Over the past few years, Symantec's Norton Internet Security suite has always impressed us with its robust anti-virus and firewall capabilities and features. We have always given it our "editors' choice" award and now it looks like this year is no different. Symantec even did a little re-modeling with their latest 2007 version of the security suite. Also, with this year's version, you get protection for up to three computers with the same license code. We also liked that this version makes less of an impact on your system resources, such as memory and CPU usage, compared to previous versions. Due to the streamlined interface and cut-down "modules" of Norton Internet Security 2007 (NIS), it takes up less hard drive space and keeps your system running smoothly with minimal system impact.
To start, the new interface is much more navigable and easier on the eye than past versions. The new control panel now is called the "Norton Protection Center" and from there, you can see in the upper-left corner a little icon that either shows that you system is secure (green), partially secure (orange), or at risk (red) in one easy glance. From there, you can also view the status of the different NIS "modules," such as virus protection, spyware protection, firewall, and more. At the top of the protection center, you can click on the Norton Internet Security tab to view the status and settings of NIS. Also, if you ever install any other Symantec 2007 programs on your computer, such as Norton SystemWorks, it will appear as a tab in the Norton Protection Center for easy access. On the NIS tab, you find one-click access to full system scans, firewall/anti-virus settings, support information, and activity reports. We do have to say that out of all the 2007 security suites that we've seen so far, we like the interface of Norton's the best.
The newly redesigned interface of NIS 2007 allows you to make changes and start scans in just one-click.
Usually when you install a new firewall, you have to deal with all the dialog boxes asking you if you want to allow or block a new program from connecting to the Internet. Well now with NIS 2007, the firewall assumes that it is smarter than the user (sorry, but that's usually the case with most average users) and automatically checks the program that is attempting to access the Internet against its database of trusted and malicious programs and performs the appropriate action. Programs that are not listed in the database are allowed to access the Internet, but Norton keeps watch of the program to make sure it doesn't do anything malicious and if it tries to, it automatically blocks it. Now of course the firewall may make a mistake and block a port when it really shouldn't be and to remedy this, you can edit the application rules in Norton to unblock certain applications or ports.
Norton allows you to manually unblock a specific port or program should it be mistakenly blocked by Norton.
NIS 2007 includes a fully-integrated anti-virus and spyware protection module. The anti-virus module automatically scans files in real-time as they are accessed, which means you get the best protection possible. Norton also automatically scans removable media (such as a thumbdrive or CD) on insertion and scans POP3 email as it is downloaded to your computer and SMTP email as it is sent from your computer, so the recipient is protected as well. NIS also offers protection through today's ever popular instant messaging clients, such as AIM, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. The anti-virus system does a fantastic job of detecting and removing viruses and worms automatically on-the-fly so they never had a chance to infect your system and cause damage. As we mentioned before, NIS 2007 includes a spyware protection module as well. This means that you are fully protected against keyloggers, malicious Web cookies, and other nasty malware that puts your privacy at risk.
Another really nice feature included in NIS 2007 is the phishing protection system, which protects you from phishing Web sites as your surf the Internet. Phishing sites are Web sites that impersonate real and legitimate Web sites, but when you enter your personal information into one of these phishing sites, they steal that information and use it against you to possibly steal your identity. With Norton, if you happen to come across one of these sites, Norton's Phishing Protection will pop up and notify you that the site you are on is malicious and will direct you away from that page. However, as of this moment, the phishing protection only works if you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, so users of other Web browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, will be unprotected. We are hoping that there will be an update released down the line that will add compatibility to other browsers.
Norton does include e-mail spam protection available as a separate download from Symantec's Web site for free. It was left out of the original program to keep the program to the bare essentials and because not everyone needs spam protection because many get it from the server level anyway. If you do elect to download it, it will appear in a separate tab in the Norton Protection Center control panel. Norton's anti-spam module filters incoming POP3 e-mail and integrates with Outlook and Outlook Express (users using other e-mail clients will have to create a message rule to filter spam). You can also download parental and privacy controls from Symantec's Web site if you wish.
Norton Internet Security 2007 continues its excellent reputation of having a wonderful Internet security suite that is full of really useful and functional protection features. They all work together nicely and it helps that Symantec redesigned the interface to make everything more easily available. You just cannot beat the robust strength of NIS 2007's anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware protection, which is why we chose to give NIS 2007 our editors' choice award for best Internet security suite.
