Is Norton Antivirus still effective in 2023?

Is Norton Antivirus still effective in 2023?

Norton Antivirus some love it others not so much A lot of people use Norton or do they really, so many questions we should probably get to the bottom of all this.

for this Norton review 2023 edition, let's look at all the positives and the negatives of this antivirus to make sure that it's going to be a good fit for you.

is it even easy to use Norton?

most Norton antivirus reviews agree Norton's app is not the most comfortable, Norton for Windows has unironically too many windows one for the scan another for the firewall and so on it just gets confusing to navigate on

On the other hand, the installation process is simple so this is especially true for mobile devices and Mac OS since Norton has specific apps for those devices, the design changes slightly between Norton 360 for Mac OS and windows but there are no feature differences. Norton for iOS and Norton for Android are also on the same level at least in features wise so no issues with that.

is Norton safe?

well first and foremost you're going to find real-time protection and system scans there's nothing revolutionary here I mean most top antiviruses have similar Baseline security already in place but Norton's scan is pretty good.

I've tested Norton versus viruses multiple times before and redid my testing just for this post I put 10 malicious files on my PC and then we can see how quickly and effectively Norton detects them always a nerve-wracking experience but Norton has met my expectations this time getting rid of 9 out of 10 malware files in under 10 minutes, no it's not perfect but it is typical by current industry standards with Bitdefender having similar results but during the scan, my CPU usage did Skyrocket and yes the same thing happened for Bitdefender and total AV as well so nothing out of the ordinary here.

this was a full scan and Norton can do more than just that but the most peculiar option that I found is Norton Insight it can Mark trusted files on your device based on Norton Community usage which allows Norton to skip these files saving you time while scanning.

in case you wanted to see the Norton 360 review by independent Security Professionals well here's the latest AV comparison report according to their test Norton consistently blocks up to 99.9 percent of threats, but to be completely fair analyzing only real-time protection and virus scans will not be enough to evaluate Norton's security that's why I'm diving into the app once again to show you the other security features.

Smart firewall

my personal favorite here is the Smart firewall since my entire life is on the internet right now I want to make sure that nobody can abuse it by getting access to my devices or stealing my data let alone hijack my PC now this makes sure that none of those things happen and then some after all this firewall can detect vulnerable open ports and close them to prevent any leaks and admittedly being a bit paranoid after the recent surge of ransomware.

Cloud backup

I also enabled PC Cloud backup for all my important info this feature provides a great chance to deploy Norton vs ransomware hacks and it's also a good backup should you have any software Hardware accidents that ruin your data.

safe cam

safe cam, this feature ensures that you always know which apps are trying to open up your webcam.

system optimization

system optimization is a nice feature as well I got a noticeable performance boost the first time I used it and since then dealing with duplicate files and disk optimization helps my PC run with good and consistent performance.

dark web monitoring

there are more features like parental controls and dark web monitoring which I personally don't use all that often but as long as you have enough time and patience to deal with Norton's app well you can configure pretty much everything you need related to security.

Norton VPN

features aside many antivirus apps these days try to fit password managers and VPNs into a full package does Norton do that, well of course it does but it isn't anything that unique if all you need is some extra encryption on top of some ad blocking and Wi-Fi security well the Norton VPN is more than enough but as soon as you want to Branch into P2P or streaming well you're gonna find yourself wishing you had a whole lot more.

as a security app, Norton VPN is manageable, but the speeds it provides and the stability of the connection are nothing to write home about, and while I could do some limited streaming through Netflix UK and the US which is admittedly impressive for a built-in VPN. the performance just wasn't consistent and torrenting Norton VPN completely blocks P2P connections.

if you're looking for a VPN antivirus combo Norton 360 might not be your best pick I'd suggest you check out surf shark instead it's a VPN with an extra antivirus package and it performs well it's a good choice if you care less about overall security and more about stuff like streaming.

Norton's password manager

on the flip side of that Norton's password manager is quite decent after all, it can save your passwords, autofill forms, and provide analysis of your password security.

I mean what else do you need, well there is a reason I called it decent but not great it clearly needs some multi-factor authentication methods like Nordpass, Robopass, or keeper but if you want to have all your tools Under One Roof still a decent option but more experienced users are probably going to prefer an app with maximum security.

is Norton 2023 worth it?

when we're talking about safety I want to know how much are you willing to spend to improve your safety or in other words if Norton 2023 is worth it, well it depends on which plan you go for:

antivirus plus offers real-time protection, two gigabytes of cloud backup, a firewall, and a password manager.

upgrading to Norton 360 standard expands the backup, and adds a VPN, safe Cam, and dark web monitoring.

and finally, the deluxe version has everything we've listed plus 50 gigabytes of backup, parental control, and support for five devices.

the last option is overkill IMHO unless you're looking for a family plan so I run with the standard plan myself and it's a good value even compared to the other providers, total AV has similar pricing and Bitdefender is only slightly cheaper.

conclusion

so let's summarize Norton is an interesting provider it has very strong security and is possibly one of the best antivirus providers in that regard, its features are very used useful even for casual users, especially with the optimization, camera protection, and backup options.

on the other hand, I'm not a fan of Norton's UI it's time to change that guys and the Norton VPN and password manager are also mediocre at best, but if you don't care about the extras and just want to get a reputable security focused antivirus Norton is a good choice.