Amazon.com: Norton Internet Security 2005

I have been using NIS for a few years now. I really liked the 2004 version and have had no major problems with it other than once my computer boots, I always had to go into NIS properties to see if my EMAIL SCANNING said 'ON' or 'ERROR'. Evidently, something on my computer will occassionally cause the email scanning to not load properly, so if it showed 'ERROR' - I would have to reboot and then it would be ok. I should point out that Norton Support Staff told me even though email scanning said 'error', the computer is still protected by the 'auto-protect' feature if it is turned on. Minor inconvenience, but other than that, I was very happy with the program.

The same holds true for the new 2005 - I still have the occassional email scanning 'error', but there are a few new irritating things happening. While the software works fine, it has tremendously SLOWED DOWN the launch of Outlook Express and it even hangs a second or two when I close it. Also, if you open NIS properties screen, when I am finished, I hit the X button to close, but it takes like 2-3 seconds before it will close. Even though these are just a few seconds, it really irritates me because I have a very fast computer.

However, something that really excites me about this new NIS is that the hard drive scan of all files by Norton Anti-Virus seems to take a lot less time than it did with a previous version. Being a stickler for speedy computer processing, this is definitely a plus.

So, overall, this program works OK and keeps me protected, but I still think there are minor issues they need to work on as mentioned and I also think that the average computer user is not given enough information about whether to allow certain things when a firewall warning appears. I know so many people that have blocked innocent programs and found that they are unable to use them or get on the internet. There should be a way for NIS to know what is innocent and what should be blocked... the average computer user doesn't have the time to research what they should block or not - in fact, isn't that the reason we use computers? They are supposed to be able to do the work FOR US!!!!

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222 of 258 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WARNING! THIS VERSION SUCKS UP ALL OF YOUR RAM!, November 9, 2004

By	E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

I'm a long-time Norton Internet Security (NIS) product user. I've been running the 2002 version of NIS and signing up for the yearly security updates. This year I decided to get the new NIS 2005 package because of all of the new features. I removed the 2002 NIS and installed 2005 NIS.

Bad move. I could still access the Internet via AOL, but I couldn't open any windows. AOL couldn't even pop up it's trashy, repetive messages about second phone lines, much less my mail box.

I called the Symantec help line which was another big mistake. Once we got past the language barrier, the tech claimed I had an AOL or MicroSoft Explorer problem. I asked him if he believed in coincidences, but I don't think he understood me.

Finally I checked my PC's RAM utilization. It had jumped from 58% used to 75% used, which is why I couldn't open anything on the Internet. I uninstalled NIS 2005, reinstalled NIS 2002, got my RAM back, and returned NIS 2005 to Symantec, along with mutterings about their 'RAM sucking piece of garbage.'

Beware! Beware!

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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Consider alternatives...., January 18, 2005

By	Gorp (Canada) - See all my reviews

I work for Microsoft. My position is that of level two technical support for Microsoft Windows Xp. I must say that Norton Internet security has taken over AOL as the number one cause of problems with the Windows XP operating system. My co-workers and I never suspected that any software could take the place of the poorly written AOL software in terms of being problematic, but somehow Symantec has managed to create something that is even more troublesome.
Even users with 512 mb of ram can expect a significant decrease in system performance as well as longer startup and shut down times.
The product can also limit or prevent internet and e-mail acess.
I have seen startup times on a properly functioning Windows Xp computer increase from 3 minutes to 10 minutes only with the instalation of Norton Internet security.
Also, it often disables access to secured websites such as those used by banking insitutions or the Windows update site.
It also in many cases does not un-install correctly causing numerous other problems leading to the computerized equivelent of a train wreck.
Many customers report little to no resolution from Symantec so they turn to us. Myself and my co-workers have become quite good at cleaning up the mess this product makes. Beleive me, we've had plenty of practice!
There are many other products on the market that will do the same job for free or very cheap.
Please consider alternatives, for example:
A hardware firewall such as that found in virtually any router will protect your system better than ANY software product.
They are very simple to set up and the cost is low.
There are several very good antivirus programs which are free or cheap that will protect as well or better.
There are also some very good anti-spyware products and some are free.
Consider all of these options before placing your Windows operating system integirity at risk.