The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Norton AntiVirus 2004
Ash Nallawalla
ash@melbpc.org.au

Computer viruses, worms and Trojan horses are a fact of life for any PC that makes contact with data from any other PC. In the early days of personal computing viruses usually entered a PC through a floppy disk or a file downloaded from a bulletin board system (BBS).
 



Figure 1. Live Update finds some updates.



Figure 2. One of the configuration screens.

These days we don't use BBSs or floppy disks as much as we used to, so while that might be a small decrease in risk, our exposure is probably greater thanks to our use of the Internet and large-capacity storage devices such as USB Flash devices.  I have been alternating between McAfee and Norton antivirus software and this year has been the turn of Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004 (NAV 2004) for my PC.

NAV 2004

There are two versions of NAV 2004 - the base product, which I use and the Professional version which I have not tried. The base product, like most other antivirus packages, does the following:

  • Removes viruses automatically
  • Works on files, e-mail and instant messages
  • Detects other threats such as spyware
The Professional version has three extra features:
  • Recovers accidentally deleted files
  • Erases unwanted files thoroughly
  • Licence for two computers
In Use

Like a growing number of products, you have to "activate" NAV 2004 within 15 days so that it will continue to work. This is straightforward. After installation, it updates itself but note that this process will take quite some time to fetch all the updates. The small manual is quite comprehensive and should be skimmed through when you install the program so that you know what it contains. For example, when a virus is detected, you may want to review the advice in the book before choosing an action.
 



Figure 3. A disk scan in progress.
 



Figure 4. A suspicious attachment is found in
an e-mail message.



Figure 5. A virus is deleted.



Figure 6. A Trojan Horse file is detected.

Auto-Protect

Auto-Protect is, not surprisingly, the automatic protection feature in NAV 2004. If you choose it, the programs runs in memory when you use the PC, so you are assured that you are protected all the time. Whether you receive a suspicious file in your e-mail or an instant messenger program such as AOL, Yahoo, MSN and Windows Messenger. Supported e-mail programs include recent versions of Outlook, Outlook Express, Pegasus and Eudora. Windows 98 and later versions are supported. These days, I often see the program pop up and tell me that it has detected and deleted a virus from an e-mail message.

Worm Blocking

NAV 2004 also blocks worms, which are nasty programs that try to propagate out of your computer (presumably they got past NAV 2004 on the way in). This is usually through e-mail, and you will see an alert if worm-like activity is detected.

Inoculation

Your system files are registered by NAV 2004 and any attempt to replace them triggers an alert asking you if it is OK to proceed. If you download Windows updates regularly, you are sometimes replacing important system files and this is when you would agree to replace them. On the other hand, if you don't recall performing a Windows update (and you haven't set it for automatic updates), you would probably want to disagree with the replacement.


Figure 7. Adware that NAV 2004 detected but
could not delete because the program was
running at that time.

Live Update

Running its Live Update program in automated mode is highly advisable, as this will fetch all necessary updates for you as long as you have an Internet connection. This includes program updates as well as virus definitions.
 



Figure 8. Google had not heard about this new adware.

Conclusion

NAV 2004 certainly does the job for me, as it has detected many virus-laden e-mails and my PCs have never been infected in all these years. Some of that is owing to my conservative use of the Internet and caution when considering every new recommended program or Web site, but the rest can be attributed to NAV 2004 and its predecessors. It is highly recommended.

Availability

NAV 2004 is sold at most software outlets for $79 ($55 for Academic version) or less. For more information, please visit http://www.symantec.com.au.

Reprinted from the September 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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