Norton AntiVirus 2012 19.6.2.10

Powerful protection from viruses and spyware that won’t slow you down

Norton Antivirus is one of the most popular names in the antivirus market, relying on a powerful scanning system with regular definition updates and real-time protection.

Created by the developers over at Symantec, Norton Antivirus promises to be the perfect antivirus solution for every computer, as it delivers industry-leading protection against all types of infections, with a moderate footprint on hardware resources.


During our test, we were really surprised to see how easy and fast someone can install this application. Truth is, the installer doesn't look too professional though, although it's extremely efficient and takes only a few seconds after everything is dropped in the right place.

And it doesn't ask for a computer restart, something that was mandatory in the past and allowed viruses to spread and sometimes disable antivirus protection.

The interface seems a bit too crowded and clunky and we wouldn't really expect such a main screen from an antivirus that's supposed to be a leader in its segment. The settings menu comprises tons of options, but as always, you should pay extra attention when browsing through them.

There are four scanning modes, “Reputation Scan”, “Quick Scan”, “Full System Scan” and “Custom Scan”, each with its very own configuration settings. Of course, the third one takes a lot of time and uses a moderate amount of computer resources, but it checks every single file on your machine to make sure you're on the safe side.

Norton Antivirus comprises basically everything to stay away from malicious files and online attacks, including an antivirus, antispyware, intrusion prevention, email and browser protection, but also the so-called “Download Intelligence” to check your downloads on the go.

Another interesting feature is the so-called “Facebook Scan” that automatically scans your Facebook wall to verify the published links.

Another problem we experienced during our test is related to the update process which seems to take ages when running Norton Antivirus for the first time. It depends on the Internet connection indeed, but the first update needed a lot of time to download and unpack the files.

A really good thing is the fast scanning process that's also quite friendly with computer resources. Plus, it is very efficient thanks to the virus definition updates that are delivered very often, sometimes even several times an hour.

All in all, Norton Antivirus remains one of the top choices when it comes to affordable and efficient antivirus solutions. And with a few improvements here and there, it would definitely fight for the crown.