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July 16, 2009 5:36 PM PDT

Norton Internet Security 2010 beta in pictures

by Seth Rosenblatt

Norton Internet Security 2010 beta--photos

Norton Internet Security 2010 won't be available for a few more months, but the beta version is available now. In it, Symantec continues to build on the rejiggering it did last year. Built upon the dramatic performance improvements are deeper integration with other security tools like OnlineFamily. Norton, and the new Norton Insight for judging threats by community behavior as well as file definitions.

Seth peers into the deep, dark corners of software so that you don't have to. He has yet to suffer a single nightmare about OS/2. You can follow him on Twitter.

Topics:: Security and spyware,; Windows Software

Tags:: Norton Internet Security 2010,; beta,; antivirus,; anti-spyware

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) Showing 1 of 2 pages (55 Comments)

by monkeyfun14 July 16, 2009 5:52 PM PDT

I'll give Norton a shot but I think they're problem is that they still have the bad performance stigma from 2005 even though it no longer holds true people won't forget about it.

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by azadam24 July 25, 2009 3:17 PM PDT: I have been using Symantec security products since Norton 360 1.0, and they have always performed nearly flawlessly for me. Suffice it to say that I have NEVER gotten ANY type of virus or malware on ANY of my computers protected by them. I am even now happy to be one of their ET testers (meaning I test their products even before the public beta). I am testing NIS 2010 right now and it seems to only improve on an already great product. Though I must confess that Norton 360 Premier is still my favorite because of the extra features it has built into it (I look forward to testing out 4.0 for them in the near future). So to anyone out there that may have had a negative experience with Symantec/Norton in the past, NOW is the time to give them another shot. Don't take my word for it, read trade mags and reviews of NIS 2009 and Norton 360 3.0 - these products have been redesigned from the ground up. Symantec even created their own custom install program (as opposed to using Windows installer) to get the software installed and running at full speed in just a few minutes. Both programs are exceptionally easy to use and incredibly powerful security suites. With zero day (even zero hour or minute now) threats popping up almost daily, this is money well spent on some very effective software. On a sidenote, I am NOT employed or compensated by Symantec in any way, shape or form - I am simply giving you my honest opinion as a consumer/user/customer of Symantec for the last 4+ years or so.; Like this

by alkolkin July 16, 2009 6:17 PM PDT

It is a fine, fast product and his been since 2009. Not one problem amongst about a dozen friends and relatives. No viruses, malware of any sort, or hangs have occurred. They have go it right.

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by Watzman July 21, 2009 5:32 PM PDT: I'd go further and say that after having gotten worse and worse and worse every year by simply "milking" an existing product line with no real new development, Norton really turned the corner a bit earlier, I'd say in 2007. But the damage to it's reputation not withstanding (and it's real .... many people reject Norton out of hand based on their dismal products from earlier in the decade), the current product (2009) and even the 2008 version, are excellent. Norton Internet Security is now the security product that I recommend.; Like this

by Chili_Pepr July 16, 2009 6:27 PM PDT

Paying for security software is *so* 2002. If you don't like AVG, Avast or Avira, Microsoft will be coming out with their own. For firewall, Comodo and Zone Alarm work great.

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by Lerianis3 July 17, 2009 2:38 AM PDT: Yeah, those 'free' softwares are POOR to MEDIOCRE at finding viruses. I prefer paying for security software that I KNOW is going to catch almost all the viruses on my machine.; Like this


by ngonito July 17, 2009 5:23 AM PDT: @Lerianis3: I don't fully agree to that. I have been using Avira for my workstations for two years now without any hitches and they've been online all through. Though your observation might be true, I don't fully concur with you.; Like this


by santuccie July 20, 2009 10:33 AM PDT: Comodo and ZoneAlarm are not good firewalls for the average user. They generate alert fatigue, causing the user to click "allow" every single time, which does you no good when an exploit is trying to worm its way in. Otherwise, they'll click "deny" every single time, crippling applications until the OS has to be reinstalled. Either use a sandbox, or lock the kernel: http://invincible-windows.blogspot.com/; Like this


by GERRY RAINS July 21, 2009 5:16 AM PDT: But if you don't like Zone Alarm you will find that you simply cannot uninstall it by any technique short of reformatting the hard drive, so you better stick to Comodo or Sybex.; Like this


by Nova_Prospeck July 21, 2009 6:08 AM PDT: I got Norton Internet Security free after rebate from Fry's, so yeah paying for security software is *so* old school. I was using Kaspersky Internet Security 2008 before that and AVG before that and the difference is night and day. The 2009 version of Norton was by far the best security suite I have ever tried in terms of protection and amount of computer resources it uses.; Like this


by securit34u July 21, 2009 1:30 PM PDT: None of those products will detect malicious web sites (actually, AVG does) - or hacked ones, none include a firewall (go ahead, use Windows limited firewall - and deal with the pop-ups), none do a good job removing malware, none include a rescue disk, none have intrusion protection - and none have support (I defy you to even find a phone number for Avira in North America).

The point it, free virus scanners are not full security solutions. They may do a decent job scanning files for viruses - but the threat is a lot broader than that.; Like this

by bd26 July 16, 2009 7:12 PM PDT

why try use a software that is in beta it has bugs

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by iceman19656 July 22, 2009 9:25 AM PDT: norton the best internet security?? man are u on a different network my freind.reasons being:norton takes too much pc resources program is too big doesnt detect new viruses,and forget about tech support unless u have access to a a.t.m. ,i have tested norton,avg,mcafee,kapersky 2009/2010,avast,all the foremetioned works just fine on xp os.but when u get to vista,thats where it goes downhill,there is a code conflict,cant wait to see what happens when windows 7 hits the shelf.f.y.i.anytime u get a free version internet security it's at your own risk.you get what you pay for,also try to wipeout norton from your hd there is always a norton file lurking somewhere,unless u want to go to an extreme and re-format,not worth it for 1 program,better off install new hd from the box; Like this


by nipun5perera--2008 July 31, 2009 9:05 AM PDT: But norton 360 not using huge system resources..It's just running smoothly on most of the PCs.; Like this

by Freedomstarfox July 16, 2009 7:30 PM PDT

Like 2009, its speedy with familiar features.
Hmm it doesn't like as major as the update from 2008 to 2009.

I'm glad Norton lets subscribers get a free update to the latest version through Norton Update Center. I'll be able to update to 2010 when it comes out final.

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by iceman19656 July 22, 2009 9:29 AM PDT: no,i cant update i had a 2 years not even halfway through 1st year i had to pay for update,glad i finally deleted nis,will not use another norton product on my pc; Like this

by man_w_balls July 16, 2009 7:35 PM PDT

Symantec and Norton suck! I have seen way too many systems (that I've had to fix) broken by flawed and over-intrusive Symantec malware. F-off to you, Symantec. Never again shall I taint my Winders with your garbage.

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by assman July 16, 2009 8:51 PM PDT: Seriously, Symantec s every IT worker's nightmare. They produce computer shredders that are far worse than most viruses that exist.; Like this


by Lerianis3 July 17, 2009 2:40 AM PDT: Bull. The fact is that Symantec's software has always uninstalled VERY easily for me.... if you are having problems with it uninstalling, start looking for a virus on your machine somewhere that Symantec's software missed or another program conflicting with Symantec's software.; Like this


by Watzman July 21, 2009 5:35 PM PDT: You are so wrong. But the problem is .... that you were right, a few years ago. And you don't accept that things change, and your attitude is so rigid that you will never try the current version to discover that things are not as they once were. It's your loss, really, and the world will go on just fine without you.; Like this


by Jon123 July 16, 2009 7:42 PM PDT: Why pay for this? just use Comodo Internet Security, it's free and works great.; Like this Reply to this comment

by assman July 16, 2009 8:48 PM PDT

One of the worst programs ever written for Windows. I would never let it touch any of my computers.

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by Lerianis3 July 17, 2009 2:40 AM PDT: Funny, I use it on all three of my home computers, and it works well, has never hung, etc.
It is NOT one of the worst programs ever written for Windows, it is the exact OPPOSITE of that.; Like this

by dalitJones July 16, 2009 9:00 PM PDT

Once the greatest antivirus software product, now worse than almost any Trojan. Stop already. NIS would bring a brand new computer to its knees. The good old days are long gone. Ghost has been replaced by open source. PCAnywhere was the sh*t but that was a decade ago. Once upon a time in bed with MS and now this? Never mind. Who cares?

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by Lerianis3 July 17, 2009 2:42 AM PDT: What are you talking about buddy? The fact is that NIS takes up VERY little system resources and NO CPU time on all three of my systems, save if it is doing a scan.
Get off your anti-Symantec rant, you are as bad as the anti-Microsoft ******.; Like this


by firewall12 July 16, 2009 9:39 PM PDT: Having written articles that require this much work, I commend you for your service to the future bloggers. I?m sure they will appreciate it! Great job.Thanks for sharing.; Like this Reply to this comment

by globalist_agenda July 16, 2009 11:02 PM PDT

I tried NIS 2009 beta for Win 7. It was buggy and a hog. kaspersky was buggy and a hog too. I dumped them for Comodo. It's free and uses 1/3 the resources. Just Say No To Crud!

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by Lerianis3 July 17, 2009 2:43 AM PDT: Uh.... BETA, *****! Of course it is going to have bugs, which you should have been REPORTING TO NORTON!
I used the thing as well for Windows 7, and yes.... it was buggy, but nowhere NEAR a hog! If you call 80MB's of memory usage a 'hog'...... I want to know what ******* world you're living in!; Like this


by ngonito July 17, 2009 5:29 AM PDT: @Lerianis3: 80MB worth of memory usage can't for instance compare with 45MB on a full computer scan while running other bulky programs.; Like this


by securit34u July 21, 2009 1:42 PM PDT: Comodo is a crappy virus scanner. If you have to go free, at least use Avira or Avast - but you still should have a real security suite - something that does more than just scan files for viruses.; Like this


by shellcodes_coder July 20, 2009 12:52 AM PDT: The best IS out there; Like this Reply to this comment


by whattheF July 21, 2009 8:30 AM PDT: i have NIS 2009 and its the best I've used. extremely light on resources. granted before that, norton was crappy. I've also loaded up some of those free programs for friends/relatives and immediately notice a big dip in system performance.; Like this Reply to this comment


by BlitzBoy1120 July 21, 2009 9:22 AM PDT: The last time I used Norton, it brought down my computer to the slowest start-up imaginable. And that was on XP, not even Vista. Competitors like Trend Micro offer the same protection as Norton, but they are much lighter. If Norton wants me to be a subscriber, they have to make it much lighter. I was very happy with the protection though.; Like this Reply to this comment


by tipoo_ July 21, 2009 9:28 AM PDT: Even just a year or two ago, i would strongly advise anyone against Nroton, but its gotten much much better.; Like this Reply to this comment


by Rridgway2529 July 21, 2009 11:14 AM PDT: Ill Try it because Mcafee sucks; Like this Reply to this comment


by sld72382 July 21, 2009 1:30 PM PDT: I work for the tech support arm of a major computer retailer. With Norton, the worst version ever was 2006. What a piece of junk! The 2009 version was a whole new ballgame - installs in less than a minute and as long as you have enough memory, runs pretty fast. One more thing Norton needs to fix is that if you let it expire it gets pretty venomous - slows you down, cuts off internet, etc. If Norton fixes that in 2010, it would be golden!; Like this Reply to this comment

by shakethebabyass July 21, 2009 3:50 PM PDT

I agree to a certain extent that paying for security is "Old School" As well.

I NEVER recommend a stripped down antivirus program for your computer. Unless you are going to also get GOOD antispyware, firewall, browser protection as well and on most average computers all of that is very hard on a system and is alot better to get a suite such as norton, zonealarm (my pick) or Kaspersky.

You can get almost ANY of the high end suites for FREE or VERY low price. I never recommend you buy them in retail or directly from the vendors website.

EXAMPLE: Just becuase I love testing the security programs on different computers with different software and hardware I OWN LEGALLY Norton, Zonealarm, Kaspersky, TrendMicro, BitDefender, Netgate, PCTOOLS, Webroot and many others FULL SUTIES!! I paid nothing for most of them using websites such as trialpay and other rebates legally.
I bought Bitdefender total security for 5.00 from an authorized reseller on ebay (I also verify my keys to be genuine with the vendor)

So, There really is no need to have to stay with AVG and those low end low score programs unless they are your choice and there is nothing wrong with that if you choose.

As we all know, none of the programs are any good unless you know how to run them and keep them well updated correctly..

TO ALL THOSE WHO SAY YOU DONT NEED ANY PROTECTION.. come on now get real. Not everyone is going to stop downloading, surfing and exploring new things just to avoid a threat.

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by iceman19656 July 22, 2009 9:37 AM PDT: there is contradiction to what u say k.i.s.2009/2010 DOES NOT!! work with internet security,such as webroot,avg,avast,norton,bit defender the list goes on,i know cause it wouldnt let me install kis ,till after i deleted those programs; Like this


by EbsanU July 21, 2009 5:00 PM PDT: I want to try it out, but my Windows 7 RC laptop has crashed twice now during installation. The second time the computer wouldn't boot in Normal mode, so I had to do a restore in Safe Mode.; Like this Reply to this comment


by Watzman July 21, 2009 5:39 PM PDT: Regarding paying for software: The fact is, if you shop well, you can get Norton free when it's on sale, with rebates. And the most popular packages allow installation on 3 different computers. It is very often on sale for $29 or $39 (for 3 computers) with rebates that quite often make it "free after rebate". You may have to buy it ONCE, because some of the rebates are "upgrader" rebates and require proof of puchase of a PREVIOUS version. But if you shop carefully and are willing to do the rebate game, the cost is zero or near-zero (Symantec is actually very good with rebates ... I usually have them received within 3 weeks after the day I mail them, although they have gone to "prepaid debit cards" instead of checks, which I find to be a pain (but at least they come as an envelope rather than just a postcard).; Like this Reply to this comment