Norton Systemworks 2006 Premier

by Symantec

Product Features

• Multi-purpose solution keeps computer healthy and personal info safe
• Antivirus protection guards against dangerous viruses and spyware
• Backs up entire computer automatically to guard against disaster and loss
• Easily bring back a failed system with Symantec Recovery Disk
• Includes Norton Antivirus, Utilities, GoBack, Ghost, and more

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000BAWLY2
• Item model number: 10433323
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 10, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,090 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #43 in Software > Networking > Security

Product Description

Amazon.com

Nobody wants to expect the worst, but in today's digital world, you must keep your computer and your digital files protected at all times. Recipient of the PC World's "Best Buy" award (June 2005), Norton Systemworks 2006 Premier offers some of the industry's most comprehensive solutions that are designed not only to keep viruses and hackers from reaching your files, but that will also keep your computer running smoothly and efficiently.

Systemworks 2006 Premier offers comprehensive solutions to keep viruses and hackers from reaching your files.

Antivirus automatically removes viruses. View larger.

Keeps your computer running smoothly and efficiently. View larger.

GoBack allows you to undo problems with your PC. View larger.

From Protection to Detection
Included with Systemworks 2006 Premier are five leading utilities that are designed to help you protect your computer and get the most out of its computing power: Norton AntiVirus, Norton Utilities, Norton GoBack, CheckIt Diagnostics, and System Optimizer.

Norton AntiVirus automatically removes viruses, Trojan horses, and worms from your hard drive and files, and checks incoming and outgoing email attachments for viruses. It is estimated that every five minutes, a new worm or security threat is created. AntiVirus automatically downloads updates to keep these threats away from your data. Among the threats it detects and removes are dangerous spyware, keystroke loggers, and other unwanted monitoring software. And when you install AntiVirus, it automatically disinfects your system, so you start off with a clean, virus-free computer.

Norton Utilities is a suite of utilities, which run continuously in the background, that can help you recover from crashes, repair your system, and fix errors on your hard disk. It also lets you compare different file versions and recover deleted files, and it helps to optimize the performance of your hard drive.

Norton GoBack allows you to easily undo problems with your PC. You can restore your PC to a healthy state by going back minutes, hours, or even days (depending on available disk space that you have). You can also GoBack to restore files that have been deleted or modified, and to try new software safely. CheckIt Diagnostics, which is also included in the suite, offers one of the quickest and most thorough evaluations of a PC's hardware, and System Optimizer gathers all your Windows configuration controls in a single program.

Systemworks 2006 Premier also keeps your computer clean of any data that outsiders could use to monitor your Internet activity or buying habits by cleaning up unwanted cookies. And by removing cache and temporary files automatically, and defragmenting your hard drive, your computer's performance will be optimized. The software even has a feature that compares the performance of your computer with similar computers.

In short, this premier suite of integrated security solutions will protect your PC from viruses, optimize its performance, and safeguard your information through backup and data recovery. And with a LiveUpdate function that automatically downloads updates directly to your computer, Systemworks 2006 Premier is the most comprehensive way you can keep your PC and your valuable data protected.

Product Description

Optimize your computer experience with Norton SystemWorks 2006 Premier. This powerful solution offers advanced protection, automatically backing up your music, photos, personal files, and everything else on you computer. It also automatically maintains your system and prevents common problems. And when trouble does occur, it’s there to help you repair the damage and recover your system. A lot can go wrong with computers—systems crash, data gets deleted, viruses attack—and Norton SystemWorks Premier helps prevent many of these problems. It keeps your computer healthy and clean, and its antivirus protection protects you from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and dangerous spyware. And to guard against disaster and loss it backs up your entire computer automatically. No matter how many precautions you take, problems can still occur. And with Norton SystemWorks Premier, you don’t have to turn to “techie” friends or family when trouble strikes. With handy tools, like the Symantec Recovery Disk, it’s easy to bring back a failed system. So, whether you need to remove a virus or restore a corrupt hard drive, Norton SystemWorks Premier will help get you up, running, and enjoying your computer in no time.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag, incrementally better, solid (mostly) reliable performance., October 27, 2005

By 

Steve G. (Traverse City, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norton Systemworks 2006 Premier (CD-ROM)

Caveat: I am comparing this to systemworks standard, 2005.

Although I've been a user of symantec/norton products for about 10 years now, there has always been some bugginess about them. This is the smoothest release I've ever seen. This is also based on a 3 day review, so it's not really thorough. This also refers to the download version, which is a bit more difficult because I had to burn my own ISO boot/backup/restore disk.

That aside, the reason for the 4 stars is the redundancy in ways to do the same (or very similar) thing twice, and for the minimal (if any) changes to Norton Utilities. Norton Ghost 10, for example, does automatic and manual restore checkpoints on backups. GoBack does the same thing, but it's not meant for ISO, obviously. GoBack hasn't changed much, if at all, since 2005. However, the two togther are somewhat redundant, and could be possibly merged. Safe install in Goback is now automatic, tho (i.e., "it appears you are installing a new program, you'll have the option to restore to pre-install conditions" or some such verbage).

Norton Utilities is about the same, straight up. Wipe slack space, for example, is still a drop down selection, rather than a button option. In fact, everything in Norton Utilities seems the same in the control panel from 2005. No memory defrag. No internet tweaking tools. Just as an idea, symantec, if you're listening, and have no plans to improve Norton Utilities, you could set up a way to allow plug ins like Nvidias N-Tune app...

What's new to me (and possibly other upgraders) is Checkit, which has been updated (but still covers mostly the same content), and Benchmark test, which compares my system against others, and itself, during tweaking, overclocking, or upgrades. However, the list of comparable systems is painfully short. I lucked up and had the exact same setup as one indicated, except for the drives. Process viewer, which is new, gives a greater deal of control and understanding to operating processes (same as the Windows process viewer, just with more options, such as Google this - useful for ID'ing what's running).

Ghost has some redundancy in view progress and performance. Progress is shown during backups anyhow, performance is a useful tool though, to give a sliding scale priority to backups while using other programs, from low (very slow backup) to high (in-use desktop programs take forever, but ghost flies). My 15 gig test setup compressed to 3 gigs on my backup drive, and the incrementals have been reliably popping up to say they're doing so.

What's different? System Optimizer includes user level controls (meaning you can, for example, restrict individual accounts or tweak individual accounts - there are also many more options in there now for tweaking and information. The downside is that settings are still locked to admin level accounts, except for basic things like virus scan.

The main proggy startup has a changed "Norton Status Screen" which has been basically rearranged, but offers more immediate acccess to tools freqently used, rather than clicking "change settings" or "more info". Some have been renamed/regrouped, such as "Performance", which covers auto-protect, spyware, Improve Performance (accesses defrag), clean clutter, fix windows problems (windoctor). Also new is a Norton Status bar that attaches to the lower right taskbar (the regular task icons still install). But the Norton Status bar will pop up on startup giving a snapshot of system health, it seems to me a shortcut to the entire program, should things go wrong anywhere. The status bar is NOT system doctor, which is still available via Utilities.

Everything boots smoother and faster, much faster. Of course, I haven't loaded the system down. I had tried Iolo's v6, and while I liked it's myriad of utilities (memory defrag and recover, for example, and a slew of others that Norton lacks) it was buggy beyond belief on almost everything else). I suppose, in all fairness, I should have tried a clean boot install of Iolo v6, but even so, its lack of information (just stuff like "3 spyware programs detected" without giving info was useless).

Norton's antivirus scans are faster, and sport a new interface. Registry optimizer is about the same as before, and one button checkup hasn't changed.

With the exception of Norton Ghost (which I love), I would have been disappointed in the upgrade had I purchased regular systemworks... the changes are incremental, rather than monumental. However, they make sense and improve the program, well, incrementally.

One thing I still haven't isolated is use with Windows firewall... I was able to use Norton's worm detection and Windows firewall simultaneously without flaw in Systemworks 2005. Now when I try to do the same, downloads slow, then stop completely. It's one or the other, it seems (or install Norton Firewall, which the protection center will suggest (albeit unobtrusively, thank God.

The whole core Norton system, including goback and all is now a 1 button install. Performance test is separate, and strikingly similar to checkit. There is also a new registration/validation procedure which claims to be designed to resolve the repeat installation errors that plagued 2005 (regular systemworks, anyhow).

Also, during online purchase, I tried to delete the extended backup service, but it would delete the whole order. This only happened with Premiere, I tried it with other products, and it would not occur. CD Buyers will not have this issue, of course.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase. Overclockers beware that a cmos reset, and even some overclockings, will screw the pooch on Systemworks, and require going thru all reinitilizations again (goback, full virus scan, etc.) - At least on my system. Your mileage may vary. I've probably missed a few dozen improvements which the Norton folks will protest, and the Iolo folks, well, they will learn from their customers .. but this is where things stand now.

Norton is the 800 lb gorilla because it is the best, in my opinion, even with a few bugs, lack of Norton Utilities update, and some redundancy in functionality. If I had to summarize it another way, it is the best antivirus application around, period, with the best of the available utilities, even if they are significantly limited compared to other upstarts.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Be Sure You Backup Your System Before Installing!!!!!, November 21, 2005

By 

Hope This Helps (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norton Systemworks 2006 Premier (CD-ROM)

I would recommend NOT installing GoBack! (In order to NOT install GoBack, you must do a custom install and deselect GoBack.)

Just like another reviewer, I installed NSW Premier with disasterous results. GoBack messed up ALL drives (not just the system drive) so that the PC would not boot (endless boot loop), and a secondary disk was unreadable. I could find no way to uninstall GoBack once the system was corrupted, even after checking the Symantec website. There was no simple utility on the System Recovery CD to check for and uninstall GoBack!!!???!!! I could not believe it. Luckily, I had the drives backed up, but I had to completely rebuild the entire system!

NSW has not changed / improved for nearly five years. While I respect the Symantec Antivirus s/w, NSW is in need of a massive overhaul. Symantec has not invested in these utilities and it shows. Don't waste you money on this product, find a better utilities package.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Caveat Emptor" ... A.K.A... "let the buyer beware", November 28, 2005

By 

bartjoebob "bartjoebob" (ManchVegas, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norton Systemworks 2006 Premier (CD-ROM)

Egad! I have never had any issues with Symantec products. As a customer who has owned Systemworks Premier 2003 and 2005 on 3 separate machines, overall I've been very satisfied with the integration and stability offered. In fact, in many instances my experience with Systemworks 2003/2005 have exceeded my expectations! My confidence was high and I nonetheless opted to partake in some Black Friday frenzy to nab the latest greatest Symantec Systemworks 2006 Premier edition rebated to nothing! How could I resist?

Exit Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition (provided by my company and was working fine)...

Enter hell in a hand basket. SWP2006 turned a beautifully smooth running brand new HP laptop (ample hardware I assure you) into a sniveling churning, grinding "Pentium II-esqe" background process running dog! Upon install startup took forever, over and over again... and my laptop never stopped grinding away incessantly... (hence the "Pentium II" reference).

My disappointment continued when I tried calling tech support. Yes, I too reached India after 45 minutes on hold and a dial-by-directory maze. They told me to completely uninstall the entire suite of programs (including Live Update) and try reinstalling them one at a time via custom install. "Call back when you isolate the problem." So much for support.

India did state that they are receiving numerous calls from users who report similar affected system performance issues with SWP2006. Great.

Has Symantec gotten to the point where they have to give their products away? After all, its all about the residual updates and re-registrations times millions of users where they make their money!

As far as my system status, while waiting for Go Back to uninstall (as part of the entire suite) I decided to write this and share my experiences with you. Unfortunately I must concur, if you are satisfied with an existing Symantec Systemworks product... DO NOT UPGRADE to SWP2006. Symantec has done little if anything over the last few years to improve Systemworks. Renewals will allow you to receive updates/etc without the hassle of having as one writer put it..."to completely rebuild the entire system!"

But all is not lost, Im still satisfied with the Systemworks 2005 Premier I have on my other systems. (I also have Internet Security Pro 2003 and I highly recommend this- it traces hack attempts with a global GPS map with network administrator contact info)! You can still buy it if you poke around on Google.

So long as I can roll back this installation (I've been fortunate not to get burned in the redundant boot loops others are reporting) I'll breathe a sigh of relief.

SWP2006... cant recommend it!