Norton AntiVirus (2014)

The main window for Norton AntiVirus (2014) displays simple security statistics and offers big, touch-friendly buttons that will launch a scan or check for updates.

Norton detected a malware-installed network proxy during installation on one test system, thereby preventing a whole raft of connection problems later on.

In addition to the expected quick, full, and custom scan options, you can launch a scan using Norton Power Eraser (called "repair tool" here) or scan your Facebook wall for dangerous links.

Many elements of the on-demand scan and real-time protection components can be adjusted on the Settings page. However, most users should only make such changes under instruction by tech support.

Getting some of my test systems cleaned up required use of the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool. From this Windows PE-based tool you can launch Norton Power Eraser or a separate Advanced Recovery scan.

The Norton Power Eraser tool can often clean up malware infestations that prevent installation of the normal Norton AntiVirus.

In most cases, when the on-demand scan detects a problem it makes repairs immediately. For certain less-risky items it will ask your permission before taking any action. In addition, it may need a reboot to complete the cleanup process.

Norton's Auto-Protect real-time protection component starts working as soon as installation is complete. Here it has detected a rather nasty infection in memory.

Norton checks each file against its mammoth database to see if it's a known good file or known malware. It tracks any unknowns closely and flags them if they exhibit dangerous behaviors.

When possible, Norton blocks malware at the source by preventing access to known malicious websites.

The Norton Identity Safe password manager gets installed automatically along with Norton AntiVirus. If you already use Identity Safe you can log in to sync your existing passwords and personal data.

Norton's protection against phishing (fraudulent) websites has consistently topped PCMag's tests. The toolbar that supplies phishing protection is installed automatically along with the antivirus product.

It's easy to block access to already-known phishing sites. What puts Norton above most antiphishing solutions is its ability to identify a brand-new phishing page by analyzing its content.

While it doesn't include a full-scale firewall, Norton AntiVirus offers some serious network protection, more than most standalone antivirus products.

In testing, Norton's network protection blocked every one of the thirty-plus exploits I threw at it, identifying a number of them by name.

The Network Security Map rates the overall security of your wired or wireless network and lets you perform detailed monitoring of other Norton installations on the network.

You can "flip" the main window over to reveal performance statistics on the back. The chart shows resources used by the system in general and by Norton in particular.

A Norton Insight scan checks all the programs on your PC and reports reputation statistics like how many Norton installations use the same program, whether it uses a lot of resources, and whether it tends to crash.