Norton Antivirus Plus review: A slim suite for digital minimalists

Price When Reviewed

$29.99

Best Prices Today: Norton Antivirus Plus

$39.99

Antivirus makers stuff a ton of options into their most touted-plans, however not everybody wants these further bells and whistles. Maybe all you search is the fundamentals for on-line safety in a single software program package deal—and for only one machine.

Norton Antivirus Plus is one slimmed down possibility that hits these notes precisely, with malware safety and a password supervisor because the standout options. As an reasonably priced entry-level suite, you’ll be able to skip the extraneous items of dearer plans with out sacrificing what you really want. The solely caveat: You can acclimate to Norton’s quirks, together with an app with two completely different interfaces.

What does Norton Antivirus Plus embody?

Though its identify lacks the reference, Norton Antivirus Plus is a part of Norton’s 360 lineup—albeit as probably the most stripped down model, each in options and variety of gadgets supported. Its major focus is on direct threats to your on-line safety, with the antivirus engine defending you in opposition to malware and the firewall blocking community threats. The app screens for harmful hyperlinks and attachments as properly.

This subscription additionally presents 2GB of cloud backup storage, entry to Norton’s password supervisor, and PC utilities that embody the power to clear momentary information and monitor for outdated software program.

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How a lot does Norton Antivirus Plus price?

If you purchase by means of Norton, the Norton Antivirus Plus plan prices $30 for the primary yr, after which will increase to $60 thereafter. You can strive the software program for 30 days earlier than committing, although you’ll must put down a bank card. Subscriptions additionally include a 60-day money-back assure. Be conscious that Norton robotically enrolls you into auto-renewal at sign-up.

Norton Antivirus Plus (1 machine)

• $30 for the primary yr
• $60 per yr thereafter

Norton Antivirus Plus helps PC, macOS, Android, and iOS, however this plan limits you to only one machine.

You can save much more on Norton Antivirus Plus if you are going to buy your license by means of third-party retailers like Amazon and even PCWorld’s own software store—typically the value hovers round 75 p.c off the traditional worth, and generally with further bonus months.

Key options of Norton Antivirus Plus

Installation and consumer interface

After buying a subscription to Norton Antivirus Plus, you’ll get entry to the set up file, which robotically downloads.

After set up, the My Norton window shall be the very first thing you see—it’s certainly one of two interfaces you’ll work together with. It has a up to date look and serves as a springboard to crucial options. You can begin scans, replace the app and its virus definitions, leap over to the password supervisor, handle your cloud backups, and fireplace up the safe browser. You may also run the software program updater, in addition to dig into just a few program settings. (Tip: Turn off notifications for “Special offers” within the settings whereas rooting round.)

Generally, this view is straightforward and simple, with one exception. You get no again button whereas navigating by means of submenus (like in settings).

For a deeper dive into this system, you have to change to the Classic view by clicking on the Open button throughout the Device Security a part of My Norton. A second window with a extra outdated vibe will seem. Selecting any 4 of the tiles (Security, Internet Security, Backup, and Performance) reveals the complete lineup of options associated to that subject. The fifth tile takes you again to the My Norton view.

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Also throughout the Classic view are the characteristic settings (like habits of antivirus scans). You can modify how antivirus scans, the firewall, and backups behave, in addition to the protections for e mail and apps, and a a number of app settings.

This twin interface setup may be complicated initially—but it surely turns into much less of an issue the extra you utilize this system.

Virus, malware, and menace safety

Real-time safety

Norton Antivirus Plus protects your PC in actual time by scanning new or modified information, looking ahead to uncommon app habits, and screening for malicious scripts, attachments, and hyperlinks in downloads and native e mail. Additional defenses (like protected folders, in case you have a selected concern about ransomware) are solely obtainable on larger plans—although as of late, ransomware is less of a concern for most individuals.

To keep away from phishing websites and different malicious pages (together with ones that trigger your PC to robotically obtain sketchy information) whereas looking, you have to first set up the Norton Safe Web extension. It blocks harmful websites and offers visible indicators for a way reliable a hyperlink is.

Scheduled and guide scans

By default, Norton Antivirus Plus will run a full scan of your PC as soon as per thirty days. Scheduling may be very exact—if you wish to run one each 13 hours, it’s potential. You may also set a schedule for the opposite default scan sorts (Quick Scan, Drive Scan, Folder Scan, File Scan), in addition to for any customized scans you’ve created.

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For guide scans, you’ll be able to select Scan Options from the Device Security dropdown menu within the My Norton view, or click on on Scans within the Classic view. Norton consists of the choice to scan for hard-to-find threats, in addition to get diagnostic studies and proposals on which of your information needs to be examined.

Advanced customers could discover scan settings too simplified—for instance, the complete scan solely permits you to change if it appears inside compressed information, scans community drives, removes contaminated folders robotically, and wipes low danger and monitoring cookie information. The different default scans have even fewer settings. You can also’t select to test over all information, even when unchanged.

Browser extensions

Rare is the PC that isn’t constantly related to the web. Since net browser use is a day by day prevalence for many everybody, Norton consists of a number of browser extensions to spice up on-line security: Norton Home Page, Norton Safe Search, and Norton Safe Web.

Norton Home Page switches your default to Norton’s personal begin web page, whereas Norton Safe Search modifications your default to Norton’s search engine. Meanwhile, Norton Safe Web scans hyperlinks outcomes for malicious content material and likewise provides a visible badge to Google and Bing outcomes displaying if it’s protected to click on (inexperienced is sweet, pink is harmful). Of this set, Norton Safe Web is probably the most helpful—most individuals have already got their very own most well-liked house web page and search engine.

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A fourth browser extension, Norton Password Manager, allows you to handle your passwords. While not strictly obligatory (you’ll be able to entry the service by means of the web site), it’s probably the most polished of all obtainable extensions and simple to make use of.

Cloud backup

Having backups of your most necessary information is a sensible transfer—even for those who’re not afraid of ransomware locking you out, untimely storage drive dying or a misplaced machine all the time loom as risks. Norton makes an attempt to assist on this entrance by permitting you to avoid wasting copies of your paperwork to its servers.

By default, cloud backups will add all however e mail and video information in your Windows doc folders (i.e., Documents, Pictures, Music, and so on). You can add or exclude file sorts, in addition to particular information and folders. Norton additionally permits the creation of various backup guidelines (referred to as a “Backup Set”), which is useful since you’ll be able to solely save to 1 location per backup set.

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Note that for the Norton Antivirus Plus plan, you don’t get a lot included storage—simply 2GB. That gained’t be sufficient to again up music or a even a average photograph assortment, however ought to adequately cowl your necessary text-based paperwork.

You may also create backups that save to an area drive—however in my expertise, this selection is buggy. On a couple of pc, Norton would declare it had saved information to an exterior drive, however the information wouldn’t really seem. You’re higher off establishing your own system for local backups.

Password supervisor

Though easy, Norton’s password supervisor is sweet—a pleasing distinction to companies that really feel too stripped down. Setup is simple, with Norton prompting you to create a separate vault password, then to obtain a restoration key. (If you overlook your vault password, you’ll want this key to get better the account.)

This double login system (as soon as together with your commonplace Norton credentials, then your vault password) would usually be a ache, however utilizing passwordless authentication by means of the Norton Password Manager cell app nips that within the bud. It’s seamless, if fractionally gradual with authentication approval requests. You can entry your vault by means of the web site, a browser extension, or the cell app.

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Note that for the browser extension, you’ll be able to’t set the clipboard to robotically clear a copied password after a sure time. That’s a characteristic normally supplied by rival password managers.

PC utilities

Norton features a handful of PC instruments in its antivirus suite, which replicate present Windows options, generally in a extra restricted approach.

Optimize Disk is one such instance. It’s Norton’s model of the Windows Optimize Drives utility, however extra restricted—it solely defragments laborious disk drives. Windows’ native software is the higher name, because it handles each HDDs and SSDs with the appropriate protocols. (Solid-state drives don’t profit from conventional defragmentation.)

File Cleanup wipes momentary information in Windows, together with any undesirable Internet Explorer information. (If the latter is relevant to you, it’s time to improve your working system.) Again, you’re higher off utilizing the native Windows utility for this activity.

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Startup Manager controls which apps launch robotically when Windows begins up—however you’ll be able to simply handle this in Windows by typing startup apps in Windows search.

Graphs is the one fascinating one of many lot, displaying a historical past of system use (installations, downloads, optimization, virus detections, fast scans, and alerts). If you wish to know precisely what your system is doing within the background, this overview makes these particulars simply accessible.

For these 4 instruments, you have to dig into Norton’s Classic view to seek out them. An further software lives within the My Norton view—Software Updater retains monitor of outdated apps and allows you to replace them instantly from the interface. (Our suggestion: Use the utility as a notification system, after which manually replace your self, to keep away from potential software program points down the highway.) Overall, Norton’s inclusion of those options is a pleasant thought, however not what sells the suite.

Secure browser

If you’re cautious of Chrome, Norton Antivirus Plus consists of another referred to as Norton Secure Browser. It’s additionally based mostly on the identical Chromium code as Google’s browser, however with a extra curated expertise.

Norton Secure Browser drops onto your PC preconfigured with the Norton Privacy Guard (which blocks trackers and a few adverts, however not sponsored search outcomes), Norton Password Manager, and Coupons add-ons already put in. You can solely uninstall the Password Manager and Coupon extensions.

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If you wish to add extra add-ons, Norton presents a pared-down storefront—however you will get extra by scrolling all the best way to the underside for a hyperlink to the Chrome Web Store (or simply hop on Google or Bing search). That’ll will let you set up stronger ad-blocking add-ons like uBlock Origin, in order for you extra complete screening.

Customer assist

Help with Norton Antivirus Plus is accessible throughout the app, each from the My Norton and Classic views. Of the 2, the Classic view is less complicated to navigate, however the My Norton view places the solutions to generally requested issues proper upfront.

You may also lookup data on Norton’s support pages and community forums, and get technical assist by means of chat, social media, and phone assistance. The in-app assist and assist pages are a great place to begin, whereas the boards and firm assist are higher choices for troubleshooting.

Updates and upkeep

Norton robotically updates the virus definitions and app model, however the LiveUpdate characteristic throughout the app additionally allows you to manually test for pending updates. It appears for any modifications to the antivirus safety, Norton app, and course of safety.

If you might want to discover the model of your Norton app, you’ll be able to entry it by means of Help > About within the Classic view.

Performance

Norton typically performs properly in assessments carried out by main safety analysis institutes—for on-line safety, not less than. It caught almost 100 p.c of the threats in AV-Test’s zero-day assault and malware assessments for November and December 2024 (probably the most present outcomes launched). It blocked all of the 389 zero-day assault samples in November, and 99.8 p.c of them in December. For not too long ago widespread and prevalent malware, it detected 100 p.c of the 12,159 samples.

In AV-Comparatives’ real-world safety take a look at for July through October 2024, Norton noticed 99.8 p.c of the 471 take a look at instances, with 22 false positives. (Rival ESET had simply three false positives, for comparability.) The samples have been a mixture of exploits (like drive-by downloads), malicious net addresses, and URLs linking on to malware. Effectively, Norton will defend in opposition to harmful web sites, however its sensitivity can find yourself blocking reliable web sites or downloads.

AV-Comparatives

When going through AV-Comparatives’ September 2024 malware protection test and its 10,078 samples, Norton scored a 79 p.c offline detection fee, 97.3 p.c on-line detection fee, and a 99.96 p.c on-line safety fee, with 32 false positives. Of these outcomes, the web safety rating issues most, because it represents how properly antivirus software program stops threats that reside in your PC—and Norton’s is among the many prime on the chart.

That stated, Norton’s offline detection rating exhibits how a lot this system depends on an web connection for that safety. Without the corporate’s servers bolstering its screening talents, the app isn’t as sharp at figuring out threats. It trails as a lot as 15 p.c behind its greatest competitors in catching malware regionally. That uneven efficiency means you have to anticipate malware to stand up to mischief earlier than it will get blocked and wiped. Meanwhile, rival Bitdefender posts a 94.3 p.c offline detection fee, whereas nonetheless additionally providing a 94.3 p.c on-line detection fee, 99.98 p.c on-line safety fee, and simply 5 false alarms.

Norton didn’t take part in AV-Comparatives’ October 2024 Advanced Threat Protection Test, which evaluates a safety suite’s resistance to extra refined, focused assault strategies like malicious scripts and fileless assaults.

AV-Comparatives

As for PC efficiency, Norton Antivirus Plus can have a notable impact on frequent duties—if operating full scans when you’re lively on the pc. The influence is softer throughout on a regular basis actions, as proven by our PCMark 10 take a look at. This benchmark simulates net looking, video chatting, gaming, and file modifying in open-souce applications like GIMP and LibreOffice. When idle within the background, looking ahead to real-time threats, Norton Antivirus Plus had nearly no influence on PCMark 10’s take a look at scores. But when a full scan ran concurrently all through the benchmark, the outcomes decreased by about 6 p.c.

That efficiency drop elevated throughout our UL Procyon benchmark, which simulates doc modifying in Microsoft Office apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Benchmark outcomes fell about 6 p.c at idle, and nearly 10 p.c throughout a full scan. That distinction swelled for our Handbrake encoding take a look at, with a 11 p.c lower on idle and a large 22 p.c tumble throughout a full scan.

However, these numbers don’t mirror how Norton usually handles full scans. After an preliminary full scan, subsequent ones solely study new or modified, which accelerates the scan time and reduces the hit to system sources. And by default, full scans are scheduled for off-hours.

Still, for those who’re usually copying to or altering information in your PC, Norton’s have an effect on on system efficiency is one thing to think about—particularly for those who use a mid-range or funds pc.

Should you purchase Norton Antivirus Plus?

As an entry-level software program suite, Norton Antivirus Plus is an reasonably priced, dependable possibility for many who don’t thoughts its twin set of interfaces. Its one-device limitation may be tight in an period the place most individuals personal not less than a pc and a smartphone, but it surely’s cheaper than related rival plans whereas providing extra options. If you don’t want further gadgets or options — smartphones are very safe even with out third-party antivirus safety as of late — this may be a really perfect antivirus resolution.