Norton AntiVirus 2003 [Old Version]

by Symantec

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006FI0T
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 21, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,755 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Simple and powerful, Norton AntiVirus 2003 protects your PC against viruses--and it covers e-mail and instant messaging, too. The program's clear and simple interface shows you what you're protected against, how up-to-date your virus definitions are, and when you last checked your whole system. Anything you need to worry about is clearly marked in red.

Installation is simple: you can accept all the defaults without worry, and you'll be prompted to go online and get up-to-date definitions as soon as you install. If a virus is found, the software will try to automatically repair the file. In addition to looking for known viruses, the Norton AntiVirus Bloodhound feature tries to spot new viruses and worms by their behavior. AntiVirus 2003 also checks for viruses in files you download from the Web, in e-mail, and now in instant messages. If you use MSN Messenger you'll need to reboot; other messaging tools are protected straight away. With e-mail, Norton AntiVirus 2003 can check incoming and outgoing messages and files in POP3 clients like Outlook Express. While AntiVirus 2002 would only stop you from getting infected by an e-mail worm, this version stops you from passing the infection on to others.

Checking your system and downloading updates are two things you need to do regularly. Norton AntiVirus 2003 makes them relatively painless by setting up a full scan once a week and checking for new updates whenever you're online. Running a full scan does take time and you're not given an estimate of how long; a large drive can take 30 minutes or even an hour, and it ties up a lot of your PC's power. Simple update scanning hardly slows down your PC down at all.

Norton AntiVirus 2003 is an excellent way to guard against viruses. While it's not a major upgrade, as instant messaging becomes more popular, it's good to see tools to protect your system. --Mary Branscombe, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description

Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2003 scans and cleans both incoming and outgoing e-mail, stopping viruses from infecting your computer or spreading to other computers. It removes viruses automatically, without interrupting your work. To prevent infections during real-time online chats, Norton AntiVirus now also detects viruses in instant-message attachments, including ones you receive using MSN, Windows, AOL, and Yahoo! messaging services.

Updates are downloaded automatically over the Internet to protect your computer with the latest virus definitions from the Symantec Security Response team. These virus experts work 24 hours a day, developing new definitions whenever a new threat is discovered. Even between virus definition updates, Symantec's exclusive Worm Blocking and Script Blocking technologies can identify and stop suspicious programs.

Because Norton AntiVirus is so simple to set up and use, you can be up and running with powerful virus protection right away. You also get step-by-step instructions for installing the program on a computer that's already infected. For small businesses, 5- and 10-user packs are also available.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stick with NA 2002 instead of 2003, December 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Norton AntiVirus 2003 [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

Norton Antivirus 2003 is full of bugs. Unless you want a bunch of headaches stick with the proven version 2002. Norton Antivirus is still a much better product than McAfees (I experienced problems with them from the beginning, but never had problems with Norton 2001 or 2002.) Their rush to get a new product out by the new year has them releasing a poor product...perhaps they should simply name the product version6.whatever instead of by the year so they don't have to rush something that is clearly not ready to be placed out on the market yet!

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "This Anti-Virus is Making Me Ill", September 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Norton AntiVirus 2003 [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

Having happily purchased Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2003 at my local computer superstore, I slipeed the CD in and expected all to go well. No dice. I attempted to contact Norton (no weekend "live" help), so I posted a message on Norton's "Message Board." This, I gather, is Norton's way of having their customers fix their other customers' problems. On weekdays, one must PAY for telephone assistance, which I'd begrudgingly do, but the line's always busy, anyway. On Norton's message board I see that the identical problem is posted on an average of evry two minutes for the identical installation problem. (There are 841 customers waiting for an answer at this writing - (even from another cash customer.)

Bad experience throughout. Customer service is nonexistent and the product just won't work!

Sorry I did'nt purchase it through Amazon! I will next time, believe me!

I'd give Norton a "0" on this if it were possible.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Decent Update, September 9, 2002

By 

Franklin R. Morrison (FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Norton AntiVirus 2003 [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

The only difference from 2002 version is an updated GUI and the ability to scan IM attachments. I do not think this is worth the upgrade, but you can get it for 10 bucks if you already had the old version.
This is still the best antivirus solution