2012 Antivirus Software Reviews

Norton Internet Security 2012

In previous years, Norton Internet Security seemed to emphasize style and features at the expense of core protection and speed.

With the 2012 version Symantec refocused attention where it belongs: multi-layered PC protection.

The result: Norton's virus protection, usability, and resource usage have all improved, with it scoring very well in removing deeply embedded viruses and in realtime protection.

Support remains an issue for Norton. While they have several self-help options, their support pages can be overwhelming and make information hard to find, plus it's tough to get one-on-one help.

The interface is better but still lacks a unified feel and has sections whose purpose is unclear and extra windows aplenty.

Despite the shortcomings, Norton Internet Security 2012 is so much better than recent versions, it's once again worth considering for your PC security.
With the 2012 version, Symantec leaps up among the top performers of the year, particularly in virus removal and real-time protection.

Now, when compared to BitDefender, Kaspersky, or VIPRE, Norton either matches their performance or is marginally behind.

We're glad to see Norton is taking virus, spyware, and phishing protection seriously.

Like many other Internet security suites, Norton's protection centers around danger-zones like phishing, real-time virus protection, the software firewall, and spyware blocking. Norton scored well in these areas in our tests and in those of other independent testing labs:

• VB Bulletin
• AV Comparatives
• Anti-Malware Test Lab
• PC Security Labs
• AV-Test

We did find one odd bug, though. Norton lists the newest malicious webites they've discovered. That's great, but when we actually checked those sites, about 25% went unblocked.

It appears that the online sites list is updated online before the software, though it's unclear how long it takes for these sites to update in the software.

Regardless, we like Norton's total PC virus and malware protection suite. For an Internet security suite, Norton Internet Security 2012 is solid contender.
Resource usage for Norton Internet Security 2012 was average at best. During a full-system, manual scan, our test systems averaged 54% CPU and about 73% of memory. Not bad.

System usage when Norton was running idle was average at 1% CPU and 54% memory. Much better than Norton's previous resource hog days.

One place in particular where we saw improvement was in the manual scanning speed, where full system scans averaged about 20% faster than in the 2011 version.
Norton Internet Security 2012 is modern and mostly easy to use. There are a few things we don't care for, but it's still simple enough for most users.

We dislike the mismatched interfaces within the overall interface. There are just too many different types of buttons and screens to sort through. It doesn't hamper usability significantly, though it does make the software feel--and work--differently in different parts.

Then there's the oddly-named technologies like "SONAR," or "Download Intelligence Detection." Great names for marketing-speak but not for the user. What they do is anyone's guess 'til you look them up.

Aside from that, the UI has simple On/Off switches for each function, making it easy enough for novices and expanded enough for advanced users.
Click the support button in the software, and a window launches that scans your PC to help the support engineers help you. In one of our installations, Norton said our initial installation failed, which it didn't since the software was performing perfectly.

We were then given instructions to uninstall and reinstall the software. A bit buggy, apparently.

There's no direct support for Norton Internet Security 2012 within the user interface, but you can access Norton's support options through their website.

There are two levels of support: free and paid. The free support is what you'd expect: forums, chat, and FAQs. However, if you have a virus that Norton missed and need help removing it, their paid support is $99.

One way to avoid the $99 is to pre-purchase their "Virus Removal Assurance" (about $7-10) when you buy the software. This guarantees you both phone support and professional virus removal if you need it.

Without it, the only option for phone support is via their paid support plans. In our view, it's a worthwhile low-cost option if you're considering Norton Internet Security.
Virus definitions and updates download automatically with Norton Internet Security. Norton uses three layers of updates: Automatic Live Updates, Pulse Updates, and Smart Definitions. The end result of which is faster updates.

The updates work like this:

Pulse Updates

fast, small critical updates

Automatic Live Updates

full, complete updates

Smart Definitions

vital definition updates only

While some of this might just be marketing-speak with marginal benefit, getting updates out faster is always a plus.
Norton ISS includes a couple of good extra features and one that appears to be included just so they can say it's there.

The positives are the Parental Controls and the Identity Safe features. The questionable one is the backup software, which seems to have been included just so they could add it to the feature list.

The backup software included in Norton Internet Security is almost not worth mentioning.

Included with the software is 2GB of online backup storage. Given that even one movie from Amazon or iTunes can easily take 2GB, we're not really sure what good having 2GB of space is, especially since just backing up your core system files will take more space than that.

In any case, it includes backup software.

Norton's Parental Controls, Safety Minder, is separate, optional, no-cost software to download and install. Curiously, the actual parental controls are found on the Norton website and not in the Norton Internet Security suite itself.

It's website monitoring, website blocking, and safe search are good features that are easy to use and provide decent protection for you child. It's clear Symantec spent more time here than they did on the backup software; the parental controls are actually fairly good.

Identity Safe provides an easy (one-click) and secure way to automatically fill in forms at websites that need your personal information. For instance, you can set Identity Safe to securely and quickly log you into your web based email accounts like GMail. Or you can store credit card information and your address for faster shopping.

Identity Safe can also store different "vault" information for each Windows user on your computer. So you can have one set of vaulted login information that's separate and hidden from others who may use your computer.

Norton Internet Security 2012 is a major step in the right direction. For starters, their overall virus and malware protection as is their firewall software.

And, the major testing labs all agree: Norton does a good job at protecting PCs against all types of viruses.

Some previous versions of Norton were plagued with needless features, overly-styled interfaces, and bloat. Some of that still exists, but the bloat is all but gone.

Norton's resource usage has also come under control making for a lighter experience overall.

The user interface is still a little disjointed, but it's faster and infinitely more usable than before.

Customer service and technical support are still lacking. It's easy to find paid virus removal support ($99) but hard to find free chat or phone support for minor issues. For a company the size of Norton, they can do better, but they don't.

In the end, while it still needs some work in overall usability and tech support, Norton Internet Security handles virus, trojan, spyware, and phishing threats quite well.

If you used to be a fan of Norton but moved away from it in recent years because of the bloat, it's time to reconsider the software for 2012.