Norton AntiVirus from Symantec Corporation remains one of the leaders in the antivirus software market. Norton AntiVirus 2011 continues to demonstrate why with its rapid install, near-instantaneous virus definition updates, and Internet-ready features, it is near or at the top of the class.1) Installation: 4.5/5
Installation of Norton AntiVirus 2011 took under 1 minute (57 seconds) on our reference computer*. Once you accept Norton's Terms of Use, it's off and running. No further user input is required until installation has finished. The installation process doesn't even require you to reboot your computer - allowing you to quickly get back to what you were doing. You will, however, need to reboot if you uninstall the application at a later date.
*Reference Computer: Windows 7 Home Premium running on a Toshiba Pentium Dual-Core T4200, with 3GB of RAM and a 210GB hard drive. 2) Features & Ease of Use: 9/10   The Norton AntiVirus 2011 Dashboard displays the current security state of your computer, along with an interactive map displaying the state of network security worldwide. From here, you can initiate a new scan by clicking the prominent Scan Now link. Norton's Scan Now feature lets you perform an instant Quick Scan or Complete Scan to detect any existing vulnerabilities in your operating system or applications. A virus scanner doesn't do consumers any good, however, if it doesn't keep itself updated with the latest virus definitions. Norton's Pulse Update technology, introduced with Norton 2009, downloads new virus definitions almost as soon as they are posted by Symantec, guaranteeing that your scans are operating with the most updated knowledgebase.  Beyond virus scanning, Norton also offers a Reputation Based Scan, which reviews all installed programs and running processes on your machine and identifies those with a low consumer age and prevalence. With Facebook Wall Scan, you can ask Norton to verify that none of the links on your Facebook Wall point to known malicious websites.  On the right-hand side of the Dashboard is the list of other security offerings provided by Norton AntiVirus besides virus scanning. (In a thoughtful bit of user interface design, Norton allows you to toggle these protections on or off with a single mouse click on the Dashboard.) These protections run automatically, without user input. Like most antivirus packages, Norton includes Anti-Spyware scanning. It also includes SONAR 3 protection, which pro-actively scans for so-called "zero-day" security bugs that have already been discovered and exploited by hackers. The Dashboard is packed with other security and performance features as well. The Quarantine link displays any files or applications that have been identified as being potentially malicious. Clicking the Performance link calls up the System Insight window, which displays the current performance of your system. If your system's performance degrades, System Insight will identify the most recent events that likely contributed to the drop-off. The interactive map at the bottom of the Dashboard provides some interesting (if less-than-urgent) details on new viruses that Norton AntiVirus has been trained to detect. By clicking on a continent, you can read a scrolling ticker of which cities on your land mass are experiencing the highest amount of cybercrime. 3) Virus Scanner: 4.5/5 Norton AntiVirus 2011's virus scanner is one of the fastest we've reviewed. Its 21.0 MB/second scan speed slightly edges out the benchmark that Norton set last year of 19.5MB/s. This means that Norton can scan a 50GB hard drive in just over 40 minutes. Quick Scan takes a mere 23 seconds to find the most common vulnerabilities.  Updates: Norton also does the best job of any antivirus program we've examined in keeping its virus definitions up to date. On average, Norton AntiVirus 2011's Pulse Update technology performs 243.3 updates per day, making it bar none the leader in virus definition updates. 4) Performance Testing: 9.5/10 A good Antivirus program should not only protect your computer from Viruses but also not slow down the Performance of your computer too much by using up your computer's resources. We run each Antivirus program through a set of Performance Tests to see the impact it has on the computer. View the results below of our Antivirus testing for Norton 2011...
5) Effectiveness: (Virus/Malware Detection) 13/15 
6) Help & Support: 4/5 Norton AntiVirus 2011 sports a prominent Support link on its dashboard. From this menu you can view static help, read tutorials, check for a version update to Norton AntiVirus, or request help directly from Symantec. Norton's One Click Support performs a quick scan of your computer for known problems before putting you in touch with a Symantec representative. You can also search the Knowledgebase directly from the Norton 2011 program. Overall, Norton provides many different support options, however there are still quite a few reports on the web of frustrated Norton customers unable to receive adequate (free) support. » Quick Support Links:• Support Home • Contact Support - Chat/Email/Phone • Norton Community Forum • Free Virus & Spyware Removal • NortonLive Services (Paid Support Services) CONCLUSION: Norton AntiVirus 2011 continues to be the industry leading Antivirus program - a trend which began with Norton 2009 & Norton 2010. Norton AntiVirus 2011 not only has a great set of features, but these features don't impact your computer since Norton 2011 is also the industry-leader in terms of Performance. Norton 2011 also sports the best Virus Scanner in the industry with lightning quick scanning, and the most daily virus definition updates by far. Add to this Norton's top-notch results in virus/malware Effectiveness tests (Norton was rated Best Anti-Virus program last year by top antivirus testing organization, AV-Comparatives.org), and it's apparent that Norton AntiVirus is indeed the best antivirus program available. Norton Antivirus is a good choice for computer novices and intermediates - for more advanced users we recommend Norton Internet Security 2011 due to its added Firewall, Anti-Spam, Anti-Phishing, and other capabilities not included in Norton Antivirus.
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a) AV Comparatives has 2 major Virus/Malware tests. In the most recent test, the On Demand Detection Test, Norton was rated 3 out of 3 Stars. In the 2nd test, the Proactive Test, Norton didn't perform as well - receiving a 2-Star rating. Last year, AV-Comparatives gave Norton its Best Anti-Virus award, so Norton's protection is definitely top-notch (despite only a 2-star rating in the Proactive Test).
