Norton Personal Firewall 2003

by Symantec

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006FI0O
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 15, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #6,263 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

  #8 in

  Software > Networking > Firewalls

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

It's not enough just to run antivirus software anymore. Especially if you've got a broadband connection or spend a lot of time online, you need a personal firewall to keep an eye on hackers trying to access your computer. This is a complex area and unless you're a security expert, you need a program that's simple to configure but that also offers strong protection so you know you can trust the options it suggests.

Norton Personal Firewall 2003 fits the bill on both counts. When you install it, the instructions walk you through configuring your system by choosing network settings and scanning your PC for programs that access the Internet. It knows about common applications, so you won't have to tweak umpteen settings to get your e-mail working, and helpful dialog boxes explain the risks of allowing or blocking access.

Not only does it block port scans (where a hacker tests your connection to the Internet, trying to get access), Norton Personal Firewall 2003 also checks all the data entering and leaving your computer, looking for anything suspicious. If it spots suspicious data transfers, it checks the signature database (like the definitions in an antivirus package, and updated in the same way through LiveUpdate). This protects you against Trojan horses and worms like Nimda and Code Red.

You can also protect yourself on the Web. Turn on ad blocking to get rid of irritating pop-up ads from Web sites. You can also choose what information a site sees about you and your browser, turn off animations, scripts, and flash, or block ads on the page itself; a number of sites are preconfigured for you.

Norton Personal Firewall 2003 blocks all the common attacks, making your PC invisible as well as secure online, and it does it without making your applications hard to use or demanding you become a security expert. --Mary Branscombe

Product Description

Clean out Internet buildup with Norton CleanSweep¿ from Symantec. Its powerful tools improve your PC¿s performance by removing unwanted programs and other files that waste disk space. Internet Sweep cleans away the clutter accumulated by Web surfing, including cookies that track your Internet activities. Fast & Safe Cleanup automatically removes files you no longer need, while Safety Sweep¿ prevents the accidental deletion of critical files. The Uninstall Wizard guides you safely step by step through removing old programs. Now Windows¿ XP users can also enjoy the benefits of this award-winning program. Trust Norton CleanSweep 2002 for safe, easy, complete hard drive cleanup.¿¿¿¿¿

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wait a while before installing this product, October 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Norton Personal Firewall 2003 (CD-ROM)

I've been a loyal Nortons user for years and recently upgraded from Norton Antivirus 2002 and Personal Firewall 2002 to the 2003 versions. The new Norton Antivirus works like a charm. The Personal Firewall 2003 (also a component of Internet Security) has a bug in it that prevents group emails (roughly 6-10 or more email addresses) from being delivered and forces a reboot of the computer to be able to send/receive mail again. Many dozen Personal Firewall 2003 users have duplicated the exact problem and reported it on Symantec's support site. Symantec agrees that many users report this problem but their support staff haven't found a fix yet.

My suggestion is to wait until the problem is fixed before buying a product which limits the usefulness of email.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product - Great Price!, March 11, 2003

By	Roman815 (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norton Personal Firewall 2003 (CD-ROM)

Basically, if you have a connection to the Internet that is constantly open, you should get some kind of Firewall AND AnitVirus. I decided to buy Norton Personal Firewall 2003 because I have had Norton AntiVirus 2002 and it worked extremely well. Once I got the Firewall, I installed it easily and in about 5 minutes had both the Norton Firewall and the Norton AntiVirus integrated into ONE security box. The pop-up blocker also WORKS GREAT! Not one pop-up since. I recommend both Norton Personal Firewall 2003 and Norton AntiVirus 2003 because nobody knows when someone will either send you a virus or scan your computer looking to hack in. Yet with these two products you can rest assured that when something goes wrong in the security department, you will be well equipped to deal with it.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Norton Personal Firewall 2003 runs well under XP, January 15, 2003

By	tman328 "teleman328" (Rockville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norton Personal Firewall 2003 (CD-ROM)

Symantec seems to have ironed out the kinks in the Internet Security software running under Windows XP. The software installed and updated itself and immediately began protecting the system which uses a cable modem with a router. The AD blocking is working well. I plan to buy another copy to run on another computer that is on the same cable modem. The firewall rules were automatically adapted to my usage - where as the last version could never seem to remember the rules and kept asking about internet access - so much so - that it was uninstalled. The trace feature is kind of nice, I received a TCP illegal flags attack and it tracked it down to Minneapolis and one from Bejing China.