Symantec has nicely segregated their security solutions as per user’s needs. Norton Antivirus gives protection from viruses, Trojans, worms etc. whereas Norton Internet Security or NIS – which we recently reviewed –shields from viruses and also protects user’s network with a two-way firewall. However, for those who seek a complete piece of mind, Symantec has got 360 a full-fledged solution capable of doing what other two variants do and in addition has an in-built backup tool to keep important data backed up on Symantec’s secure servers. We’ve been using the fourth iteration of 360 for quite some time and this is what we’ve found.
Setting up Norton 360 v4 is as easy as 1-2-3. Like its newer 2010 siblings, Symantec has paid special attention to speed and resource consuming capabilities. The application installs in about a minute and runs pretty smooth consuming minimal resources.
Norton 360’s UI is pretty intuitive and fairly easy to use. Consumers can easily go through a series of sub-menus enabling them to scan their drives, run Live Update, backup their PC, tuneup the PC and even set up identity protection to safely keep their credit card info, login details etc.
Norton 360 has the same protection engine as its remaining 2010 range, which means it has the SONAR protection that analyzes applications and their behavior in real time, reputation-based technology and a 100 percent overall protection rate based on a research by UK’s Dennis Labs. Norton Insight is the one that uses the reputation-based analysis and it’s really effective. Insight takes advantage of analyzing application usage of millions of Norton users and gives a quick security assurance of the files being run or downloaded by the consumers. Users can check the files on the basis of processes running in the background, startup items, recently installed or even individually.
Norton 360 also has a simple but useful Norton Task menu that shows the computer’s CPU and memory resource history up to 1 month. The Task monitors the PC’s usage and shows what process caused user’s computer to hog resources and even show when Norton initiated its scanning process.
The new features that are found in Norton 360 are backup (we’ll come on that soon) and ability to reduce PC’s startup time and performance with disk cleanup tool. The Startup Manager allows users to control what applications need to start after a boot up and even delay their startup by some minutes. Symantec claims a test by Passmark proves that Norton 360’s Startup Manager helps to improve PC boot time running Windows 7 OS by up to 41 percent.
Coming onto 360’s USP – the backup. Backing up data on Norton 360 follows three basic principles – What you want to backup; Where you want to backup (online, removable drive or HDD) and; When you want to backup. By default, Norton 360 comes with a 2GB online storage option (additional storage can be bought) and although the previous versions did offer the same online convenience, this year’s variant has the ability to view or share backed up content on smartphones. A simple app on your Android device or iPhone will give users the liberty to view their content, download or even email them. The Android app can be downloaded from here whereas iPhone/iPod touch/iPad app is available on the App Store as “Norton Tiki” and works as it should be. Check out couple of screenshots below.
To sum this up, the latest version of Norton 360 obviously pips up its predecessor. If you’re looking for some no-brainer solution that not only protects your PC from viruses and unwanted network intrusions but also does the boring backup whenever you want to, Norton 360 v4 is the thing to look out for.
A standard single PC license with 2GB storage is priced at Rs. 1,795 whereas a three PC license will cost Rs. 3,409. Symantec is also selling a three PC license Premium Edition with 25GB online storage for Rs. 3,859.
Rating: 
Pros: Fast, Simple, Good overall protection
Cons: Bit pricey, No app for WinMo or Symbian smartphone users
The norton 360 V4 is simple the best ever version for many reasons but most of all the program installs at a heavier 105mb yet has been technically created to run so lightweight its almost stealth! – You can get a 50% discount at http://shop.select-its.co.uk/norton360.php ENJOY
I have used Norton 360 for a couple of years now and have had no major issues with it but, upon completion of installation of Norton 360 v4.0 the scroll functions on my Sony Vio VGN-520N laptop touchpad are no longer to be found. How do I re-enable these functions? I am running a 32 bit version of Windows Vista Business with service pack 2. I tried Symatech tech support and they only managed to erase most of my saved passwords.
@Tom: You can try re-installing the touchpad software, which you can probably get from Sony’s support site.
Thank you. I have contacted Sony and am awaiting a reply.
Thanks for this post. I think this version is the answer to every user’s needs, for PC files security. For years, Norton has proven its function to give protection to our PC without making it slow.
Kunal,
I did contact Sony support and they were very helpful by sending me links to the driver needed to restore the touchpad function. Unfortunately the re-installation did not restore the function deleted by Norton 360. Sony provided additional steps but since I am not ‘tech’ savvy I believe I would only cause more problems if I attempted to do what they recommend.
At this point I will live with a PC laptop that has less functionality due to a bug in the Norton 360 software.
Just a follow-up to my previous comments. I have not been able to restore the touchpad scrool function and have found that I cannot disable the touchpad while typing either. This is a bother since the touchpad on my Sony VIO is very easy to brush when typing. I find that I am typing in the wrong place now very often. This only icreases my interest in removing Norton 360 and hoping I can recover the touchpad functions. Sony did provide the driver for re-installation but it did not work…they then recommended a backup then re-format option…I hope Symantech fixes the bug in their software…
best antivirus i’ve used it blocks viruses before they can do anything
norton 360 v4’s cool and complete. full feature and do not burden the system