Review: Norton Utilities 5.0 and Norton AntiVirus 6.0

By: Kirk Hiner

Format: CD

Developer: Symantec.

Minimum Requirements - Norton Utilities:PowerPC, MacOS 8.0, 24MB RAM, 16MB hard disk space, CD ROM, internet connection for LiveUpdate

Minimum Requirements - Norton Utilities:PowerPC, MacOS 8.0, 24MB RAM, 10MB hard disk space, CD ROM, internet connection for LiveUpdate

Retail Price - Norton Utilities: $99.95 ($49.95 upgrade)

Retail Price - Norton AntiVirus 6.0: $69.95 ($24.95 upgrade)

Availability: Out now
Available at the Applelinks Store

Before I even get into this review, I have to ask one question. Who does this Peter Norton think he is? I mean, not even Emperor Gates has the gall to plaster his image all over his packaging. I have to believe that, were he President of the United States, Peter Norton would be shipping statues of himself across all of America like the Caesars did across the Roman Empire. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure he's an amicable chap who's good to his children and plays in charity softball games, but his image leaning smugly over an iMac hardly inspires confidence in the product he sells. If anything, it's kind of creepy...junior high science teacher creepy.

But I'm not here to review Peter Norton (although that would be a unique angle). Instead, I'm going to focus more on the new upgrades to "his" two major utilities for the Macintosh: Norton Utilities and Norton AntiVirus.

Norton Utilities 5.0

See what I mean? Norton and his tie are even all over the icon!

Okay, I'll quit. I shouldn't be getting this flustered.

Most of the utilities from versions past have returned in this update. Disk Doctor, Speed Disk, File Saver, UnErase, Volume Recover, System Info, Norton Fast Find, DiskLight and Wipe Info all made the final cut. Alternatively, I can't say I'm surprised that Crash Guard isn't back. It always seemed to me that this utility, which was supposed to prevent software crashes or at least keep your system up when they happened, actually caused more than it stopped.

So what's new in version 5.0? That's the good news. First up is Live Repair; Norton can now completely repair the start-up disk, so users no longer have to boot off the CD. This is great news for PowerBook users who may run into trouble while on the road without their CD. Another potentially helpful feature is the ability to undo repairs. In the unlikely event that something should go horribly awry after a repair, users now have the ability to return their system to its original state.

Another great new feature is LiveUpdate which automates the updating of everything Norton. With the click of a button, LiveUpdate can check the Symantec site for any updates, download the ones needed, and install them. LiveUpdate can even be scheduled to do this automatically, and more than one update can be scheduled. Although this feature is more suited for AntiVirus, as I'll explain further on, it's still quite handy to have in Utilities.

And speaking of AntiVirus, the Norton titles are finally integrated. In the past, despite warnings from Utilities that it's wise to run AntiVirus before repairing a disk, one still had to launch virus protection program separately. With this update, Utilities now searches the hard drive for AntiVirus. If it finds it, it activates a button in the Utilities menu. Checking for viruses is as easy as clicking on it.

Other helpful new features in Utilities 5.0 include the ability to optimize B-tree directory structures with Speed Disk and the added support for FireWire devices.

Norton Utilities 5.0 can do just about everything needed to keep your Mac running at its highest potential, but it does still have a few annoyances. The File Saver utility, which catalogs your system to aid Disk Doctor, Volume Recover and UnErase is painfully slow. Running it at shutdown on my 4GB, partitioned hard drive added nearly two minutes to the shutdown time. As a result, I usually just leave this feature off and manually run it when I have the time. At least File Saver gives the option to automatically close dialog boxes so that, in the event that something is wrong with the hard drive, it'll close the warning window and still shut down the system even after the user has already turned off the monitor, left the room, made dinner, reupholstered the sofa and listened to two whole Yes songs by the time File Saver has completed its task.

Experienced users will want to immediately open the preferences of the various utilities to shut a bunch of stuff off. Every utility seems to have been set at its maximum functionality, I assume for the benefit of those who aren't sure what exactly Norton does and don't care to find out. But all of these safety measures take up a lot of time, and some are probably overkill to experienced users.

My last gripe may end up being for naught...I hope. To save RAM, I always shut some of the utilities off with Conflict Catcher. However, in order to update these utilities, they have to be turned on. With the number of patches 4.0 required, it became quite a hassle to turn them back on, reboot, update, reboot, turn them back off, and reboot again. So hopefully either Norton Utilities 5.0 won't see so many updates (indeed, the initial version is much more stable than was 4.0), or the patches will be able to complete updates even on utilities that are disabled.

Norton AntiVirus 6.0

I got one of those emails just yesterday; in fact, one of those spams where each line is prefaced with >>>>>>>>>> because of all those well intentioned people who care so very much about my hard drive. This one claimed that a new virus was being spread via email, and opening the email would both wipe out my entire hard drive and forward my name and password to the creator of the virus.

I won't even begin to count the number of things wrong with that claim. I only use it as an example of the paranoia that permeates the PC world. And despite claims to the contrary, the Mac side is still relatively safe from nearly every virus outside of those created by and spread through Microsoft applications...of course, they're called "features" then, aren't they?

But it's always better to err on the side of caution, I'm told, so every Mac I've ever owned has had some sort of virus protection software. And after trying just about every solution, Norton AntiVirus has emerged as my favorite.

With version 6.0, NAV (as the kids call it) has received a rather nice bump in speed. Not only are the virus scans faster, but Symantec made the decision to perform the LiveUpdates via ftp, speeding them up from the very start.

Let's talk about LiveUpdate for the moment. As users of NAV know, new virus definitions are released every month. I have no trouble remembering this because my internet startup page is Version Tracker, which links to the updates the day they're posted. However, when sitting at my brother's computer, I'm always shocked when I see how long it's been since he's updated his virus definitions. This is where LiveUpdate could be a life saver. Through the scheduling feature, Brett could have LiveUpdate get the new definitions and install them each month without his knowing it. He could even update NAV itself without ever leaving his beloved Billy Joel websites. More power to his lazy butt.

NAV 6.0 also benefits from improved auto protection (especially from those pesky macro viruses), enhanced reporting, and Apple Guide support. And, like Norton Utilities, NAV also has the ability to repair boot blocks...and the application itself is now virus-protected.

My only complaint about NAV 6.0 is also with the preferences. Again, the default settings are nothing short of placing a chastity belt on your Mac. Unless you've got a lot of time or enjoy watching progress bars, you'll want to get into the preferences and shut off some of the features. Because I've designated one folder into which all of my downloads and copies of files from removable media are placed, I've set NAV to scan just that folder. Then, after getting that automatic update through LiveUpdate, I scan the whole system. No worries, no wasted time.

Users of Norton Utilities 4 and NAV 5 shouldn't think twice about upgrading to these new products. The improved performance, features, integration and stability easily outweigh my complaints, which were in the previous versions anyway...and Symantec has announced that both upgrades are compatible with MacOS 9. Those using other utility and antivirus products should give the Norton products a look this time as well. For enticement, Symantec does offer a competitive upgrade at the regular upgrade price.

And after all, Peter Norton is both a utilities and anti-virus expert. It says so right there on the box. But I'm actually beginning to think that there is no Peter Norton. I think he's just a bizarre and frightening amalgam created by programmers to scare hackers into eating their vegetables and doing their chores without back talk.

I think I'm kind of scared...

.

February 08, 2012