X

Norton 2011 beta in pictures (images)

Public bets for Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security 2011 are now live. Here's a look at what you'll find in these free testers of the products Symantec will release later this year.

Seth Rosenblatt
Senior writer Seth Rosenblatt covered Google and security for CNET News, with occasional forays into tech and pop culture. Formerly a CNET Reviews senior editor for software, he has written about nearly every category of software and app available.
Seth Rosenblatt
norton_2011_beta_install_3.png
1 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Norton 2011 beta opens its doors

These public beta versions of the well-known Norton consumer security suites, Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, maintain the dramatically improved speeds of Norton 2009 and 2010, while exposing more Norton Insight data to users than before.
norton_2011_beta_main_1.png
2 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

A familiar interface

The interface in Norton 2011 remains largely unchanged from the 2010 version. One big difference is that the large, colored icon indicating your security status has been removed. Hopefully that will make it back into the product before the final version, perhaps in the blank space near the bottom of the window.

Tooltips are prevalent, providing concise definitions of various options and functions within the program.
norton_2011_beta_scan_quick_finish.png
3 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Quick scan still quick

The quick scan has retained the blazing benchmarks it earned in the 2010 version. Both the quick antivirus scan and the quick reputation scan took around 1 minute each.
norton_2011_beta_scan_tracking_cookie.png
4 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Low-risk threats

If you're currently using a security program, it's likely that the Norton betas will only turn up tracking cookies if anything at all. That doesn't mean they're not a cause for concern, though, and so the 2011 betas can tell you more about detected threats when you click on their linked names.
norton_2011_beta_scan_reputation.png
5 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Reputation scan

The new Reputation scan allows you to focus your security scan solely on the "reputations" of existing files on your system, as compared with other Norton users. This is an efficient way to check if an otherwise-safe file has been corrupted by malware.
norton_2011_beta_scan_facebook.png
6 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Facebook scan

The Facebook scan is new as well. It will check links on your Facebook wall to ensure that they're safe to use. It requires approving Norton's SafeSearch Facebook app.
norton_2011_beta_vulnerability_protection.png
7 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Plugging vulnerability holes

The Vulnerability Protection module takes a look at all the programs you've got installed and attempts to seal up security holes in them that their publishers haven't yet patched. This can be an effective stop-gap measure for notoriously risky apps like Adobe Reader.
norton_2011_beta_insight_app_ratings.png
8 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Internal ratings

Norton Insight, first introduced in last year's version, now exposes rating data on how your programs and files compare to the rest of the Norton community. You can also adjust Norton's scans of your trusted files here.
norton_2011_beta_jump_list.png
9 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Jump list

For Windows 7 users, the jump list will allow activation of Norton's "silent mode" for gaming and watching movies, or allow you to temporarily disable antivirus autoprotection.

Users on any computer can further drill down into their processes, discovering which ones are causing CPU spikes and killing them if need be.
norton_2011_beta_identity_safe.png
10 of 10 Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Keep personal data protected

The new Nortons have the identity guarding functions called out in the main window, including credit card numbers.

Two new Norton Rescue Tools, the Bootable Recovery Tool and the Power Eraser, are available separately. The former creates a recovery disk and restoration mechanism, while the latter is a last-ditch option for removing malware.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos