Norton Antivirus Software - Enough?

Is having anti-virus software good enough to protect to your PC from all online threats nowdays? Read on the fine out what Christopher thinks.

Norton Anti Virus - Complete Piece of Mind or Not?
By: Christopher Luck

If you have Norton Anti Virus, do you have reason to have 100% peace of mind? I know I worry constantly about computer viruses. I know too many people and more than one company who have lost one or more computers to a bad and incurable virus. I worried so much, in fact, that I have done a great deal of research on anti virus software, how it works, and whether or not the major providers like Norton Anti Virus give me reason to rest easy when it comes to the threat of viruses to my hard drive and privacy.

What is important when you talk about anti virus software, whether it be a big company like Norton Anti Virus or not, is for you to know how they work. As you likely are aware, computer viruses can come from any number of places, but are usually brought into your computer via either an email attachment or going to a website with an infected server. Either way, getting a virus on your computer can spell doom for your hard drive. So how does the software from companies like Norton Anti Virus work? You may not be quite so confident in your computers safety once you find out. Bare in mind, though, that currently this is the best way we have of combating viruses.

For example, Norton Anti Virus, which is owned by Symantec, is widely considered to be the best anti virus software available for home users. Basically, the software is working off of a list of known viruses and it is watching for them while you work on your computer. It scans each and every file that you download, intentionally or not, and then checks it against a list of viruses. If it finds one, it goes to work repairing the file, quarantining the file, or deleting it. However, even with Norton Anti Virus, you are not 100% safe from virus infestation. You see, the list of viruses the company has is based on ones they find on their own, or users like you send them after they have been infected. So, there is always a chance that you will get a virus and be the first one to be infected by it. You will have no idea about the virus until something is wrong with your computer and you report it to Norton Anti Virus. They will then, likely, have you send them the suspected file so they The truth is that Norton Anti Virus is not perfect, in fact no anti virus software is.

Because of the constantly changing nature of viruses and the creativity of those who make them, there will likely never be a best answer to the problem. No, you can not rest with 100% peace just because you have Norton Anti Virus on your computer with all of the updates. That doesnt mean it isnt worth it, just that you still need to be careful. Be aware of what files you are downloading, what attachments you are opening, and even from whom emails you look at are sent. Keep your anti virus software up to date and use precautions and you will give yourself the best chance of surviving the virus storm on the internet.

If you would like to find more of my personal articles on computer software please check out my technology website!

NOTE: More advanced Anti-Virus users may have their own experiences and thoughts which they believe work better than Norton Antivirus Christopher describes above. Are you one of them? If so, we encourage you to challenge the above information in the comments section below: