For many years Norton Internet Security software has had a bad reputation, quite rightly, as a heavy piece of software that once installed on your computer will slow it right down; because of the way it uses too many of your computer's System Resources, such as using too much memory and hogging the cpu (central processing unit). This was very true until about three years ago.

Years ago I used to work in an Internet Cafe whereby customers would bring in their computers for repair and software clean-up services. One of the first softwares we used to identify as a "machine killer" and uninstall was Norton Anti-Virus (the lighter version of Norton Internet Security). We would uninstall it straight away in order to lighten (speed-up) the customer's computer, and then install the much lighter AVG Anti-Virus software; but this was years ago.

About three years ago I started using Norton 360, and eventually Norton Internet Security, on my new-ish laptop and found it to be a good piece of software. Over the next couple of years I then started testing the software against website that would certainly attract a virus or two. To cut this story short; Norton Internet Security is now a lighter piece of protection software that runs smoothly on my now four years old laptop. Symantec, the company behind the Norton products, have now acknowledged past criticisms of their softwares and improved them over the years for the better.

Norton is not the best but it's not the worst either - It's currently second place according to the computer magazines and experts. I find it to be an easy-to-use, auto-updating, protector that does not pester the user and therefore recommend it to the absolute beginner. You basically install it and forget about it. On the other hand; If you want to manually switch a certain setting on or off, such as Warnings and Notifications, you can do so quite easily.

To begin the installation of Norton Internet Security 2011 put the Installation CD into your cd/dvd drive and then wait for the requester to appear. When it does (it can take a few long seconds) click on the option (link) called LAUNCH NORTON INSTALL to continue. Make sure the Auto-Play feature is switched on (see the Auto-Play section) otherwise you will need to open the cd drive folder and double click on the setup.exe file (not shown here).

Fig 1.0  Wait for the Auto-Play requester to appear and then click on the LAUNCH NORTON INSTALL link to continue

After clicking on the LAUNCH NORTON INSTALL link the Welcome screen of the installation wizard will appear (below). Simply click on its INSTALL NORTON INTERNET SECURITY link to begin the actual installation process - It starts with a black window that states Initializing and then Downloading (Fig 1.2 below).

Fig 1.1  Click on the INSTALL NORTON INTERNET SECURITY link to continue




Fig 1.2  The installation wizard is downloading the latest program (software) updates

In the above step of the installation process the latest program (software) files for Norton Internet Security 2011 are being downloaded. This is because I bought the Norton Internet Security 2011 cd, 68 Days, after its initial release date; which means the cd was manufacturer in late April 2011 (it's now June 6th 2011). I could skip this step by clicking on the SKIP link, located in the bottom-right corner of the window, but this would just delay the installation process with repeated computer restarts later on. Therefore, have a live internet connection open for this step and wait for the downloading to finish.

When the downloading has finished you will be asked to enter your Product Key for Norton Internet Security 2011 - This is located on a sticky label at the back of the cd sleeve. You will not be able to continue with the installation process until the correct product key has been entered into the PRODUCT KEY Edit Box (denoted by a Green Tick). When correctly entered the AGREE & INSTALL button will become available. Click on it to continue, as the other options and links on the product key window are of no real importance.

Fig 1.3  Enter your Product Key and then click on the AGREE & INSTALL button to continue

The Licence Agreement whose Terms & Conditions you are agreeing to, by clicking on the AGREE & INSTALL button, can be found by clicking the USER LICENSE AGREEMENT link (if you are interested). And the Privacy Policies can be read by clicking on the PRIVACY POLICY link.

The INSTALL OPTIONS link just takes you to a BROWSE FOR INSTALL (DESTINATION) FOLDER window where you are asked to browse for the folder in which Norton Internet Security 2011 is to be installed. Do not entertain this option - It's only useful if you want to install Norton Internet Security 2011 in a different place (in a different drive/folder).

The ticked I WANT TO JOIN..... option is stating you want to help Symantec in its fight against malware and so on by reporting any malware issues to it.

As said; the above described options/links can be left alone - Just click on the AGREE & INSTALL button to continue. Doing so will begin the installation of those updated program (software) files alongside the natural cd installation files thereby bringing your copy of Norton Internet Security 2011 bang up-to-date.

Fig 1.4  The installation process is updating Norton Internet Security 2011 to the present day

The next step of the installation will register Norton services with Windows 7 and then allow you to start using Norton Internet Security 2011, but only for 30 Days trial, because the installation process will be finished. The only thing left to do, from an installation point of view, will be to activate your Norton account and therefore activate your 366 Days (1 Year) License. So when you see the window below click on its EXPLORE button and then fill in the activation form (Fig 1.7 below) to continue.

Fig 1.5  Click on the EXPLORE button to continue




Fig 1.6  Norton Internet Security 2011 has been installed but it still needs to be activated for usage of your 1 Year License




Fig 1.7  Enter a valid e-mail address in order to activate your 1 Year License for up to 3 PCs

When the activation process begins it will state Activating..... Connecting To Server..... etc (not shown here) and then display the activation form above. So at this point it is vital you have a live internet connection, otherwise Norton Internet Security 2011 will not be activated for 1 year and you will only have 30 Days of use; until you try for activation at a later stage with a live internet connection.

When you see the activation window (above) simply enter a valid e-mail addresses into its E-MAIL ADDRESS Edit Box and then click on the NEXT button to proceed. From there, fill in the standard Norton Account application form (below) and then click on the DONE button (Fig 1.9 below) to finish the installation process.

Fig 1.8  Fill in this standard Norton Account application form to receive the full benefits of your purchase




Fig 1.9  The installation and activation process has been completed

With the installation and activation processes complete the next step is to update the Virus Definition (Database) files so that Norton Internet Security 2011 is aware of the current, and older, security threats and attacks and can therefore protect you against them. Remember, in this case Norton Internet Security 2011 is 68 Days old already and therefore 68 Days out-of-date with regards to virus definition files. See the Protection Software for more information about virus definition files and their importance.

To manually update Norton Internet Security 2011 simply click on its notification area icon to bring up its main window and then click on the RUN LIVEUPDATE link. This will then bring up an additional window (Fig 2.2 below) that attempts to connect to the Symantec server, their computer with the latest virus definition files on it, in order to download the latest virus definition files.

I use the wording Virus Definition files very loosely because it is not just virus definition files that may be searched for and downloaded. Other program, update, files might also be found and downloaded.

Fig 2.0  Click on the Norton Internet Security 2011 notification area icon to bring up its main window




Fig 2.1  Click on the RUN LIVEUPDATE link to bring up the Norton LiveUpdate window




Fig 2.2  Checking for possible Virus Definition files and downloading them if available

As you can see from the above; I have to download 119.90 MegaBytes of updates (possible virus definition files, program update files, etc) in order to protect my computer. Unfortunately, this 119.90 MB cannot be downloaded in stages. It has to be done in one go. I could put off the download for a later date, by clicking on the CANCEL button, but that would be unwise. Fortunately, this is a one-off operation. Once this initial, big, update file has been downloaded and installed the following 365 Days of updates can be left on Auto-Update. Click on the RESTART NOW button when the update stages have been completed (ticked).

Fig 2.3  Click on the RESTART NOW button to complete the installation of the updated files

Upon restarting the computer; when the desktop appears etc do another manual update (check for updates) until you receive the following message window. It means you are currently, fully, updated. Remember, this is a one-off situation. Saying this; You may need to manually check for updates a couple of times in this one-off situation.

Fig 2.4  Upon restart of the computer do a couple of manual updates to make sure the computer is currently, fully, protected.

When you first use the web browser called Internet Explorer 9, for example, a couple of pop-up windows will appear asking you various things; such as Do you want to use Norton's security toolbar features. Just click on the appropriate options/links/buttons as these situations arise.

Fig 3.0  Click on the OK button to activate Norton's SAFE SEARCH (Web Screening) feature




Fig 3.1  Do you want to set up Norton's SAFE IDENTITY (Safe Login) feature? Click on SET UP NOW if you do

The SAFE IDENTITY security feature allows you to create a security vault with a unique, one-off, User Name & Password. Whenever you visit a website, for the first time, that requires you to enter your user name and password details (such as your hotmail or bank website) the vault will automatically store those user name and password details for you (with your permission of course) so that you don't have to keep entering them whenever you visit a particular login website again. In other words, it automatically fills in the login details for you.

With regards to norton's settings; they are best left alone. Their default settings do not really need changing. However, if you are curious or genuinely want to change a setting for whatever reason(s) simply go to the main window and click on the SETTINGS link (not shown here). From there, it is easy to switch settings on and off but the real skill is knowing what each setting does and what would happen if you switched it off!.....be careful in other words.

The example below is what appears when you attempt to switch on the REMOVE INFECTED COMPRESSED FILES option. You might think you want to remove infected compressed files but as you can see from its warning message, it might not be a wise thing to do.

Fig 3.2  Change these settings, if need be, at your own risk! You have be warned!

As said at the top of this section; Norton does have a reputation as being a bad piece of software in some people's eyes (as do other protection softwares), so if you are a fan of this notion I would suggest you install some other protection software. If you have a relatively new computer, or even a relatively fast older computer, I would recommend Norton Internet Security 2011 - I have just installed it on my 4 year old laptop (above) and will be installing it on my new netbook later.

For £30 that works out at £10 per computer, which is less than £1 per month for a year of protection. FREE protection software is okay, and I have used it many times in the past, but at the end of the day you get what you pay for. And for £10 per year per computer I can say it is worth paying for protection. With the package I bought I also got the full version of Norton Utilities - A fantastic piece of software that helps to clean-up and maintain performance of your computer. Very underrated.

Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.  As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.