Software
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 It
was with some trepidation and nervousness that I accepted the assignment
to review this comprehensive utility package. In my previous job I had
on two separate occasions completely disabled my trusty laptop after installing
the company mandated antivirus software, and didn’t get it back until I
reinstalled the operating system. I frequently back up all my personal
data and documents, so my loss was mainly of time, which I consider precious.
My workhorse here at home, a 350 MHz Pentium II, which has served steadfastly
for nearly 3 years (with not even one blue screen of death – truly, truly)
has never been bothered by any virus, although many of my e-mail correspondents
had transmitted their e-mail macro infections to me. So I hope you understand
my reluctance.
I should also say that I have always been a fan of Norton Utilities, going back to the DOS days, and Windows 3.1. But when 32-bit Windows came along, I let Norton go, and have simply depended on whatever utilities Microsoft saw fit to include with Windows. Installation
I boldly inserted the CD and installed the program. I can happily report that it installed without incident, although I was somewhat nervous when after the final reboot (installation requires two reboots!) Norton launched a full system virus search from a black screen DOS-looking interface before it loaded windows. That first scan took over an hour for my fairly full 20 GB drive, so don’t install the program if you have a deadline approaching. As I expected, no virus was found. You should not have to do a full scan very often, as from then on, Norton is watching everything you do, including incoming e-mail, and protecting you from any virus that might try to install itself on your system. Once Windows is back up and running, Norton prompts you to register, and following registration, suggests you perform a “Live Update” where it automatically checks for later virus definitions, as well as any updates to the programs. It then downloads and installs them, all untouched by human interaction. What’s included
All of these programs are controlled from an easy to use browser-like interface. Anyone who has used a web browser would be able to launch the program he wants without reading anything. He probably should read something, as these are very powerful programs dealing with the fundamental bits and bytes of his computer. Norton AntiVirus is the leading product in its category, and is supported by Symantec’s Virus Research Center. This organization typically releases an update to detect a virus on the same day it is discovered. For the really hard ones they might not release until the next day. If you feel like you need virus protection, you should not hesitate in purchasing Norton. It is clearly the best. It’s the Utility package that I really like. As I said earlier I was
a buyer of the earliest versions. It was interesting to see how this group
of programs has improved, while retaining their original “gee-whiz, how
do they do that?” impression. I did a complete disk scan, and then defragmented
my hard drive, which I had not done for about a year. I then drew up my
courage and let Norton “clean up” my registry. This program is part of
the “CleanSweep” package and it actually organizes your registry for faster
access and removes all keys that reference files that are no longer on
your hard drive. I had over 600 of these! In the three weeks I’ve had the
program now, I’ve done several more fun things like “wipe” my free disk
space to government security specifications, so presumably any deleted
files should not be retrievable even by the most expert sorts.
Availability and pricing
Bryan Lilius is the Staff Elder at Faith Presbyterian Church, 1307 Blanco Woods. He has recently returned from a two-week family vacation in Scotland. |