bit-tech Shopping: Symantec Norton Internet Security 2008

• Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Rating: 10

Time with product: 30 Days

Strengths: Easiest install ever. Zero set-up glitches. No problems at all.

Weaknesses: Password security module is slow and not very intuitive to an old guy like me.

Summary: I upgraded from NAV 2008 to Norton Internet Security 2008 and it has been a total success. Everything worked from installation to all the little details. I have been a NAV user for well over 20 years and things have gotten a little more difficult and problems have increased for the past several years. NIS seems to have resolved these issues. Symantec has put the Norton systems back on track again. Their quality has never faltered and now the implementation is back on top.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 12 Months

Strengths: Solid protection against malware attacks; simple interface.

Weaknesses: Not well integrated; slowing down PC system to a crawl if CPU is not fast enough.

Summary: Although Norton Internet Security 2008 is a solid security suite, it suffers the same problem of resource hog as the previous version. In a slow CPU system, it could bog down the whole system to a crawl by using too many system resources at time. NIS 2008 is fairly simple to use and efficient in keeping your PC safe from nasty viruses, adware and phishing scams. You cannot go wrong with NIS 2008 if you system could sustain the required overhead. You do have to renew subscription annually to keep the automatic live update service active on up to three computers.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 8 Weeks

Strengths: Good internet security protection

Weaknesses: Large overhead slowing down system performance

Summary: Norton Internet Security 2008 is among the leading internet security suites available on the market. However, it takes up so much system resources that users with a slow single core CPU system might want to consider a different internet security package from another brand. For fast CPU systems, Norton IS 2008 is a good choice for solid online security protection. I would not recommend it for system with marginal CPU performance since it could occasionally slow the computer to a crawl. Although Norton Internet Security 2008 is sluggish at time, it has never failed me in detecting viruses, backdoors, Trojans, phishings, and other malware attacks.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 8 Months

Strengths: works wonderful

Weaknesses: Slow the PC slightly

Summary: I've used Norton Internet Security for years. When I bought my new Dell desktop with Windows Vista pre-installed, Norton Internet Security installed seemlessly and has worked wonderfully. This version has some great new features - including a 'network' map feature allowing you to see any computer on your network. I highly recommend this product for any computer that has Windows Vista pre-installed. This version seems 'smarter' than previous versions and is working for me, not against me. It seems to know its job and sits quietly on my task bar defending my computer with a wide range of powerful tools...that have only slowed my computer down very slightly.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 10

Strengths: Complete Security for my Windows Vista Computer.

Weaknesses: Must have Microsoft SP2 or above to install product.

Summary: I bought Norton Internet to use on all three of my Windows based computers. It installed very easy on my laptop which has Windows Vista installed. However when I tried to install it on my desktop Windows XP Home Edition I had a problem. It required the user to have Windows SP2 on there system which for some reason did not and will not install with my Windows Update. All in all I would say that this product is easy to use and install if the right Windows based product is loaded or can be downloaded onto your system.