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Norton — Best Overall Windows Antivirus in 2022

Review Norton 360 Free : Quick Expert Summary

Nortonremains my favourite antivirus program in 2022. It offers a powerful antimalware engine and a variety of internet security tools. It offers excellent customer support and an intuitive online dashboard. All this at a lower price than other antivirus products.

Norton’s antimalware engine uses machine learning, advanced algorithms and a constantly updated malware directory. It can detect all kinds of malware from trojans and viruses to ransomware and cryptojackers. Norton’s full scanner was able to detect every malware file I downloaded during my testing. The system was very responsive.

Norton also offers

  • Firewall.
  • Anti-phishing protection.
  • Parental control.
  • SecureVPN (virtual private networks)
  • Cloud backup.
  • Privacy protection.
  • Webcam Protection (Windows only).
  • Identity protection (US only)

Norton is a good antivirus, but it’s not perfect. You will need to install 4 additional apps in order to have complete security on your smartphone. Norton’s VPN can secure web access from any server worldwide. It won’t work for streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. It is slower than other VPNs and doesn’t allow torrenting.

Norton 360 is not perfect, but I still love it. The number of features included in each package was amazing to me. There are many competitors that offer more features than the basic antimalware scanner. But, nearly all of the Norton 360 security tools are worth buying by themselves. Norton comes with a 60-day money back guarantee. It is easy to test and choose the best antivirus for you.

Norton Free Review

Norton 360 Full Review

Norton packages offer a range of security tools and features that can enhance cybersecurity protections.

The cheapest plan includes firewall, antiphishing protection, and webcam protection. A password manager is included as well as 10GB of cloud storage.

Norton Security Features

Anti-Malware Engine

Norton 360 Antivirus Review

Norton employs a large malware database and machine-learning to detect malicious software. It offers protection from malware on iOS, Android and Windows as well as Mac.

To test the files, I downloaded nearly 1,000 malware files. It contained trojans. trojans. backdoors. keyloggers. rootkits. zero day attacks. ransomware. spyware. Cryptojackers. PUPs.

Norton detected 100% of all malware files on my hard drive and performed a thorough system scan. Only one competitor can boast such high malware detection rates (like Advira and Bitdefender).

After running Norton’s complete scan, real-time protection was activated and I tried to download the 997 malware files in plain, zipped, and encrypted formats. Norton stopped all plain files before my computer was able to start downloading them. Norton blocked all zip files and encrypted malware files that I attempted to extract.

My personal computer took about 40 minutes to run Norton’s disk scanner. This is comparable to other top-ranked competitors. Norton offers additional scan options, including:

  • Quick scan — Finds areas where malware is most easily detected, such as temporary files, running processes, and system files.
  • Custom scanning — Scans specified folders and disk locations.
  • Norton insight Scans files quickly and efficiently.

It is easy to schedule your Norton virus scans. Norton performed a complete scan between 3-5 a.m. I can also schedule weekly and monthly scans.

Norton can detect if your apps are in full-screen mode. Norton will not send you notifications, or initiate scans (including scheduled scans). This is a wonderful feature. Gamers will love the fact that Norton automatically suspends notifications if you’re in fullscreen mode. Norton is a great antivirus for gaming.

Overall, Norton’s malware scanner works well. My computer was scanned thoroughly and all the malware that I tested was detected. Real-time protection also blocked any malware I tried to download. Norton provides multiple scanning options, which I appreciated. This includes a personal and quick scan. Schedule scans were easy.

Smart Firewall

Norton 360 Antivirus Review

Norton’s “Smart Firewall” is far more powerful than the built-in firewalls for Windows and macOS. In fact, Norton was capable of detecting every network intrusion during my exploit testing.

Advanced users can customize Norton’s firewall. Norton firewall blocks many Windows services when a public Wi-Fi network is being used. This includes File and Printer Sharing and Network Discovery, Remote Desktop Connection and File and Printer sharing. You can see a complete list of all the options in the Permissionswindow if you do not wish to allow them.

Norton offers a list of 136 unusual protocols. These protocols can be used by malware to communicate with other devices in a network. Norton firewall monitors these protocols and alerts users when it detects suspicious activity.

Norton’s Smart Firewall overall is a fantastic product. It detected all network intrusions during my testing and offers advanced users a wide range of customization options.

Norton’s Safe Web Extension is available for Chrome Firefox Safari Safari Edge. It provides community reviews and protects against phishing websites.

The Safe Web browser extension provides excellent anti-phishing protection. It found most of the phishing websites in my testing. It also detected sites that Chrome and top competitors such as McAfee couldn’t detect.

Safe Web offers “Isolation Mode”, which helps protect financial information. Safe Web gives users the option to set their browser to isolate mode. This will block all browser-based intrusions. To prevent malicious web scripts or malware from stealing your information, your browser window will be “read only”. Hackers may be able remotely to record your screen and steal financial information. Hackers cannot use Isolation Mode on Safe Web to do this.

Safe Web offered to put my browser into isolation mode. When I accepted the request, my browser was disconnected from the rest of my system. It could not copy, screencape or paste text into it.

Norton’s Safe Search Tool provides color-coded assessment for search results. Red is dangerous, orange can be hazardous, and green safe. Safe Search is not great. It falsely claimed many pirate websites were safe during my testing. It also provided grey notifications that were not tested to sites that are safe.

Norton’s Safe Search was not my favorite. It does not accurately identify unsafe sites as safe, and vice versa. Norton’s Safe Web browser extension provides a great way to protect against phishing attacks as well as providing a safe, sandboxed browsing environment that allows for financial transactions.

Dark Web Monitoring (Select countries only)

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton’s dark Web Monitoring scans dark forums, credit reports and breach databases to alert users if any of their information has been stolen. LifeLock offers US users strong identity protections.

Norton’s darknet monitoring scans for a wide range of personally identifiable information (PII)

  • Numbers of bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Addresses.
  • Information concerning driver’s license
  • Insurance numbers

Norton offers a superior data breach monitoring system than others. This is achieved by using live human agents who are paid to hack dark web forums. Norton dark web assistants are able to find information that many companies cannot. If your information is made public on the dark web, you can receive advice and feedback. This is a better approach than Kaspersky’s database-based breach monitors.

Dark internet monitoring can also be activated whenever you input your information. Norton’s dark web monitoring team will send you a notification with instructions on how to protect your identity, accounts and privacy.

Norton offers a fantastic dark web monitoring service. US users can access Norton’s LifeLock identity protection services.

Identity Theft Protection (US Only).

Norton’s LifeLock identity protection products offer a wide range of features, including

  • Credit report monitoring
  • Live Identity Recovery Assistance
  • Legal assistance
  • Credit freeze
  • Title of the home, court record, and ID monitoring.

LifeLock identity theft protection services offer excellent protection. LifeLock will inform you about any purchase, investment, rental, loan application or credit card application that contains any personal information. LifeLock collects data from TransUnion, Equifax and other credit reporting agencies in the US. LifeLock will notify anyone trying to use your information.

LifeLock offers only protections for US users. BullGuard, TotalAV, BullGuard and BullGuard all offer credit monitoring in Europe and the US for less than LifeLock. Their protections aren’t as comprehensive as LifeLock’s.

Norton’s LifeLock plans are the best option to protect your identity and financial investments. They are not available to US users.

Secure VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

VPNs allow you to hide your IP address behind one of the thousands of servers located around the world. VPNs also encrypt your web activity, which can help increase privacy. Norton’s VPN has its downsides, and it isn’t as reliable as top-rated VPNs in 2022.

Norton Secure VPN allows users to connect to multiple servers around the globe with Norton’s Secure VPN. There are servers in Australia, South Africa (Japan), Singapore and other less-known countries like India or Ukraine. Norton has far fewer international servers that any other internet security suite. McAfee Total Protection connects only with 23 countries, for example.

Norton’s VPN offers many additional security features.

  • Strong encryption (256 bits AES).
  • No-logs policy.
  • Turn off
  • Blocking ad trackers
  • Unlimited browsing data, even with the cheapest plans

Norton’s VPN is fast. They do slow down your internet connection. Every VPN handles these tasks differently, so each VPN will have a different speed. Norton’s VPN was slower that Bitdefender and TotalAV antivirus competitors, but it wasn’t necessarily the slowest.

This is my internet connection through my local network. It does not use VPN.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Next, I ran speed tests using Norton’s VPN connected to a US server.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

You can see that my download speed decreased quite a bit, but my “ping” increased a lot. The pinging going up so much isn’t a problem unless you’re streaming or gaming — Norton’s VPN enabled, I was still able to stream HD video and browse the internet without any noticeable slowdown.

Norton 360 Antivirus

My download and Ping speeds were identical, but my upload speed was half the rate when I connected via Dutch server.

Netflix US customers have bad news. Because Norton’s VPN could not get through Netflix’s anti-VPN firewalls, I was unable access Netflix US content. This is unfortunate as many VPNs such as ExpressVPN and CryptoGhost VPN are capable of accessing all streaming services. Check out the best VPNs for Netflix.

No torrenting is allowed by Norton VPN. As soon as I opened any torrent client, the VPN stopped working. This is unfortunate as there are many torrenting VPNs.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton Secure VPN is slower than other VPNs, does not allow torrenting and is not compatible with Netflix or other streaming services like ExpressVPN and standalone VPNs. Norton is a highly-rated antivirus, which includes a VPN. It offers encrypted web access from a variety of servers around the globe, something that most competitors don’t offer.

Cloud Backup

The cloud backup service by Norton is excellent. It is however only available for PC users. It offers these options:

  • Backups are essential.
  • Save particular files.
  • Backup files on your local disk can be saved or deleted.
  • Back up your data to the cloud or local disk.

Cloud Backup is very reliable. Cloud Backup automatically selects 50GB worth important files. Advanced users can access the “What” section to select the folders they wish to back up.

Although Norton’s backup is not the most original, it is a great solution to protect data in the Cloud. You can store up to 10GB in the Cloud Backup feature depending on which Norton plan you have.

Password Manager

Norton 360 Antivirus Review

Norton password manager is very good. Many antiviruses offer basic password storage, but not enough to make Norton’s special.

It doesn’t offer the same functionality as standalone apps 1Password and Dashlane but it is easy to use with useful extras.

Here is a list of Norton’s Password Managers:

  • Secure 256-bit AES encryption
  • Unlimited password storage.
  • Synchronization between Macs, Androids and Macs.
  • Chrome extensions for Firefox Edge, Safari, Chrome, and Safari.
  • Autosave or autofill
  • Password generator.
  • Password vault auditing.

After I had created my master password, Norton offered me the option of importing my password vaults via Chrome, Firefox, or Dashlane.

After I imported my passwords into LastPass, I navigated to PayPal. Norton displayed a small icon. I clicked on it and entered my email address as well as my password.

Norton’s password management software includes vault auditoring tools, which is a major advantage over other antivirus providers. This helpful chart shows you which passwords are safe, too simple, repeated, or old. The vault auditing tool’s Autochange function can automatically generate new passwords. Norton’s Autochange is not compatible with all websites. Dashlane is a better option for auto-change — it works with several hundred more sites than Norton’s.

Norton’s Password Manager also includes a mobile login function. This allows users to log into their vault using their mobile device instead of their master password.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review 2022

Norton’s password management system may not be perfect. Norton’s inability to provide emergency access and account recovery was my first issue. If your master password is lost or forgotten, you will not be able log in to any password vault. Norton has one option: destroy the vault and create a new one. Norton allows users to create a password hint for their master password. It’s difficult to create a hint for a string of random letters and numbers. This is what a master password should contain.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review

Although some users may appreciate the lack of account recovery options, it means con artists are unable to access your vault. However, I believe most users would prefer email account recovery or emergency contact options such as LastPass.

Norton’s password manager isn’t as robust as standalone alternatives, but it offers multi-device back up, a secure code generator and vault auditing. Norton’s password manager was the #1 antivirus in 2022.

Safe Family: Parental Controls

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton offers parental controls for Android and iOS as well as Windows and Windows (not accessible on Mac). Norton is the #1 Antivirus with Parental Controls.

Norton parental controls allow parents to:

  • Filtering inappropriate content can be done with precision.
  • You can watch YouTube and Hulu videos.
  • Track location for mobile devices.
  • Block Android apps
  • Set time limits and plan your device’s usage.
  • Set emergency contacts.

To find the right parental control tool for my daughter, I tried many. Many antivirus parental control software promises many features but few deliver. BullGuard has many content filtering options online. BullGuard parental controls enabled, I was able access porn and violent videos.

During my testing, Norton blocked many sites correctly. Norton was able to block 47 categories of websites including “Cult”, Hate Speech and Abortion. It automatically sets filters based on the age of your child. It also allows you to toggle parental controls individually.

Norton Safe Family offers a “School Time” mode. This mode allows parents to access only those apps and websites they consider important for their child’s education. For any child who participates in virtual school, this can be extremely helpful.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Safe Family also recorded all searches and YouTube videos and Hulu programs I made on my iPhone and Chromebook.

The online dashboard allows you to access Norton’s location monitoring and app blocking tools as well as usage scheduling tools. Amazingly, Norton was able to pinpoint my iPhone’s exact location within 65 feet.

Norton’s GPS tracker does not include geo-fencing alerts. Parents are notified when their children leave a restricted area. Bitdefender, Bitdefender and other companies have geofencing included in their parental controls. This would make Norton’s product line even more powerful.

Norton Safe Family’s content filtering capabilities and app blocking, usage limits, location tracking, YouTube monitoring and YouTube monitoring are all impressive. This parental control app is intuitive and comprehensive.

Privacy Monitor

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton’s privacy watch protects you personal identifying information (PII) from being sold to data brokers. It is simple and effective.

Data brokers use metadata from thousands of websites to create an identification profile. This profile could include your last address and family names, favorite brands, birthday, gender, and other information. Data brokers make a profit selling this information to the highest bidder.

Data brokers cannot sell or collect your data in violation of privacy laws around the world. Norton requests that around 25 data brokers cease collecting your information.

Access Norton’s Privacy Monitor can be accessed through the my.norton Internet Dashboard. Privacy Monitor gives you a list of the names and dates for your birth. Privacy Monitor lets you request deletion from any site or subscribe to Norton Privacy Monitor assistant to have data brokers handled by Norton employees.

Device Optimization

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

These Norton system tune up tools don’t need to be exclusive. They are an important addition to Norton 360 plans. These tools are available from Norton for device optimization:

  • Optimize disk — Defragments your hard drive.
  • File cleanup — Cleans temporary files in Windows.
  • Startup manager — This list contains the programs that are available for startup.
  • Displays a timeline showing important activity on the device.

Norton’s tuneup tools work quickly, efficiently, and are comprehensive. The file cleaning does not delete browser cookies nor duplicate files. It doesn’t delete unused program files like TotalAV or Avira.

Norton’s Graphs tools are extremely useful. These features allow me to see all program installations, downloaded, and virus scans. You can view performance notifications, malware alerts, system tuneups, and malware alerts. Norton’s background activity forms a significant part of my day. The Graphs feature is a great way for me to track the changes and get assistance from Norton.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton’s device optimization tools are a great addition to their powerful antivirus suite. I’d love to see more options available for junk file cleanup. Norton’s system optimization tools can fix many of the problems that cause slowdowns in computers and macOS users today.

Norton 360 Mobile App

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton Mobile Protections for Android or iOS are both great–but I wish they would combine all their security tools into one app.

Note: All Norton’s Android security apps were successfully downloaded from Google Play Store to my daughter’s Chromebook. Although Norton does not officially support Chromebook, Norton is the best Chromebook antivirus.

These protections were offered by Norton to mobile customers

  • Malware scanner. Only for Android
  • Only.
  • Website protection.
  • Wi-Fi network monitor.
  • VPN.
  • Safe Web & Safe Search.
  • Ransomware Recovery.
  • Device security.
  • Password manager (separate app).
  • Parental controls.
  • LifeLock identity theft protection (separate App).

Norton’s App Advisor works great. It scans both the apps that are about to be downloaded and those already installed. App Advisor for current applications allows you to see which apps have been installed in the last 30 days, which ones were not downloaded, and which apps are using more battery than usual.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

Norton’s mobile web protections are also great. I love the VPN with advertising tracking blocking and the Safe Search browser that filters out harmful websites from search engine results pages.

Other Norton mobile security apps are excellent. The only thing I have to complain about is the sheer number of apps that I had already downloaded. Norton should have the Safe Family app and LifeLock as one app.

Norton’s mobile app is a great choice. They offer malware protection as well as app security for Androids and Chromebooks. You can also get Wi-Fi protections and web protections (including iOS). Norton’s online dashboard syncs all of Norton’s apps to manage passwords, parental control and identity theft protection.

Norton Mobile Antivirus apps are the best for overall device security.

Norton 360 Customer Support

Norton customer service can be reached via live chat or phone. BullGuard and Malwarebytes, on the other hand, offer limited support.

My experience with Norton customer service was both positive as well as negative. First, I called a Bogota representative from Colombia. She was able to help me access my Norton subscription and add LifeLock when I encountered a problem on Norton’s website. The conversation over the phone with the support representative was informative and positive. It was my best experience with an antivirus provider.

However, I was treated to an even worse experience with customer service a few days later. I was waiting for a live chat operator to help me with my mobile protections. As I waited, Norton’s chat window emitted a loud alert informing me that my support person was moving. After almost 20 minutes of this annoying “pinging”, Norton closed the chat.

Norton 360 Antivirus Review (2022): Is It Actually Worth It?

It was a rare experience in my Norton experience. This was especially so because I was messaging them during busy periods of the year. Within minutes, I was connected to a live chat representative or phone representative. The majority of people I spoke with were very knowledgeable and polite.

Norton’s customer support team is available 24 hours a day in more languages than any other product. However, they may not be as responsive if you contact them during peak hour. In my experience, this is not an issue with Norton.

Is Norton 360 the best internet security suite for 2022?

Norton antivirus is my top choice for 2022.

Norton detected all malware files in my testing, even those from newer threats such as ransomware or cryptojackers rootkits. Anti-malware engines combine traditional and modern antivirus detection by using a large malware database, advanced machine learning and heuristics. Although there are programs that detect malware quicker than Norton, Bitdefender or McAfee have higher detection rates. Norton’s multilayered approach to malware detection is still the best.

Norton provides web protections that can be very effective. The Safe Web extension provides better anti-phishing protection that Chrome and Firefox. It also offers an “Isolation Mode,” which provides additional protection for financial transactions.

Norton provides excellent parental controls and a password manager that is great. Dark web monitoring uses real people to detect data breaches. For US users, Norton’s LifeLock protections can be accessed. They offer a wide range of PII monitoring tools, as well as reimbursement up to $1M for identity theft.

Norton’s VPN is not my favourite. It doesn’t work well with Netflix and doesn’t support torrenting. It is also slower than it should be. The VPN is still useful for secure browsing. It is easy to use and much cheaper than standalone VPNs.

Norton is by far the best internet security software. It offers unparalleled malware protection and bundles nearly all internet security tools into one program. This makes it a great choice for everyone. Norton is risk-free and available for 60 days.

Is Norton Free?

Norton is not available for free. There are some decent antiviruses you can download, but none of them have the same level of security as Norton’s 360 packages.

Even for those with tight budgets, the Norton 360 Standard plan offers great antivirus protection on one device. Norton offers a significant discount on the first year, and you can enjoy all features without any risk with a 60 day guarantee.

How does Norton’s malware scanner function?

Norton provides multiple layers of protection, including virus scanning and real-time protection.

  • Malware directory.
  • Heuristic Analysis.
  • Machinelearning.

Most antivirus software uses a malware directory. It compares every scanned file’s source code to thousands of other malware files. Norton’s (secret) malware database consistently ranks among the top.

Norton uses machine learning and heuristics to detect zero-day malicious software. Heuristics analyze the code in new files to identify potentially dangerous files that contain similar code.

Machine learning analyses files based on their behavior. This can include looking for similar actions or source codes to files Norton has given. Norton can identify and block any malware attempts to attach to your root files or encrypt your system files. It can also connect to your WiFi network or perform other malware-like functions, even if it is not a threat to your computer.

Which Norton package is the best?

Norton 360 Deluxe is the best choice for most users. You can use it on up to five devices with Windows, Mac OS, Android OS, iOS, or Android. Norton 360 Standard has almost the same features, but it is limited to one device.

Norton USA offers three packages that include LifeLock identity theft protections. For those who need the most protection, Norton 360 with LifeLock Plus is recommended. This package includes unlimited device coverage and the best identity theft insurance coverage. The majority of US users will choose Norton 360 or LifeLock Select for their antivirus and identity protection packages.

Norton works with iPhones, Androids and Chromebooks.

Yes. Norton mobile apps are compatible with both Android and iOS devices, as well as Chromebooks.

  • Available for iOS users. Nokia 360is best described to be a security app. It is not an anti-virus application because iOS devices can’t get viruses. Norton is worth installing on iOS because it provides Wi-Fi security, password manager and identity protections. It also offers Norton’s excellent Safe Family parental control app.
  • Android users. Norton 360provides the same protections as Norton’s iOS app but also includes a malware scanner that scans each file and app for malicious code.
  • For Chromebook users. We have received some confused emails regarding Norton’s Chromebook Support. Norton will tell customers, if they contact them, that Norton is not designed to be used with Chromebooks. Although that may be true, Chromebooks can run Android apps. Chromebooks have access to the Google Play Store. Although Norton 360 Chromebook looks strange because it is only one-third the size of a smartphone’s screen, the app scanners and Wi-Fi scanners, VPNs and password managers, Norton Safe Family parental controls, Norton Safe Family password managers, Norton Safe Family parental control checks, and Norton Safe Family all worked flawlessly when I tested Norton 360.
Norton 360 Antivirus 2022
  • Security
    (4)
  • Features
    (4)
  • Ease of use
    (4.5)
  • Customer Support
    (4)
  • Pricing
    (4)
Overall
4.1

Summary

Norton 360 protects your device with high-quality protection, without overcrowding it. It’s simple to use, but it offers many options for advanced users. You can also get better deals if each component is purchased separately.

Pros

  • Excellent protection
  • Plenty of extras
  • Powerful identity-theft suite
  • Low resource usage
  • Easy-to-use

Cons

  • Expensive
  • No free version
  • LifeLock is oriented to the US users

Source : #safetydetectives
Editor by : BEST Antivirus Review Team