We all know Symantec as one of the most popular web security provider in the market. We have seen their systems protect critical payment and check in systems online. When it comes to protecting client-side machines, they deliver a complete product as well. We have Norton 360 – a product which aims at protecting and maintaining all precious user data across different platforms and now, also different devices.
So in this review , we’ll cover an end to end review form a customer’s point of usage, starting with PC and then proceeding to the mobile platform.
Norton 360 PC UI :
As soon as you install the package, you may come across this neat and clean interface which gives you a status glimpse of all critical components of your machine . A green tick mark being indicative of systems being functional and protected.
The tabs are sorted as follows:
Security : Housing on-demand scans, updates, and firewall settings.
Identity : Giving the power of online identity protection across numerous websites and ability to store passwords.
Backup : Norton 360 comes with 2GB of hosted online backup. From the Backup menu you can configure your backup sets, launch an immediate backup, or restore backed-up files. You can also go online to purchase additional storage.
Tune Up : From the PC Tuneup menu you can launch the most common tuneup tasks directly. Clicking “View Details” lets you configure the tuneup system and launch additional tuneup tasks.
More Key Features include:
- Network threat protection
- Browser protection
- SONAR behavioral protection
- Norton Safe Web for Facebook
- FREE 24 x 7 support
- Vulnerability protection
- Antiphishing technology
- Bandwidth management
- Norton Pulse updates
- Email and instant message monitoring
- Smart two-way firewall
Additionally we really like how well the Norton Web Browser plugin performed on our chrome browser. It not only provided active link checking with anti-spam ratings, but also autofilled our necessary passwords which were kept safe online in Norton’s Safe Vault.
Performance: Norton is always aware about how many resources its using at any moment, this information can easily be accessed by clicking Performance on the Norton Home interface. If at any given point any program excessively uses Hard Disk or RAM, a smart pop up would alert us saying the same .
When it comes to Norton’s own operation, we can’t really call it a resource hog. Although we had 4GB of RAM available on the testing machine , we were able to give it a green card as it requires only a mere 256MB of RAM to have this software up and running and additionally , it doesn’t slow down or make the system sluggish.
Our verdict on the PC version is thus a clear thumbs up as it managed to keep us well protected in every possible aspect and totally gave us an end – to – end PC as well as complete online privacy and threat management.
Norton 360 on Android :
Moving on to the other end of the horizon where we shall fully test Norton’s claims of 360 degree protection. We kick off our tests on another platform and another device. Starting with Android , now Norton on Android has a wide array of standalone free and paid applications , the core one being Norton Mobile Security which is free to download from the Google Play Store.
Once you download the application you now have the LITE version of the app running on your device. In our case, we tested the full version on our Galaxy Tab 2 which gave us a landscape view of the home screen.
Core components provided are Anti-theft , Malware detection, Web Protection and Online Backup. Adding to these other Paid version services include:
- Trigger a “scream” alarm to quickly find your missing device
- Lock or wipe your stolen device remotely to prevent data theft
- Send a customized message to anyone who finds your missing device
- Block unwanted calls and SMS text messages
- Backup contacts and easily restore or share them across your Android devices
- Prevent fraudulent (phishing) websites from accessing your personal information
- Instantly lock your phone if the SIM card is removed
In addition to that Live updates aren’t as annoying as few other apps in the market. The updates are small and efficient enough to not drain up all your data packages if that is a point of concern.
After an entire week of normal to heavy usage we found that the application coped well and we did not experience any battery drain issues . While being smart and effective in its operation, Norton for Android does not take up valuable processor clocks to add to any overheads which is highly appreciated for a critical application.
There weren’t any hickups experienced during navigation across the UI and it maintained a sense of simplicity and all major functions were easily accessible. Add that to the performance and we must say that Norton delivers much upto our expectations.
But we weren’t done yet , to give it a clean chit we brought out our iPad from the drawer to finally test the application on a iOS device.
Norton 360 on iOS:
What we really liked while switching devices is the seamless full featured experience we got since a single Norton 360 key gave us access to all the essential services on this platform as well. Norton has a similar structure when it comes to different app eco-systems. Standalone applications like QR code security, Anti-theft, mobile utilities and Halt Exploit (an Exynos processor specific patch) defender are available as separate downloads incase one needs to have a specific functionality.
The Interface on iOS for Norton Mobile Security as the name goes was clean and had fluid transitions across various pages to navigate.
Backup and restore from Norton Zone – their cloud storage and Anti theft took up prominent screen real estate and made the core functions handy.
Conclusion:
As Norton claims in bold letters – “Ultimate protection for you and your devices” was clearly justified after different tests conducted on different platforms. Norton has once again improved and it did so in a very noticeable manner , with regular updates to a wide array of mobile applications encompassing all the security aspects and liberating one with its stability – we must say the product is one of a kind . Investing in a product like Norton 360 would entitle one to enjoy using their device(s) without fearing any loss of data in times of calamities which in this age of digital lifestyles is a must.
