Product Description

Symantec - Norton Security

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #551 in Software
• Brand: Norton from Symantec
• Released on: 2009-03-31
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP, No Operating System
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 1.57" h x 7.48" w x 9.45" l, .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

Extremely limited offering
After trying out lots of alternative offerings for 'speeding up my pc', I was keen to try Norton Utilities.
After installation you are presented with a nice interface to launch different tools. Within the list of options for optimizing the system, the only really useful ones are `Clean Your Registry' and `Defragment Your Registry'. The registry cleaner found 980 bad entries in my registry, but after running both tools and rebooting, I did not notice any difference in my computer's speed.
The rest of the NU's options are mainly icons to launch Windows processes (e.g. Windows Update). Why they bothered creating pretty icons for this is a mystery to me, when they are all accessible from the Start Menu anyway.
Another tool is the `Clean Your Disks' feature, which wipes away temporary files etc (again, notice how this can also be done natively in Windows!).
You can also manage your startup programs (again, just like you can in Windows), but Norton offers no guidance to identify what you are potentially removing from the list. This could lead to problems for inexperienced users.
I don't feel as though Norton Utilities brings anything useful or worthwhile to my system. It seems to be more of a wrapper to launch other tools, many of which do not add value. My advice is to simply download the free (and very impressive) CCleaner tool, which will also clean the registry and wipe away temporary files for a lot less money.

Norton Utilities to the rescue!
After installing new programs, updating existing programs and then removing others that you no longer use etc, your computer gets burdened with minor changes that cause it to slow down or even stop working. That's where software like Norton Utilities comes into play as it enables you to clear the clutter and hopefully repair the damage that has been done over time. In the past this software was able to run directly from the disc (my first copy of Norton Utilities was purchased around 2002/2003) but now it has to be installed, with the licence allowing you to use it on up to three computers.
Once in place it works well enough I've found. The screen is well laid out and clearly labelled making it easy to navigate for even less confident users. Some of the features are already included in Windows itself but this product makes them slightly more accessible for those who are perhaps less confident in meddling with their machine. The results do seem quite good too for the most part and the only snag that I've had was with the registry cleaner which disturbed one other piece of software that I'd installed some time ago - it left it in need of partial reinstallation from its original CD.
Most of this software is available in other `free' forms on the net in programs such as the excellent CCleaner, and within Windows itself but if you'd rather have it all in one easy to use interface then here it is - Norton Utilities to the rescue!

A rebadged 'PC Tools Desktop Maestro'...
In my experience, Norton products are generally thorough, reliable and trustworthy although some of the heavy-duty packages can slow a system down. As my aging and cluttered PC has been experiencing problems recently I hoped this might diagnose the cause so launched it optimistically.

My first surprise is that it appears to be virtually identical to the Desktop Maestro 2009 package. The options and layout are identical with the only noticeable difference being that Norton Utilities 14 also offers a 'Performance Test' which benchmarks a PC using a variety of different speed tests and compares the results before and after changes. I didn't actually spot this until I'd already run the program so can't judge whether or not it did boost my PC's speed or performance.

The quibbles I had with Desktop Maestro (see my review) also apply to Norton Utilities 14 ie there are too many standard Windows functions badged as features of the Norton package and clicking the 'Optmise System' button merely replaces it with a 'Reset Optimisation' button without actually appearing to do anything. Like Desktop Maestro, it also mis-read my system memory as 2GB on the 'Monitor your System... System Information' screen yet on the 'System Properties', which links directly to the Windows 'System Properties' screen, it correctly read 3.25GB. The 'Smart Update' has offered nothing other than an option to download language files in Brazilian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian... More positively, the registry and tune-up scans appeared to work, restore points were created and errors corrected.

I was anticipating an innovative, functional and original package so am disappointed to find this is nothing new - possibly this is my own fault for not realising that Symantec bought PC Tools last year...

If you have no other tune-up software then this could be a useful package offering value for money with its 3-user licence but if you already have other software, ie products branded as 'PC Tools', then be aware that you may simply be duplicating what you already have.