Norton antivirus 360 review

And so using cloud backup is a very helpful way to defend against this threat. When setting it up, Norton allows you to choose which files you want to back up and how often you want this to happen. You can schedule backups on a weekly or monthly basis. One of the handiest features offered by Norton is its SafeCam protection.

This could lead to blackmail or worse. It does this by alerting you to untrusted apps that are trying to access your camera, allowing you the chance to block it before it does any damage.

And if you do get an alert, you can choose to always allow or always block the app from accessing your webcam. When we tested it out, SafeCam worked really well and gave us the peace of mind of knowing that our webcam is safe from spyware.

If you buy Norton Deluxe or Norton Premium, you also get the parental control feature as a separate app called Norton Family. Norton Family allows you to select the devices your children use and set up different rules for each child. In addition, it offers a few restriction levels for different age groups. You will also get a warning when an inappropriate website is accessed. To make sure that Norton Family truly works, I enabled it and tried to access adult-oriented content.

It also blocked adult images on Google image results, which means they could not be loaded at all. You can sign into the Dark Web Monitoring feature of Norton on their official website with your Deluxe or Premium account. Dark Web Monitoring will let you know if any of your credentials bank accounts, credit card details, phone numbers, addresses, etc.

To test the Dark Web monitoring feature , I found a breached email online. It was involved in 15 data breaches according to ihavebeenpwned. Norton Crypto is a brand new PC feature added to the Norton package. Currently, the program lets you mine for Ethereum. And as soon as you earn some cryptocurrency, you can transfer it to your cloud-based Norton Crypto Wallet. So Norton offers a lot of excellent security features. But how much does it cost? Well, there are three Norton plans.

But if you live on your own and just want to protect one device, the Standard plan should work fine. After all, it has all the other security features Norton has to offer, including PC cloud backup of up to 10GB. For almost the same price as the standard plan, you can protect up to five devices , which gives you a lot more flexibility.

Norton with LifeLock Select is quite a big jump up in price. So what do you get for your extra subscription fee? The answer is "quite a lot," starting with GB of cloud storage. However, the unique selling proposition behind LifeLock is identity theft protection. Here are some of the features that come with it:. With the Premium plan, you can protect up to 10 devices.

You also get a whopping 75GB included in your PC cloud backup. But for all that, is it easy to use? Norton is pretty easy to download and install. And within a few minutes, we were up and running. I tested it on my Mac and it did run into a few teething problems when it came to my permissions. Luckily, Norton prompted my Mac to open the correct window and gave me instructions on granting Norton the relevant permissions. So everything was downloaded and installed within 10 minutes, which is reasonable.

And if you ever forget anything, you can refer back to this information any time you like by clicking on the cog icon on the home page. Which can be a bit frustrating if you like to have everything in one place.

There are lots of customization options available though, which is helpful. Hitting the question mark icon will show you a list of popular tasks you might want to perform. The cog icon will allow you to watch the guided tour again. And the chat icon will allow you to leave feedback to help Norton improve its user experience.

And if you just want protection on your phone, you can sign up for the Standard package and use the one device limit on your smartphone. It starts scanning straight away too. While the desktop app forces you to open a lot of its features in different tabs, there are a lot of features on Norton Mobile Security you can only use if you download separate apps. The links to the separate apps are easily located in the Norton Mobile Security app menu. Norton offers a range of customer support options if you have any issues.

The FAQs are well organised and there are a lot of them. In fact, some of them are so comprehensive, they take a while to scroll through to find the information you need.

To sum up, Norton is not just good - it is actually among the best antivirus software on the market right now. It provides consistently robust online security and protects devices from pretty much every type of cybersecurity threat out there. There certainly are cheaper antivirus solutions out there, but there are few that offer such comprehensive cover. And almost none that can offer this level of protection. Of course, it does come with some added extras, like access to Norton Secure VPN and its password manager.

But if security is your primary concern, Norton is about the best choice you can make. And it offers impressive device security, cloud backup and parental controls. Its mobile app works really well, although it is a little inconvenient that you have to download separate apps if you want to use the VPN, parental controls or password manager on your phone.

This niggle aside, Norton is incredibly efficient, effective and powerful. Bitdefender vs. Norton : choosing the best. Norton vs. Avast : how do they compare? McAfee vs Norton : which is ultimately better? Norton vs Malwarebytes : which one is better? And it offers a lot of fantastic security features , including parental controls, cloud backup and access to Norton Secure VPN. This works by scanning for your personal data on the dark web.

To find that out, we ran a series of tests. Click on the links below, or scroll down to learn how Norton faired in each trial:. Or jump straight to our comparisons of the best antivirus for macOS , Windows , Android , and iOS , to discover the best security software for each operating software.

Alternatively, if privacy is key concern for you, have a look at our comparisons of the best VPN or best antivirus with a VPN. Although Norton could improve the user experience by consolidating its apps, the protection features are truly vast and advanced. From its industry-leading anti-malware to its password manager, VPN, identity protection, and parental controls: It simply all works.

Together with Bitdefender , Norton is our favorite security tool for Windows. Norton offers a range of products: Starting at the entry-level Norton Antivirus Plus and ending at Norton with LifeLock, which is only available in the US at the moment.

The main difference between the three is the number of devices you can install them on 1, 5, or 10 and the cloud backup space Norton provides 10, 50, or 75 GB. For most users, Norton Deluxe will be the best option. That is why we have chosen it as the product to review. Nonetheless, all the information below applies to Norton Standard and Premium as well. On the left side of the window, you can find a mountain climber hiking at sunrise, and on the right side are the six core features in a clean and elegant overview.

At the core of every antivirus tool is the protection of the device. And this is no different at Norton. Straight from the dashboard, you can update the software, run a scan, and get on with your day.

Quick and easy. Although there is some overlap with the central dashboard, it never becomes confusing. The most important elements to highlight in this section are the Security, Advanced Security, Internet Security, and Performance features. As you can see, Norton packs a wide range of security features into its antivirus for Windows.

And if you want even more granular control, you can dive into settings and customize Norton further:. Even for a rather extensive review like this, there are simply too many settings to explore. Here, we have five more core features for Windows to discuss:.

Dark Web Monitoring is part of your online Norton account. That means that when you click the feature in your antivirus app, it will take you to my. Here you can enter a range of personal data that Norton will search for on the Dark Web. The aim is to find out if any of your data has been hacked and traded by criminals. The most significant advantages are that you become anonymous online and safe on public Wi-Fi networks. But to summarize: It has no data limit and is included for free.

Depending on the version of Norton you bought, you will have access to 10, 50, or 75 GB of secure cloud storage space. And Norton allows you to specify what, where, and when you want to backup. A password manager helps you create and store highly secure passwords.

It also auto-fills them for you when you need to log in to a website. But as a summary: It works very well. Creating, storing, and auto-filling is a breeze. And Norton makes excellent use of biometrics scanners to help you log in. For example, you can see what they visit and do, for how long, and when. On top of that, you can set protective boundaries on their digital experience.

Norton is the most comprehensive security solution available today. It simply does everything well. The anti-malware is top-notch, the VPN is unlimited and freely included in the software, the password manager works very well, and the parental controls are excellent.

So is it perfect? Our pet peeve with Norton is its design. The separation between the MyNorton dashboard and the Device Security app is a bit cumbersome. Once you see the dashboard as a central platform from which you can access the various security services, rather than a single app from which you can control everything, it all makes sense.

In the end, a cybersecurity tool is more like a Swiss army knife than a gala dress. Key takeaway: Norton is the most comprehensive security suite for macOS.

It combines excellent anti-malware with web protection, a firewall, unlimited VPN, password manager, and dark web monitoring. No competitor offers such complete protection on Mac. Most antivirus for macOS have significantly fewer features than those for Windows. And for a good reason: macOS is much safer than Windows.

Norton is no exception in this regard. That being said, compared to Bitdefender , Kaspersky , McAfee , and Panda , Norton is still a highly competent and well-equipped antivirus tool for Mac. Norton for Mac is built around its central dashboard, called MyNorton. After all, both are online features at my. But by not showing them in the list, many Mac users will miss out on them, which is a shame. From the dashboard, you can run LiveUpdate and a Quick Scan, to make sure your Mac is safe and sound.

Compared to Norton for Windows, this might not seem like a significant feature set. But keep in mind, that outside of Norton, no other antivirus software for Mac includes a complete firewall and unlimited VPN. So even this limited feature set is already significant on macOS. On Windows, we like it a lot. Especially the lack of the Kill Switch, which stops your internet traffic when the VPN connection accidentally drops, is a shame. We review it in more detail in the dedicated password section of this review.

Norton for Mac is feature-light compared to its sibling for Windows. Yet, it is a very complete and capable antivirus suite compared to every other competitor on Mac. We know of no brand that combines anti-malware protection, web protection, a firewall, an unlimited VPN, and a password manager on macOS. And keep in mind, although they are not featured in the antivirus app, you can visit my. In short: Norton is the most comprehensive security suite for macOS.

But the value it offers is exceptional. In our view, it is the only antivirus for Android that combines device security, identity protection, and privacy assurance this well. They are identical, with two exceptions:. Let us take you through them:. All features in this section relate to the security of your Android device. Both online and offline. A big yellow button at the top allows you to scan your device, while the five menu items below it help you navigate the security features:.

This section allows you to monitor whether your data is being traded on the Dark Web. Instead, there is a link to a separate app, called LifeLock Identity, which you will need to download.

The identity protection feature is excellent, but it would be great it Norton could consolidate all the elements into a single app. Those things aside, Norton is the best antivirus for Android that we have tested.

Norton is the best option you can buy. Key takeaway: There is no need for anti-malware software on iOS. And that is far better than what the competition offers. So also on iOS, Norton is our favorite security app. So instead, a security solution for iOS should focus on privacy and identity protection, which is precisely what Norton does. Norton will check whether your Wi-Fi network is encrypted and password protected. Norton will check whether your operating software is up to date.

This matters because OS updates frequently include security patches. Yet, we tend to figure this out through Norton, rather than Apple. It works on all iOS browsers. It cannot be active simultaneously with other VPN, like Surfshark.

By doing so, you can monitor whether your personal data, like Bank Accounts, Email Addresses, and Credit Cards details, are hacked and traded on the Dark Web. Wi-Fi networks can be hacked, phishing websites can steal personal data, and identities can be traded on the Dark Web.

Norton focuses on these threats. And they would be right. But to be fair, that is a pretty complete security product on iOS. And it certainly is our favorite security tool for iOS. Key takeaway: Norton antivirus software has scored top marks in all anti-malware for Windows 10 tests since October It is the only brand to have done so. Truly impressive. Historically speaking, the core functionality of antivirus software was anti-malware.

Malware is a term used to describe anything nasty that can infect your device. It includes viruses , worms , adware , spyware , trojans , keyloggers , ransomware , and more. In those days, a good antivirus tool was absolutely essential.

However, since , Windows Defender has become quite capable. These days, it is achieving the same test results as Kaspersky and McAfee , two industry giants. Note that this is not reflected in the graph above, as those results include all tests from October , when Windows Defender was still worse than it is today. Unfortunately, the answer is yes, as malware is no longer the only threat out there.

These days, identity theft and privacy infringement have become commonplace. Luckily, some antivirus software, like Norton, are adding dedicated tools to protect your identity and privacy online. That being said, anti-malware protection is still a core feature of antivirus software. At the very least, a modern antivirus tool should match or beat Windows Defender. As a result, they are the most credible source for objective and impartial anti-malware test results.

Quite remarkable. Creating, storing, and auto-filling passwords is a breeze. Your passwords are automatically synced across all your devices.

That is very dangerous. Because when one website gets hacked, all your other accounts become accessible to the hackers too. Ideally, you would have a unique and secure password for every site.

Nor do you want to type them. This is where a password manager comes in. It will solve four problems for you:. When you open the Norton dashboard, the Password Manager shortcut will be in the overview on the right. When you click it, it opens your preferred browser and invites you to install the browser plugin, which you can do with a single click. Next, you will set up your vault, which is where you store all your passwords.

You do this by signing in with your Norton account and then creating the vault. To create the vault, you must give it a master password. This password will be the last one you will ever have to memorize, and it will secure all your other passwords. For instance, a combination of a symbol, number, and three random words.

Now that you have installed the extension and created the vault, your login details will be stored every time you sign in to a website. So that next time when you visit the website, the password manager can automatically fill in the email address and password for you.

Only one step remains: Set unique passwords for your most important accounts, using the password generator inside the vault. Instead, start with your bank, credit card, email, insurance, social media, and anything else you consider essential.

That is enough for one day. The rest will come over time. You will need those passwords on your mobile phone too. Open it, log in to your Norton account and your password vault. All your passwords will be available on your mobile phone, too, as these apps automatically sync.

That all being said, there still are things we prefer at Dashlane: The browser plugin, vault, and mobile apps by Dashlane look sleeker. We see no reason to pay for an additional stand-alone password manager, when Norton includes such an excellent one in its security suite.

On top of that, it will enable you to block specific apps and websites, and set screentime limits. But overall, Norton Family is the best Parental Controls app we tested, followed closely by Kaspersky.

Parental controls allow you to analyze what your children are up to online and set protective boundaries. It is also done entirely remotely from the web app. And when you update the settings, your kids automatically get a notification on their phone, telling them:.

The journey starts online at my. Here you can access the parental controls and run through the following steps:. Norton Family has a 3. By comparison, the parental controls of Kaspersky score 3. So although Norton is considered better, a 3.

So we got our hands dirty and tested the following:. Overall, Norton showed the most improvement with individual file scans; it took only seconds versus seconds last year. But in terms of boot speed, Norton lost ground by taking 4 seconds longer, 66 seconds as opposed to last year's 62 seconds.

To determine how well a product will protect your PC, we refer to test results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations.

In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives. For firewall tests, we used Nmap on a closed system with a router connection; however, we were unable to scan the Norton Internet Security PC. All other vendors tested produced at least some results in the various tests performed. Norton hides or "stealths" a PC from criminal hackers, which is good, though we're suspicious of what we can't see.

Support Within Norton there's in-program Help and then there's Support. Help consists of in-program FAQs, which are very detailed for Symantec. Either search a term or scroll through the index to find the topics you need.

Support is Symantec's technical support for Norton In the final release version, we were surprised at how little is offered. The knowledge base is cool, first diagnosing your version of Norton for any known problems. If you still want help, the program asks you what help you need and provides a a menu of FAQs.

There's also an envelop icon that leads you to e-mail and chat support which are free or telephone which is paid; the telephone support service was not yet available at the time of this review. The user guide is a mere 30 pages and only includes the bare minimum of details; use the in-program Help instead. There is no tutorial offered. Conclusion Norton is a good example of the "out of the box" thinking needed by traditional security vendors today.

By starting from scratch and building an entirely new security product, Symantec has made long overdue improvements to its existing product line. But Norton is not for everyone. Designed for home and student users, advanced users will want more online-transaction security tools and wireless protection. That said, for home and student use, we think Norton represents the best value of ease, tools, and performance, and we recommend it over McAfee Total Protection or Microsoft Windows Live OneCare.

Robert Vamosi. Feb The Good Norton is mercifully light on system resources; it's intuitive, covers most of the bases that a comprehensive security-and-performance tool should, and includes free online storage.