Norton AntiVirus 2002 review

Fully-featured, easy to use and very effective, Norton AntiVirus 2002 is a fine choice for those who want lots of options and a little hand-holding.

Prevention

Symantec has done nothing to spoil its reputation as a purveyor of fine PC utilities.

Its home antivirus product works well, detecting and repairing thousands of the infected files we flung at it. It detected our script (see below), and nuked our Trojan as soon as we downloaded it. However, it didn't recognise our customised version of the Back Orifice Trojan, disguised using a technique popular in the darker sides of the Internet.

The system did notice when we changed the name of the hard disk volume, throwing up its own light-blue warning screen. This is very useful (if a little alarming to begin with) because should an unknown virus try to infect the boot sector, it will get picked up on immediately.

As mentioned, Norton stopped our destructive script from running, but only at the point at which we tried to run it. If the script had run successfully, we'd have needed to reinstall Windows, so it was a relief to see the warning jump onto the screen.

Symantec's software includes integrity checking, which usually means it takes a close look at key files and memorises how they should be. If an important file like the Windows Registry has been infected the system should recognise that something has changed and raise the alarm. However, in this case only the boot records are examined.

Ease of Use

This utility is very easy to use due to its simple menus and logical layout. You can scan from a right-click menu, schedule regular scans of particular folders or disks, and manage the quarantine area where infected files can be imprisoned - all without needing to think too hard. You can tell which options have been selected or ignored from a single, clear display, so there is no excuse if you forgot to turn on your resident scanner.

Updating is a piece of cake, with Norton's LiveUpdate utility handling the hard work. This can be configured to check quietly or alert you when updated files are available. As with McAfee's offering, virus definitions and engine updates are downloadable automatically when available.

Password protection is available, but only for the quarantine area. This stops you or others mistakenly unleashing a virus previously banished to this virtual prison. It does not stop reckless people disabling the Auto-Protect resident scanner.

Overall

We're pushed to choose between Norton AntiVirus 2002 and McAfee VirusScan Pro as this month's winner. Before you rush out and buy the McAfee option, do a quick price check and choose the least expensive - they'll both do the job admirably. Alternatively, download trial versions of each and see which one you prefer.

We prefer McAfee because we feel it's marginally simpler to use and provides the same level of features as the Norton program.