This week I will be taking a look at several of the anti-virus packages currently available.
This will include some of the better known ones, as well as free alternatives.
Norton Antivirus
Norton antivirus is one of the most popular home consumer products used for the detection of viruses and safeguarding of computer systems.
Over the years, Norton has evolved into one of the most effective and robust antivirus systems used in the detection of new viruses and in recent years they have added the ability to detect Trojan horses, worms and spyware onto their feature list.
The main benefit of the latest 2008 version of Norton antivirus is that it seems to operate much quicker than previous versions.
Unlike previous versions, the new 2008 version enables the opening of several tasks in a single window by using the tabs.
Rootkit
One of the more important features of Norton 2008 is the Rootkit protection.
This detects and eliminates all sorts of elements which may pose a threat to the operating system.
There are also other features which include detection, blocking and removal of virus infected emails and instant messages and, also, the ability to perform a full scan of the system in order to allow detection of any other threats.
The 2008 has been further enhanced with the ability to detect dangerous codes ahead of virus definitions becoming available.
Browser Defender
Norton 2008 also has another feature, known as Browser Defender, which protects the user’s browser from being affected whilst downloading files.
This also ensures the safety of all personal computers which are networked with that machine.
Uninstall
One slight drawback that I found with Norton is that it didn’t install cleanly when I had another antivirus package already installed.
This isn’t a major problem, however, as I think it unlikely that many people would run more than one antivirus program at any given time.
As this post is now a couple of years old you are probably looking for something more up to date – check out the top antivirus software for 2010.