Norton Internet Security 2010 is a security software for the Windows operating system. One could say it is an advanced version of Norton Antivirus 2010 as it contains all the antivirus protection capabilities of that software plus additional means of protection that include a two-way firewall as well as network, email and identity protection. The only element that it does not offer is a backup module which Norton reserves for its flagship product Norton 360.
Symantec’s Norton suite has seen dramatic improvements in the last two years. The two most notable changes are a concentration on lower resource usage which was already noticeable in last year’s Norton Internet Security but becomes even more apparent in this year’s. Additional improvements are the new behavioral detection engine Quorum which uses a cloud based reputation system to identify threats and offers faster response times to new or mutating malware threats and additions to Norton Insight which has now been split to the four areas Download Insight for better control of file downloads, System Insight for system diagnosis, File Insight for file analysis and Threat Insight.
Here is a quick overview of what Norton Internet Security 2010 offers:
- Anti Virus
- Anti Rootkit
- Bot Protection
- AntiSpam
- Norton™ Safe Web
- Smart Firewall
- Network Monitoring
- Spyware Protection
- Identity Protection
- Parental Controls
Installation
Installation is a breeze. The most important change to installation is that no reboot is required to complete the installation of Norton Internet Security 2010. The installation process itself has also been improved as it now takes less than a minute (a bit more if you use an installer that downloads the components from the Internet) to install the security software on the computer system.
Interface
The interface is easily accessible and gives the user an immediate overview over the protection state of the computer system. Switches are provided in the main interface to switch the state of a specific module to on or off with the interesting option to turn a feature off for a specific time only.
The protection is divided into the three groups computer, network and web each with their own associated security modules, settings, information and options.
Another indicator that Symantec takes performance serious is a cpu meter that is displayed in the main interface. This cpu meter displays the cpu usage of the computer system and that of Norton Internet Security. A click on the provided performance link will lead to a performance monitor that displays the cpu and computer memory usage of the system and Norton Internet Security over time.
Other links in the main interface lead to Norton Tasks which displays a similar performance graph and the background tasks that are configured in Norton Internet Security 2010. Here it is possible to see their impact on the computer system with an option to start any of the background tasks right away.
Application Ratings is a very interesting module that displays Norton Insight information about files and programs of the computer system. It will for instance rate all running processes, startup items, loaded modules and even all files so that it is possible to get a quick overview of the danger of certain files.
Norton Insight uses a trust level, resource usage and Norton Community Usage as indicators for a file’s rating.
The remaining subscription days and links to the Norton account, help and support and feedback are provided in the main interface as well.
Computer Protection
Computer Protection consists of the four modules Insight protection, antivirus, antispyware and SONAR protection. It contains additional links to running a live update, accessing the history and quarantine, start a scan and to open the settings.
The settings are extensive and contain several optional modules that are not activated by default. It is here for instance possible to enable Microsoft Office Automatic Scan to protect Office documents. Modules can be turned on and off in the settings but there are also advanced options available. This includes configuring exclusions (good for false positives for instance or files that should not be accessed by Norton Internet Security), real-time protection features and scan performance profiles.
- Insight Protection – The Insight Network scan uses the Cloud technology wherein a remote server on the web contains the latest virus definitions.
- Antivirus and Antispyware – Security risks, such as spyware and adware, can compromise your personal information and privacy
- SONAR Protection – Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response (SONAR) provides real-time protection against threats and proactively detects unknown security risks on your computer.
Network Protection
Network Protection consists of the Smart Firewall, Intrusion Prevention and Email protection modules. A settings link is provided here as well that leads to the options for the listed modules. Configuration options for the firewall are divided into several menus. One element that seems to be missing is an overview of all the computer or network connections.
- Smart Firewall – Smart Firewall monitors communications between your computer and the other computers on the Internet.
- Intrusion Prevention – Intrusion Prevention scans all the network traffic that enters and exits your computer and compares this information against a set of attack signatures.
- Email Protection – Email Protection protects your computer against the threats that you might receive through email attachments
Web Protection
This group contains the parental controls, identify safe, browser protection, safe surfing and download intelligence modules.
- Identity Safe – The various features of Identity Safe help you manage your identities and provide additional security while you perform online transactions
- Browser Protection – (Firefox and Internet Explorer only) When you turn on Browser Protection, Norton Internet Security proactively blocks new or unknown malware programs before they attack the computer system.
- Safe Surfing – When you install Norton Internet Security, it adds the Norton Toolbar to Internet Explorer and Firefox.
- Download Intelligence – Download Insight provides information about the reputation of any executable file that you download using the Internet Explorer 6 and Firefox 3.0 browsers or later.
Verdict
Norton Internet Security 2010 is an impressive product that has a much lower resource footprint than previous versions of the software. The new performance monitor emphasizes this to give the user hard facts about the performance usage of the security software.
Modules like the application ratings and the new Norton Insight modules make it easier than ever to stay on the safe side.
The settings for each individual module are on the other hand somewhat hidden in the program. It would be more comfortable if links to individual settings would be provided in the main interface.
Christmas Giveaway
We have ten licenses for Norton Internet Security 2010. Please leave a comment for a chance to win one of the licenses. Let us know why you would like to get a license for Norton Internet Security 2010
Raju is giving away DAEMON Tools Pro Advanced, check it out as well.
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gr8 antivirus i need 1 license.
I still use Avira-Antivir free, and Norton is sesy ;)
Nice offer, please let me win. I never had something like this. I always was freewareuser like Antivir.
Give me a chance to own it. Currently using Zonealarm and AVG
I would be Happy to have one…..my current antivirus license is going to expire in less than 29 days
I will be glad to get this…
Thanks
Hi! I like Norton Internet Security 2010 as it is very light on resources and it can identify threat based on behavior too. In recent tests it got good ratings from various testing labs. Norton also provides updates even every 5 minutes which they call pulse updates. If we download a program we can know whether it is good or bad with its reputation rating system. Norton provides a toolbar for storing login credentials which is very useful to defeat keyloggers. It also provides safety ratings for websites and in search results. I hope I will win this. Please include me. Thank you for this wonderful offer!
At the moment i have nothing protecting my pc, so to win this would be lovely.
Good product. Thanks.
I need it Norton Internet Security 2010 to protect my computer.
I am dying to use this wonderful software. have always been a great fan of Norton!
Norton one of the best security product. Hope to win. Thanks in advance
I really really need this software, my computer is full of threats and malware, please I need this.
I would like to have one!
I have an big, ugly and smelly virus in my computer and it wants to eat me!!! Norton, please, help me!
:)
Hi ,maybe i will win this time,i need yhis license mor my mom laptop.\\Thanx
Concorri ao KIS e tento agora o NORTON … pois tanto um como o outro que já experimentei pareceram-me bons … mas como não tenho € para comprar qualquer um dos dois … tento a sorte do Pai Natal … Obrigado
Hi, Thanks for the giveaway, Norton is a great antivirus and I would love to win it.
can,i’ve a NIS2010 Lisence plz…afterall,i like NIS2010 ,because,it’s very light anti virus which doesnot slow down pc…Norton insight technology is also good…but,i feel it should yet to be improved…hmm…besides,i like the user-friendly interface…thankz for this give away..
I’m currently don’t use any internet security software, so i wanna try NIS.
My BitDefender 2008 license expires later this month. Please sign me up for the drawing. Thanks.
Oh great it would be great to have one license please count me in this. I like this to have because review I had seen shows that it’s superb.
Hello
I have always been a great fan of Norton products from the very early days. And 2010 version gives me a whole new reason to stick to it. I would be highly grateful if you could give me this wonderful product as a Christmas gift.
Thanks in advance.
GK
Its one of best internet security suites in 2010.
im happy to announce this given away.
plz count me on ….
I would like a Norton Internet Security 2010 license for protecting my PC, because it’s one of the best security suites.
I’m a Kaspersky fanatic, but i’d really like to try Norton after a lot of years i’ve abandoned it.
It’s one of the best all-rounders on the market and very light. And I have only 512 RAM, so it’ll suit me just nice. So I’ll be glad win one license.
Norton the best ever
I know that is’s much better than many of the previous versions, and I would have to pay for it anyway. Other suites are not as userfriendly as this one, and I plan to give it to my grandparents. They are sweet and nice and they deserve this for a lifetime of support and being a good example to society. We owe them gratitude!
Great ! I hope I am lucky enough to get this one!
Thanks