generally unobtrusive way in which Norton 360 operated. The default settings are well-chosen for non-technical users, and the online help file is very good.

There isn’t much that’s new in Norton 360, but since existing users get an automatic upgrade that’s not particularly a downside. More experienced users will appreciate the advanced configuration options, but those who do not need the backup and tune-up tools can save £10 by buying Norton internet Security 2010 instead.