Norton Internet Security 2.0

Norton AntiVirus 8.0 not only protects you from a huge list of viruses, it even scans e-mail attachments and file transfers as you download them, allowing you to stop an infected file before it reaches your computer. Keeping the application and its essential virus definitions up-to-date is made simple by the LiveUpdate feature, which allows you to download new versions manually when you are online, or at scheduled times.

Norton Personal Firewall 2.0 is striking in its simplicity. Once you have run the software installer you are protected from all forms of unauthorized access from the Internet, and that's practically all there is to it. Using Norton Personal Firewall 2.0 for the first time, it is surprising to see just how many attempts have been made to access your computer without your permission during an average session on the Net.

To optimize the information logged by Norton Personal Firewall 2.0, the package also includes Who's There? by Open Door Networks. This excellent utility reads the firewall log and provides detailed information on the access attempts that have been intercepted, along with risk ratings for the various types of attack. If you decide to take action against the would-be hackers, Who's There? will even search the online WHOIS database and draft an e-mail to the system administrator of the network from which a particular attack originated.

Norton Privacy Control gives peace of mind by preventing you from unwittingly transmitting private information such as banking details or passwords through your Internet connection. Simply type in the information that you want blocked, and Norton Privacy Control will scan all data sent from your computer and warn you if your private data is being transmitted before it ever leaves your Mac. In addition, Norton Privacy Control provides an end to those dreadful pop-up advertisements you see all over the Internet. Simply drag a pop-up window from your browser onto the Norton Privacy Control trash, and it will be blocked from displaying in the future.

Finally, iClean by Aladdin Systems provides a quick and simple way to clean out unwanted Internet-related files such as browser caches, cookies, and page history files, freeing up valuable disk space and preventing clutter.

Users of Mac OS 8 or OS 9 should note that the Norton Internet Security 2.0 package includes Norton Internet Security 1.0 for operating systems older than Mac OS X, so if you already own this version and do not use Mac OS X, Norton Internet Security 2.0 offers no new features for you.

Mac users who spend much of their time online, and particularly those with broadband connections, will find this suite of security applications an effective way of maintaining peace of mind with minimum fuss. --Daniel Jardine, Amazon.co.uk