I had a brief moment of panic when Norton warned me about the Petya ransomware attack, a particularly nasty bit of malware that's been in the news. Norton isn't entirely pop-up free, but it doesn't hold your computer hostage until you acknowledge it like some apps tend to do. Norton also includes a feature called Power Eraser that seeks out the sneakier and more pervasive malware a typical scan might miss. There's enormous room for ensuring Norton is behaving exactly how you want it to. You can switch things like its firewall on and off with ease, and the depth at which you can make adjustments is entirely up to you.

Clicking on them brings up simple binary choices for settings. The advanced settings menu has more of a 'classic' norton look, with deep grey and yellow icons. Checking on a setting is as easy as glancing at its icon, and adjusting it begins with a click. Navigation happens in a row at the bottom of the app, and when everything is protected and running as it should, all the icons are green. Norton's tucks its many useful feature into a simple, attractive design. It's a mid-range offering that protects against viruses, malware, and identity theft. To see where it stands in 2017 I tested its basic 'Norton Security' package, which covers one device (PC, Mac, or mobile) for one year for $69.99 or £24.99 in the UK, though at press time it was on sale for $34.99. No longer does antivirus bog down your computer's resources, or constantly pester you with pop-ups.

Antivirus software has come a long way in the last 10 years though, and Norton is a great example of its progress. Years ago, Norton was notoriously intrusive and resource intense, leading many people to just uninstall it once the trial period ended.

Similar to McAfee, Norton often comes pre-installed on new PCs and laptops, so many people's first exposure to Norton was after booting up a new computer for the first time. Norton Antivirus is an easily recognizable name in antivirus, and has been for years. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. They’re evaluated based on ease of use, price, features, and a variety of testing performed by our editor and IGN’s sister-site for scan times, false positives, and correct identification of threats. IGN is reviewing all the biggest antivirus programs all week long.

Norton security premium 2017