Norton AntiVirus 2003 review

Symantec's Norton AntiVirus is a solid program that combines a friendly design with a comprehensive range of features.

There's an on-demand scanner, for checking specific files, folders or disk drives, and an on-access scanner that kicks in when you copy or try to open a file - useful for detecting viruses in files from the Internet.

The software integrates with your e-mail package and, as long as it's a mainstream program that uses POP3 and SMTP to receive and send mail, messages will be scanned as they flow in and out of your PC. During testing with Outlook Express and Eudora mail programs, it picked up a genuine Nimda worm. This was duly removed from the message and destroyed automatically. The package also protects you during instant messaging (IM) chats, if you're using recent versions of AOL, Yahoo! or MSN software.

If all that wasn't enough, you'll be pleased to hear that AntiVirus 2003 also links in with Microsoft Office, kicking in to scan for macro viruses every time you open a document. This isn't a new feature, but useful nevertheless.

As with almost every antivirus package in existence, Norton's relies on signature files to detect the arrival of viruses. This means that people in Symantec's labs maintain a library of viruses and generate an index that can recognise each digital horror. Antivirus software needs to have the latest version of this index if it is to catch recently-created viruses, so AntiVirus uses the LiveUpdate utility to download the list of definitions from the Internet. You get access to the latest definitions for a year, after which you need to subscribe for around £10 a year - McAfee's subscription rate is lower, at around £3.50.

Still, Norton AntiVirus 2003 is a polished program that provides protection in the most important areas. It is easy to use and, despite costing £10 more than McAfee VirusScan, has advanced slightly further since the previous version.