Norman Virus Control Reviewer's Comments
We rated Norman Virus Control as a “very good” antivirus program. It passed the Virus Bulletin and ICSA 2007.
This software isn't as user-friendly as some of the top-ranked products and may be difficult for computer novices.
Ease of Use:
Norman Virus Control is more difficult to use because there is no central command center where you can access all the features and components of the program. You have to right-click on the toolbar icon and navigate to the module you need, or choose one of the programs from the start menu.
From the Norman Virus Control Configuration Editor you can customize a number of aspects of the program; however, you can't run scans from the editor, you will need to open a new module.
Effectiveness:
The software passed the VB100% and ICSA 2007, but did not show up on the West Coast Labs level 1 & 2 lists in June of 2007.
Updates:
Norman's updates are just a click away with the Internet update tool. You can choose to get updates automatically at a set time, or you can manually update your program. It is also possible to update your program from a CD if you don't have an Internet connection.
On average, Norman comes out with new virus definitions on a daily basis.
Feature Set:
Whenever you receive a file during a session in MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger, Norman Virus Control will scan the file. If NVC finds a virus, it will tell you that the file contained a virus, worms, etc., and remove/quarantine the infected file.
The software scans outgoing and incoming email and you can include or exclude attachments in the screening. You can also right-click on a file or folder to scan instantly for viruses and adware
The program doesn't display an estimated time of when your scan will be done. It took about 35 minutes for us to scan an 80 GB hard drive.
You can customize Norman Virus Control in a number of ways to fit your needs. Many of the options can simply be checked or unchecked depending on how you want the program to run. You can also create tasks that will repeat or take effect after a particular event occurs.
Ease of Installation:
We didn't have any problems during installation. To use Norman with Windows Vista you need to go to their website and download a free upgrade.
Help/Support:
The program comes with a helpful, context sensitive manual so you can easily get help for the area in which you're working. The company also provides phone and email support-they answered our email within 30 minutes. You can also check out the online forum where consumers discuss a number of antivirus topics.
Summary:
Norman Virus Control is a reliable program that will protect your computer from annoying viruses. It isn't as user-friendly as some of the higher-ranking programs.
