Symantec today opened the public beta of Norton 360 5.0, the latest version of the company's end-to-end security suite. This beta builds upon the updated versions of Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus released in September, and improves the usability and performance in the backup and tune-up features exclusive to Norton 360, redesigns the UI, revamps the online backup user experience, and integrates with Norton's free online tools.
New Features
The revamped UI in Norton 360 puts all of the different tools right up front: Antivirus protection, Identity protection, online backup, automatic PC tune-up, Norton Safe Web, Norton Online Family, and the global threat protection map are all displayed on the main screen, and settings/security controls for each are organized underneath.
"We are big advocates of keeping it simple, so there is easy access to all the pillars in the main UI," Symantec told Betanews. "We haven't messed up what wasn't broken."
Norton 360 5.0 now includes resource management for third-party apps on your system. If a particular piece of software you have installed is using a lot of system resources, Norton 360 can immediately alert you. If alerts aren't your thing, you can check out resource logs to compare third party app behavior.
As with any security package, performance remains a paramount issue. Symantec says it is working to improve backup and restore performance, reduce system impact, and increase valuable communication with users in Norton 360. PC Tuneups, one of the most popular features of 360 are also faster, the company told us.
Additionally, the Bootable Recovery Tool Wizard, Norton's malware removal tool to get inoperable systems up and running again, can now be booted from USB or CD/DVD.
Even though Norton 360 strives to be an all-in-one security package that users can "set up and forget about," there is no substitute for good user behavior, and Symantec seeks to educate mainstream users about the threats of careless browsing and file handling. In addition to making its alerts more informative, version 5.0 of Norton 360 compares the trustworthiness of files on your system with the files on other users in the Norton network, telling users if they are more or less careful than everybody else.
"Our goal is to deliver the best protection solution, paid or free," Symantec told Betanews. "But one of our biggest campaigns is to educate consumers; because unfortunately, there are times when people can't be saved by antivirus alone."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
