Internet Security: Norton Internet Security 2011 Review & System Requirements

[pcmag] Besides its Norton local security applications Symantec offers many Web-based products and services, among them online backup and parental control. A new interactive panel in its main window makes Norton Internet Security 2011 ($69.99 direct for three licenses) a manager for these online services, so you don’t have to launch a browser just to check status.

More importantly, however, Norton Internet Security 2011 continues a great tradition of strong antivirus and firewall protection, the central capabilities of a serious security suite.

Pros: Very easy to install and use. Most tasks run in idle time. Statistical detection reveals brand-new viruses. Top score in my malware removal test. Additional virus cleanup tools. Intelligent firewall. Blocks exploits. Best antiphishing. Excellent password/identity management. Full-featured parental control. Small impact on performance. Proactive performance warnings.

Cons: Spam filter missed more spam than last year. Charts and numerous settings may confuse some users. Network map doesn’t allow remote configuration.

Bottom Line: The 2011 edition of Norton Internet Security fine-tunes its already-excellent protection. In addition, a new interactive panel makes the suite a clearinghouse for information from Norton’s web-based services. Norton remains our Editors’ Choice for security suite.

Operating Systems Supported

• Microsoft® Windows® XP (32-bit) Home/Professional/Tablet PC/Media Center (32-bit) with Service Pack 2 or later
• Microsoft Windows Vista® (32-bit and 64-bit) Starter/Home Basic/Home Premium/Business/Ultimate
• Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) Starter/Home Basic/Home Premium/Ultimate

Minimum Hardware Requirements

• 300 MHz for Microsoft Windows XP, 1 GHz for Microsoft Windows Vista/Microsoft Windows 7
• 256 MB of RAM
• 300 MB of available hard disk space
• CD-ROM or DVD drive (if not installing via electronic download)

Support for Antispam

• Microsoft Outlook® 2002 or later
• Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 or later
• Windows Mail (spam filtering only)

Browser Plug-In Supports

• * Microsoft Internet Explorer® 6.0 or later**** (32-bit only)
• * Mozilla® Firefox® 3.0 and later**** (32-bit only)

Email scanning supported for POP3-compatible email clients

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