Norton SystemWorks 2004 (Symantec Norton SystemWorks 2.0 for Mac)

Member Name: Peter_P

Product:	Symantec Norton SystemWorks 2.0 for Mac
Date:	13/01/04 (536 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good choice for all-round maintainence

Disadvantages: A bit iffy with windows xp

SystemWorks 2004 is made up of Symantec's 'Norton' range of PC maintenance products: Antivirus, CleanSweep, GoBack Personal Edition, Password Manager and Utilities, plus Web Tools and an easy main screen that gives easy access to all the functions. All the products arrive on one CD, which you can use to boot your system in emergencies. In fact, the disc can recover a system even if the SystemWorks package hasn't yet been installed. However, a number of the repair tools are DOS-based and won't work with drives formatted using the NTFS file system, which is the default option for Windows XP. This boot function is only really applicable to Windows 98 and Me systems, though they can also deal with FAT32 partitions that have been created under Windows XP.

When installing SystemWorks, you can run the One Button Checkup to apply a number of Norton SystemWorks tools, to identify and fix errors in the Registry or on the hard disk, and to detect and remove any viruses. From then on, the Norton Protected Recycle Bin will keep track of erased files, while the System Doctor can be launched to monitor your computer continually for problems. Norton GoBack keeps a continuous record of all events that take place on your hard disk and allows you to restore your system to an earlier state by undoing the changes.

Norton Antivirus provides good protection against viruses, and includes e-mail scanning and script blocking, which prevents malicious code running from Web pages and e-mail previews. You can define a Password Manager profile, which stores all your passwords and sign-on information safely together, allowing you to access secure sites without having to enter the details each time. This feature provides a greater degree of security than Windows' built-in 'Remember passwords' feature. The profile itself is protected using a secure password, and you can specify how frequently you need to sign in to confirm your profile.


Wipe Info provides you with the ability to delete confidential information permanently from files and folders on your hard disk, so that it cannot be retrieved by any method. Web CleanUp lets you remove files, cookies and URLs that have accumulated on your system, with the added advantage that you can indicate which items you'd like to retain. SystemWorks lacks an Internet firewall, so you'll either need to use Windows XP's built-in firewall, or a dedicated utility.

Norton's Speed Disk will optimise your hard disk by defragmenting and rearranging files. Its Uninstall Wizard helps you remove programs that you no longer need. You can also remove programs and files that have been downloaded from the Internet.

The BackUp wizard compresses infrequently used programs to free up disk space. You can also move compressed programs to a different partition or even a different PC. The Restore wizard ensures that all the related files and Registry values are restored along with a program. The Norton Optimization wizard optimises the swap file (an area of hard disk that's used as extra memory if the system runs short of RAM), as well as the Registry. Trouble is, this function works only for Windows 98 and Me systems. SystemWorks doesn't offer any Registry editing facilities.

All in all this is a decent all-round package and almost an essential buy for users of any operating system other than XP.

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