[Note: Our review of Norton 360 Version (2013) is now available. Please refer to the new review. -ed.]

New versions of Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security appear in the fall each year, along with the majority of antivirus and security suite tools. Not so Norton 360. The latest version, Norton 360 Version 6.0 ($89.99/year direct for three licenses), is just out now. On the one hand, this offset schedule means that Norton 360 users sometimes have to wait a few months for features already present in the suite and antivirus. On the other hand, Symantec gets an opportunity to release even newer features without waiting a whole year.

The most obvious difference between Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security is the user interface. Symantec has made it clear that Norton 360 is aimed at the average user who just wants protection while Norton Internet Security lets expert users dig deeper. In truth, these days they're not so very different. If the added backup and tuneup features found in Norton 360 appeal to you, choose it over Norton Internet Security.

Self-Healing Installer

Malware can easily interfere with security installations that rely on the standard Windows installer. Like other Norton products, Norton 360 uses Symantec's "self-healing" installer. It can take steps to counter malware that tries to block installation. Once installed, if something goes wrong with the product it sends a coded message to Symantec central and, in most cases, gets back a script that will fix the problem automatically.

I've had occasions to see this feature in action. On one test system, the installer ran a quick virus scan, requested a reboot, and proceeded without incident. Another sent an error query and apparently received a fix.

Collin Davis, Senior Director of Engineering for Symantec, called this automated system "an opportunity to delight customers." Because so many routine little problems are handled automatically, said Davis, support agents have more time to spend with customers whose problems go beyond the usual.

Norton Management

Norton Management, introduced with the 2012 Norton products, expands on the existing Norton Account concept to allow management of all your protected computers online. With the latest release Norton 360 now connects to Norton Management as well.

From the Norton Management console you can manage licenses for all your Norton products including Norton Internet Security, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Anti-Theft, and Norton Mobile Security. You can update licenses with new keys, uninstall products remotely (so as to re-use the key), and even correct configuration problems remotely.

The features offered by Norton Management are similar to the online management portion of McAfee All Access ($99.95 direct for  licenses, 4.5 stars), except that you purchase your licenses separately.

Intelligent Firewall

Norton's firewall does everything a firewall should, and then some. It stealths all ports, making the PC invisible from outside the local network. My attempts to disable its protection in ways a malware coder might manage had no effect. And its control over internet access permissions for programs on your system is more intelligent than most.

Aggregated information from the millions of Norton users feeds into the Norton Insight database. The firewall automatically configures permissions for hundreds of millions of known good files, and the suite automatically terminates known bad files. When the firewall encounters an unknown program attempting Internet access, it applies extra behavioral scrutiny and smacks down the program if it tries anything nasty.

I very much approve of security tools that take responsibility for their own decisions. Asking the user whether to allow or deny a particular network connection just doesn't make sense.

As usual, I found that Norton ignores most leak tests. These demonstration programs attempt to connect with the Internet without being caught by program control, but since they're not actually harmful Norton leaves them alone. I did notice that the SONAR behavior-tracking technology silently whacked one of the leak tests when it made its connection attempt.

Norton is also extremely effective at identifying and blocking Web-based attacks on potential system vulnerabilities. I attacked a test system with 30 exploits generated by the Core IMPACT penetration tool. After the first attack, Norton put the penetration-testing system's IP address on a blacklist; I had to turn off intrusion auto-blocking in order to complete the test. Norton blocked every single exploit and identified most of them by name.