Arguably the biggest name in the game. Norton has been making antivirus software since viruses have been written. A quick look down the aisle of any computer shop you will see the bright yellow Norton package staring at you right in the face screaming “install me!”. Norton Antivirus is hit with so many. Simple installation, easy to use, good customer service. Norton ticks many of the boxes when looking for antivirus software. But be sure to look beyond the shiny yellow packaging and see that Norton may not be quite at glamorous as it seems. Difficult uninstalls and lack advanced features leave many stuck on the fence. Where do you sit? Here’s what we had to say…
Norton offers 4 different levels of protection each with their own individual price. Starting at “Norton Antivirus Basic”, then moving onto “Norton Security Standard”, followed by the Premium and Deluxe factors. Choosing which one comes down to how many devices (PC’s, Macs, smartphones, tablets) and what features you are after. Antivirus basic only protects one PC (Not Mac) and will provide basic antivirus protection. This will set you back £29.99. If you are looking to protect the family, for more than 5 devices you will need to subscribe to the Security Deluxe service. The deluxe service also includes automatic backups and 25gb free cloud storage. Security Deluxe will cost £69.99 a year. All Norton products include a 100% virus free guarantee. You cannot argue that Norton provides exceptional value.
Norton is the biggest name in the antivirus game. So you can expect some top quality and incredibly secure protection. 90% of the time, which is the case. But be warned, there have been slip-ups in the past. Norton will find all the viruses on your device and eliminate them. However, Norton may also detect some of your existing, safe programs and documents as a threat to security and remove them from your device as well. This is the price you pay with Norton. High security and protection, at the cost of some convenience. I will let you decide on that.
Customer service is unfortunately where Norton’s reputation suffers. To get through to a real person in Norton is almost as hard as removing the virus yourself. To talk to a member of the support team you have to fill out a form online to get the number to call. Alternatively, you could use the “Live chat” on the Norton website. But this will only get you so far and can often be frustrating. For example, you could be going back and forth with live chat for 20 - 30 mins then it will tell you to call the support team. There are plenty of online forums and support resources to check out if you need help, however.
When it comes to features you get what you pay for with Norton. Antivirus Basic is only basic antivirus and that is it, nothing more. If you spend a little bit more you can find some really neat features. If we take a look at Norton Security Deluxe, you can get instant protection from the moment you hit subscribe across 10 devices. Security Deluxe and Premium will also grant you access to Norton’s web-portal, where you can manage protection for all your devices really with ease. If you subscribe to Deluxe or Premium you will receive family safety features, so you will not have to worry about the kids coming uncross inappropriate and unsafe content online. As I mentioned previously, Deluxe will also grant you 25gb of cloud storage.
