Norton Internet Security 2004

Symantec's Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2004 remains a great buy for those accessing the Internet without defences. NIS 2004 includes Norton AntiVirus 2004 and Norton Personal Firewall 2004 with Norton AntiSpam (NAS) 2004. NIS 2004 is a bargain, largely thanks to its first-rate anti-spam program (in our tests, it nailed 94 percent of incoming junk mail), plus a handful of Internet privacy features. Some will object to Symantec's new product activation scheme à la Windows XP, but NIS 2004 is still the best all-in-one security suite on the market.

EDITORS' NOTE: see this comment article for an update on NIS 2004.

Setup & ease of use
Installing and configuring Internet Security 2004 takes about 15 minutes. Because the suite includes Norton AntiVirus (NAV) 2004, the software offers to scan for existing infections before you install anything. The rest of the installation is hands-off: after entering the 24-character key that accompanies the disc, the only choice you'll have to make is whether to decline the installation of NAV 2004 if you already have the most current version on your PC. You must restart Windows to complete the process. NIS 2004, like Microsoft Windows XP, now requires product activation. Unlike Microsoft, however, Symantec gives users the benefit of the doubt by allowing up to five installations to account for changes in the original PC's hardware or a reinstallation after a hard drive crash. NIS 2004's interface is now more consistent throughout, with color-coded indicators on the main screen that quickly show you which modules are running and which need your attention. This is an improvement over NIS 2003, which displayed the firewall's status in an unclear, text-style interface. Simply navigate the suite by clicking icons in the bar at the left or get configuration settings of any module by clicking the appropriate link on the right.

Features
Norton Internet Security 2004 bundles Norton AntiVirus and Norton Personal Firewall with Norton AntiSpam, then throws in additional Web filtering tools and privacy and parental controls. While Norton AntiVirus and Personal Firewall are the heart of the suite, they remain relatively unchanged from last year's versions. The most notable improvement -- and, we think, the reason to upgrade -- is the excellent Norton AntiSpam (NAS) 2004. NAS 2004 lets you create lists of people whose mail should always reach your in-box, lists of addresses to block, and spam rules of your own. NAS also includes its own preset list of anti-spam rules (unfortunately, you can't view or edit the list), and Symantec constantly updates that list via its LiveUpdate feature. Unlike McAfee's SpamKiller, NAS 2004 lets you use buttons on the Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora toolbars to immediately tag a message as spam. NIS 2004 also includes parental controls, which let you block sites from young children, and various cookie controls. Unfortunately, NIS 2004 doesn't include a password manager (Norton Password Manager 2004 is available as a standalone program, or bundled with Norton SystemWorks 2004).

Service & support
Symantec's technical support is relatively unchanged from last year -- and it's still expensive. The new Automated Support Assistant, available from the Symantec Web site, takes less than a minute to download and install, automatically recognises the version of NIS on your PC, and then guides you to the most likely problems and solutions. None matched our test problems, however, so we ended up searching the online knowledge base each time. Frankly, the Support Assistant is a waste of precious time. You can also contact a help-desk technician via email -- if you can find the form. It's a multi-step process that Symantec should simplify. Phone support is available, but it costs £18 per incident and is available only on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Once you do reach a real person, whether by email or by phone, you'll get first-rate help. We called and emailed with the same question and got accurate answers both times, although it took Symantec two business days to respond to our email.