Internet Security Is Up To You! (Norton Internet Security Pro 2003)

Member Name: a25086761

Product:	Norton Internet Security Pro 2003
Date:	22/09/03 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple to Use, Easy To Set Up, Great Range of Tools

Disadvantages: Takes up a lot of hard drive space, Uses a lot of Memory, After some updates you have to reboot

Firstly may I tell you that I am studying information management at university so I have much contact with the internet and software and have a bit of knowledge about software development and the cycle involved so I am not a program virgin.

I am truly amazed by this piece of software, it works amazingly well and I would recommend anyone to get this. Basically this is a firewall, intrusion detector, personal security, password protection and numerous other functions which are continuously updated via the internet.

You do have the option for advanced users to an advanced user option or for those techno-phobes you have a step-by-step guide through setting it up and detailed advice on what to allow accessing the internet and what not. It is very similar to a wizard in the setting up phase and well there are no major complaints I can hold against it.

I originally set it up and left it running not really watching what it was doing till one time an announcement came up telling me there was someone trying to access my computer from a remote site, I clicked on more details, this is where it became extremely interesting in my view, as it actually traced the intrusion back to the country of origin, not stopping there it continued to the city, so I knew it was Bangkok. It however did not stop at that, it continued to tell me the building, floor and office number. This did however cause a problem in my head, if I was going to report this, how would I know for definite that this was really where the attack had originated as most hackers route their attack through other computers and use IP scramblers therefore I could start accusing an innocent person.

Other functions that this program provides is especially useful in the setting up phase where the program will scan your drive for programs that will require internet access and will make a note so it saves you having to allow them individually when required. Another useful control is the ale
rting level, which can be set at 3 stages and when setting explains what they do in simple language. Then on the statistics page it gives you a break down of what type of alerts you have had which can be interesting.

Another option which I have not really used much is an option which can test your security so for small business, etc. I could imagine would be useful, however I can not really see it being much use for home users.

Other useful functions range from an ad blocker which can be set by you and allows you to make up more rules but stops those annoying pop-up ad?s is useful and also a spam alerter which is useful for e-mail.

One of the most important functions that this program has is to allow parents of young children to set up accounts which are password protected to protect children from sites which may have adult material. Although I do not have children myself but when my young cousins come through it is a great piece of mind to allow them onto the internet and be able to use this software so that they do not accidentally log on to an adult content site.

All in all I believe this piece of software is an essentiality rather than an optional piece of software. With many more functions that I have not described it is well worth the money and a great tool for anyone who has an internet connection and a great peace of mind especially if you have broadband and have heard of news that paedophiles have been using unaware hosts with broadband to post pictures. This program will keep you protected and let you sleep easily especially with children about the house.

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