Review: Norton Internet Security 2011

Great protection for those who don't mind a little complexity.

Norton Internet Security is a extremely nimble package. The 130MB system footprint was below average in this company, and its five-second startup impact remarkably low.

It’s all the more impressive when you note how many features are on offer. Besides the firewall, email scanner, spam filter and password safe, you also get a reputation analysis tool that takes advantage of Norton’s huge installed user base to identify suspiciously rare programs.

As an aside, we’re also impressed by Norton’s additional services such as its online Cybercrime Index which is a great resource, letting anyone look at regularly updated data about identity theft, fraud, malware and more - you don’t need to be a Norton user to access the data.

Its comprehensiveness isn’t unequivocally a good thing. Norton’s user interface is a little overcomplicated, and the chunky black-and-yellow system of links and dropdown menus is neither attractive nor particularly intuitive.

Some will appreciate having such a wealth of settings to tinker with, but we can’t help but suspect that most will be happier with Trend Micro’s slightly simpler approach.