Pros: Online security is at the forefront of business concerns these days, and I start by saying that as a Business Manager, I have been exposed to alot of Norton products over the years. They do maintain the leader board on products for thwarting hijacks, viruses, network protection and the other major concerns most prevalent.

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3. Norton Internet Security For Mac

In the highly competitive and fast-evolving world of internet security, Norton Antivirus and Kaspersky Antivirus have both made a big impression. With extensive features and competitive pricing, choosing between these two great products is tricky.

However, we investigate the differences between the two products in this article. We look at a number of pros and cons of both Norton Antivirus and Kaspersky and directly compare the two antivirus and internet security giants on a number of fronts.

This guide will ultimately let you decide which is the best anti-virus service for your individual needs, though we put Norton ahead overall in our view.

Norton Security Standard. The price for the first year is $32.99, and it features protection for one PC or Mac. Norton Security Deluxe. The price for the first year is $44.99, and it features protection for up to 5 PCs, Macs, Androids, or iOS devices, and its top-tier offering. For the Symantec Norton Security Premium, the Trial Software must initially be downloaded on the Trial Participant's PC or Mac computer or laptop. Thereafter, you may download the Trial Software to additional devices, including mobile devices.

1. Cost

One of the most important considerations for the majority of people when purchasing antivirus software is cost. Internet security packages can vary from being free to over $12 per month. That’s a wide range when totted up over a year.

Both Norton and Kaspersky sit in the mid-range of the market in terms of cost, with both companies offering a variety of packages aimed at addressing the needs of a wide range of clients. In addition to their home-use products, both companies also offer competitive packages for small businesses.

Pricing Summary

• Norton: As low as $32.99 - 1 Year
• Kaspersky: As low as $39.95 - 1 Year

The starter product offered by Norton is a basic form of anti-virus protection which promises to protect your device from the complete spectrum of online threats, from spyware to viruses. This standard package also keeps your personal online banking activities just the way you want them – private. So confident are they about their product, Norton even offers a refund should your device become infected while under their protection. This package is advertised at $32.99 for the year.

Norton’s standard entry-level product, in comparison to Kaspersky’s, comes out a little cheaper. The basic price being $32.99 for the first year versus Kaspersky’s $39.95.

Overall Winner: Norton

2. User Interface

While computer geeks may enjoy puzzling over a complex user interface, most of us prefer easy to navigate, colorful screens that make operating a program more of a pleasure than a test of our intellect and computer expertise. Many internet security services have tweaked their designs to make them more inviting, especially as anti-virus software has grown in response to the increasing levels of cyber-crime.

Both Norton and Kaspersky present their products using a basic grid design that simplifies navigation and graphically depicts each of the product’s features cleanly. The usability of the products is impressive, and the designs are simple enough for even the least tech-savvy to grasp.

Choosing between the two competitors in this regard is challenging, although Norton just pips Kaspersky to the post with their clean, white screen and simplistic language.

Overall Winner: Norton

3. Customer Support

With internet security being such a competitive and cutting-edge field at the moment, most companies offering antivirus and VPN services are at the top of their game when it comes to customer support. Both Norton and Kaspersky offer comprehensive FAQ sections on their websites, covering topics such as how to download a product, and general troubleshooting.

Kaspersky’s additional resource center is comparable with Norton’s internet security center, with both offering in-depth articles about the latest developments in the field and the most recent threats to cybersecurity. Norton goes the extra mile, however, in providing a community forum on which users can share useful information. For instance, how to remove the latest viruses and security scams.

Kaspersky’s 24/7 online support is available to everyone, regardless of whether or not they already have an account with the company. Norton’s online support works a little differently, with users subscribing to the service according to their needs. Having said that, Norton offer in-depth technical support through this service which distinguishes them from their rivals.

In terms of social media providing Customer Support, both are similarly matched. Both Norton and Kaspersky have jam-packed YouTube channels where they post impressive videos highlighting the online risks that threaten all internet users while tackling issues such as bitcoin safety and bulletproof hosting. Similarly, both companies maintain relevant and engaging pages on both Twitter and Facebook, responding promptly to customer reviews and inquiries.

Given how level the playing field is, it’s difficult to select a winner in this particular category, but Norton manages to sneak ahead with their thorough online support and impressive community forum.

Overall Winner: Norton

4. Extra Features and Add-Ons

While there is some free antivirus software available, when it comes to these types of products, users really do get what they pay for. This is why choosing either Norton or Kaspersky can give you peace of mind and privacy online. Nevertheless, once you’ve signed up for one of these anti-virus programs, both companies are keen to sweeten the deal with added extras and free additional features.

Kaspersky’s free tools section on their downloads page boasts a range of additional features, from malware protection to a safe browser that gives you an extra layer of protection for your journey into cyberspace. You can even download a virus removal tool or rescue disk that will enable you to get your PC or Mac back in working order without running up huge bills with the local IT company.

Norton’s range of free tools is a little more limited and considerably more arduous to navigate. Nevertheless, they have some pretty cool features available, including their free app lock tool which can help protect your personal information and data, provides parental control so you can safeguard your kids, and enables your device to put on an extra raincoat of security should it be lost or stolen.

The other two free tools offered by Norton are a safe search option which gives you an automatic rating for each of your search results and helps you to avoid infected sites while browsing. The other tool is a handy cleaning service that will get your device shipshape in no time while also removing data from online advertisements.

Ultimately, Kaspersky wins this category with ease.

Overall Winner: Kaspersky

5. Privacy and Security

Given that any company operating in the realm of internet security is constantly considering security risks and seeking to protect their clients’ privacy, their own privacy policies and security features should be on the cutting edge. Kaspersky certainly seems to take this aspect seriously, featuring both a standard privacy policy and an anti-corruption policy on their site.

While their privacy policy is primarily aimed at protecting the customer, the anti-corruption policy is more concerned with the ethical behavior of the company and its employees. This is a reassuring and unusual addendum, especially in light of the recent controversy surrounding the company. Kaspersky came under intense scrutiny after the Department of Homeland Security raised concerns about the Russians using Kaspersky products to access government information.

Norton has escaped such scrutiny and has even introduced a new level of protection with their Norton Core product, which is designed to protect the home at the router level. In keeping with such advancements, Norton has one of the most comprehensive and user-friendly privacy policies in cyberspace, with downloadable addendums available in five different languages.

Organized into sections with graphics to break up the text, Norton’s privacy policy uses simple explanations to communicate their commitment to user security and a variety of specific contact options available depending on the product or issue.

Once again, Norton proves themselves to be market leaders in this respect and gain the upper hand over Kaspersky.

Overall Winner: Norton

6. Functionality

Kaspersky’s anti-virus software goes a long way to protect your PC, but if you’re hoping to shroud your Mac or Android under its protective shield, you’ll be disappointed. Unlike most internet security companies, including Norton, which have created adaptable cross-platform products that work as effectively on iOS as PC, Kaspersky’s anti-virus program is only available for PC, limiting its options and its potential users.

This is by no means the only drawback of the Kaspersky product and, while their anti-virus package will protect the consumer against viruses and other cybersecurity threats, to gain access to other features, such as parental controls and password management, Kaspersky clients have to upgrade to one of their more comprehensive security products.

In comparison, Norton’s anti-virus software is considerably more far-reaching, incorporating everything from financial protection to parental controls.

Having assessed the features contained in our rival packages, their comparative value for money becomes more obvious. While Kaspersky makes all the features that Norton has available in their internet security packages, the consumer will end up paying the same price for fewer features. To gain access to tools such as parental control or password protection, the Kaspersky client must upgrade to their Total Security package, at a cost of $39,99 per year – $10 more than Norton’s best price.

Bearing in mind the limited to no functionality on other platforms of Kaspersky, Norton is the clear winner here.

Overall Winner: Norton

7. Performance and Protection Protocols

Getting down to the nitty-gritty in terms of performance, the protection protocols used by Kaspersky and Norton are intrinsic to their ability to perform effectively and securely. While Norton has some of the best protection rates around, its capacity for identifying and blocking potential malware threats is somewhat lackluster in comparison to Kaspersky’s. Having said that, Kaspersky wobbles a bit when it comes to detecting potentially harmful URLs.

In terms of scan times, Kaspersky wins hands down, with a full scan taking less than half the time of the same operation run on Norton. Furthermore, Norton tends to slow your device down overall, especially if you’re operating on an older system.

Both competitors are constantly on the lookout for the latest online security threats and, while they both offer comprehensive protection against known risks when a new danger emerges, they both experience some lag time before they can guarantee protection.

Norton seems to get quite a lot of criticism for its tendency to leave in place certain adware and other threats that Kaspersky will remove. Having said that, should your device be highly-infected, Norton should be able to rescue it, especially with the use of their free rescue service, while Kaspersky has been seen to flounder. Similarly, pre-existing problems or malware threats often go untouched by Kaspersky.

This is a close one and, to be honest, both products reveal proportionally comparable pros and cons, hence why this category has no winner.

Overall Winner: Tie

Conclusion

Although both Kaspersky and Norton are offering reliable anti-virus programs, Norton’s goes the extra mile in terms of incorporating advanced features such as password protection and customizable parental controls. With more features available for less money, Norton sneaks into the lead in this head to head. However, Norton isn’t completely without its faults and some further development of their malware and adware removal functions would boost their product considerably.

The limited capacity of Kaspersky’s anti-virus software appears to encourage consumers to opt for a higher premium package which makes it feel as though they are pressuring you to part with as much money as possible. Norton offers a much more comprehensive protection service at a slightly reduced price and in a manner that doesn’t leave the consumer feeling as though they’ve opted for second best.

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While both companies provide excellent customer support, Norton again manages to get out in front with their customer forum while, in terms of privacy, Norton establishes itself as a truly international company, publishing privacy policy addendums in five different languages.

Norton comes out the champion in this head to head.

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Norton Security Standard is compatible with both Mac and Windows computers and laptops, and it works on iOS and Android cellphones and tablets. The same tools and features work on all your devices, including the parental controls, which makes this Mac security program a good solution for families with multiple devices. The only negative is you must purchase a license for each device Norton Standard is downloaded to, and it costs about 53 percent more than most Mac internet security software.

During our in-house tests, Norton did a great job protecting our Mac computer from malware. It detected every threat from our malware test folder as each file was opened and before the threat could fully download onto our computer. Most of these were immediately deleted, so we didn’t have to worry about them. A handful of Trojans were placed in the Norton quarantine folder so we could check them out before allowing Norton Standard to securely and permanently delete them. Norton did have some trouble recognizing Windows threats on our Mac computer, though.

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Before testing Windows threats, we enabled the safe browser feature since this is needed to detect threats coming in through the internet, and this is where we attempted to download and access threats. We needed to add the browser extensions to all our web browsers. And Norton didn’t make it easy. First you need to get the extensions by selecting which browser to secure under the Safe Web tool in the desktop dashboard. This redirects you to the Norton website to download and install the extension. Upon downloading the extension, you will see a prompt to activate protection the next time the web browser is opened. You have to repeat these steps for each web browser. This whole process is much more complicated than with other Mac internet security solutions we tested.

Before accessing Windows threats, we disabled the security settings in our browsers. This let us know just how well Norton recognizes Windows threats on Macs. Norton struggled to recognize these threats, though it did stop the most dangerous downloads before they could open and infect our computer. We ran the test again with the browser’s security setting turned on and watched as Norton cooperated with it, sharing information and doing a much better job at detecting Windows malware. Overall, Norton blocked 75 percent of the threats. This is one of the worst scores for Windows malware detection in our comparison. Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac earned a respectable 95 percent on this test.

The safe browser extensions also check search results when you use a search engine like Google or Yahoo. An icon next to each site tells you if there is a threat. Norton tagged more malicious sites this way than other Mac security programs. And if you follow the links in the warning messages, Norton gives you several details of the threats, the risk level of continuing to the site and which country the website is located in.

Norton comes with the most security features and tools of any Mac internet security software we tested. The firewall is a great tool that keeps an eye on your internet connection to make sure only devices in your home are using the Wi-Fi, and to make sure hackers and other threats aren’t trying to sneak in through your connection. The Location Awareness feature recognizes when you are connected to a hot spot away from home and automatically bumps up its firewall protection since public internet connections tend to have more risks than home connections.

We really love the parental controls included with Norton Security Standard. The program gives you a list of filter categories, like pornography, gambling, alcohol and online gaming. When you choose one of these filters, Norton blocks kids from visiting sites that have that type of content on them. You can set time limits to restrict how long your kids can be online and at what times of the day it’s OK for them to be online. The only two tools we looked for that Norton Standard doesn’t come with are social network protection features and a VPN. However, both of these are included with other Norton Security programs that are also compatible with Mac computers and mobile devices.

Norton Standard Security is one of our top picks for Mac internet security because it does an excellent job of protecting your computer, laptop and mobile devices from Mac threats, plus it comes with great tools, like a personal firewall and parental controls, to keep you all-around safe while online. It does have a little trouble recognizing Windows threats on Mac devices and is more difficult to install its safe browser extensions compared to other Mac internet security software.

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