Norton Antivirus and its Uses

Norton Antivirus is an anti-virus or anti-malware software product, developed and distributed by Symantec Corporation since 1991 as part of its Norton family of computer security products. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features included in it are e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection.

Symantec distributes the product as a download, a box copy, and as OEM software. Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security, a related product, held a 61% US retail market share for security suites as of the first half of 2007. Competitors, in terms of market share in this study, include antivirus products from CA, Trend Micro, and Kaspersky Lab.

Norton AntiVirus runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux and macOS. Windows 7 support was in development for versions 2006 through 2008. Version 2009 has Windows 7 supported update already. Versions 2010, 2011, and 2012 all natively support Windows 7, without needing an update. Version 12 is the only version fully compatible with Mac OS X Lion. With the 2015 series of products, Symantec made changes in its portfolio and briefly discontinued Norton AntiVirus. This action was later reversed with the introduction of Norton Antivirus Basic.

Uses of Norton Antivirus

1. Scans Computer for Threats

Norton Antivirus protects your computer by scanning it constantly. It immediately blocks anything trying to enter your computer and asks you for permission to allow it to enter. If it is a virus or a worm or anything that can potentially cause damage, it isolates it immediately and then alerts you. Norton Antivirus also protects you from being infected when you use an instant messaging program. Malicious programs will sometimes try to enter your computer this way, so it is important to stay protected when you chat.

Norton also blocks phishing attempts from websites, which try to gain access to private information such as usernames and passwords to other important websites, such as your bank or your credit card company.

2. Norton is Automated

Norton Antivirus is automated and it runs as soon as you turn on your computer. It blocks against browser and application threats and also protects you from infected websites. If you are doing any type of Internet research and you click a back link to another site that happens to be infected with a virus or something harmful, you would be alerted immediately and that virus would be quarantined and removed.

3. Continual Updates

The software is continually updated through the Symantec Live Update function. This means that new viruses unleashed on the Internet will be caught before they damage your computer.

4. Awards and Certifications

Norton Antivirus is certified by ICSA Labs, a division of Verizon Business. ICSA Labs sets the standards for the compliance of commercial security products. When a company is awarded this certification, it proves that the product has been tested independently and a third party has verified that the software does what it claims.

Norton Antivirus Software also received the VB100 Award from Virus Bulletin. The Virus Bulletin provides independent testing of anti-virus products and compares them to other industry products. Once an anti-virus software receives this award, it proves that it has been tested by a third party. VB100 insists that a software prove it detects “in the wild” viruses and also generates no false positives during a scan of clean files.