Norton 360 Deluxe review: Comprehensive security solution with built-in VPN

The latest offering of Norton, the security solution provider best known for its antivirus and internet security solutions, the Norton 360, doubles up as a service to safeguard privacy on the internet and also neutralise viruses and protect data.

The Norton 360 suite includes device protection from viruses and internet security, access to secure virtual private network (VPN), cloud storage for backup, password manager and parental controls. Moreover, it is a single-security solution that covers computers (Windows and Mac) and mobile devices (iOS and Android).

Being a subscription-based offering, the product comes in three yearly plans – Standard, Deluxe 3 Devices and Deluxe. In the standard plan it offers a single-device support, in Deluxe 3 three devices, and in Deluxe five devices. We used the Deluxe subscription and tested the product on Android smartphone and Windows-based notebook.

Here's what we found:

Device protection

The device protection tools are available in all subscription plans. They include antivirus, anti-spyware and anti-malware protection. Besides, there are internet security tools, too. The device protection tools get regular updates over the internet for protection against newly found threats, therefore you need internet connectivity to keep the threats database up to date.

The device protection feature works in the background and does not impact the overall system performance. Moreover, it has a built-in feature to improve system performance. The feature works only when the system is idle. One might notice a slight lag in system when the performance improvement tasks are running in the background. However, the lag is temporary and the system comes back to normal operating conditions quickly.

As for protection, the Norton 360 provides comprehensive coverage against most threats. In fact, some independent benchmark portals state that it has 100 per cent protection rate against web threats. For optimal performance, however, you might need to install and set up all the add-ons that it offers, especially for internet security. These add-ons are available for most popular browsers, including Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

Data security

The Norton 360 has a built-in backup service for data security. The Norton 360 Deluxe subscription comes with 100GB cloud storage, which is good enough to store important files and documents on an encrypted online server. It is easy to set up and offers flexibility to choose what to back up and how frequently to run the backup to keep files updated on the cloud storage. Unfortunately, the cloud storage service is available for backups only. There is no provision to store anything else on the cloud server using browser or any other means. The backup and restoration is done exclusively through My Norton application.

Privacy

Virtual private network (VPN) is one of the easiest ways to protect one’s privacy online, and it comes bundled with Norton 360. On desktop, the service is integrated within My Norton application. On smartphones, it requires an additional Norton VPN app. Setting it up is easy. Enable it, and the application automatically selects best server to provide safe internet experience. There is a fair list of global servers available, too, if you want to go beyond geography virtually.

A caveat: Some websites and services do not work when VPN is enabled.

Parental controls

The Norton 360 also lets parent you set up controls to monitor and manage the online activities of your children. Once set up, the Norton Parental Control lets parents see what videos their kids are watching, websites they visit, terms they search for, and apps they download. Besides, it also provides GPS location service for Android and iOS devices, content filtering for PCs and more.

Verdict

At Rs 3,999 for the yearly Deluxe subscription, the Norton 360 is a comprehensive solution that goes beyond safeguarding from conventional threats. It is a complete package that protects your devices, including smartphone, while also providing additional tools to make your work smooth. Moreover, the addition of VPN and cloud storage for backups makes it particularly useful for someone looking for a security solution.