{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreihrxyhhxm4j5crxefjigdk5jngfusn7ddsoks5wvywjbnmfeskbda",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:xj2drxwuk2r3tfelpnw2uqog/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmdnhm3l3ie2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreiblzkcy2aei33wavb2cvxtrk2tcborp4m3fjpx2j35qtoidcphg2u"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 1801866
  },
  "path": "/article/2354286/norton-antivirus-plus-review.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-20T14:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.pcworld.com",
  "tags": [
    "Antivirus",
    "View Deal",
    "Amazon",
    "PCWorld’s own software store",
    "less of a concern for most individuals",
    "your own system for local backups",
    "with the appropriate protocols",
    "the native Windows utility",
    "uBlock Origin",
    "support pages",
    "community forums",
    "chat, social media, and phone assistance",
    "January and February 2026",
    "February and March 2026",
    "March 2026",
    "June 2025",
    "November 2025 Advanced Threat Protection Test"
  ],
  "textContent": "#### At a glance\n\n### Expert's Rating\n\n### Pros\n\n  * Strong antivirus protection\n  * Essential protection against major online threats\n  * Simple, straightforward features\n\n\n\n### Cons\n\n  * Performance impact on some PCs\n  * User interface would benefit from Consolidation\n  * Upselling of additional services\n\n\n\n### Our Verdict\n\nA one-device limitation can feel tight to many people, but if that’s all you need, Norton Antivirus Plus provides plenty of value for its price. This entry-level antivirus suite is affordable and reliable while still costing less yet offering more features than rivals. If you can work comfortably with its quirks and potentially heavy performance effect, it can be ideal software for digital minimalists.\n\n\nPrice When Reviewed\n\nThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined\n\nBest Pricing Today\n\nRetailer\n\nPrice\n\n$39.99\n\nView Deal\n\nPrice comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide\n\nProduct\n\nPrice\n\nPrice comparison from Backmarket\n\n### Price When Reviewed\n\n$29.99\n\n###  Best Prices Today: Norton Antivirus Plus\n\nRetailer\n\nPrice\n\n$39.99\n\nView Deal\n\nPrice comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide\n\nProduct\n\nPrice\n\nPrice comparison from Backmarket\n\nAntivirus makers stuff a ton of features into their most touted-plans, but not everyone needs those extra bells and whistles. Maybe all you seek is the basics for online protection in a single software package—and for just one device.\n\nNorton Antivirus Plus is one slimmed down option that hits those notes exactly, with malware protection and a password manager as the standout features. As an affordable entry-level suite, you can skip the extraneous pieces of more expensive plans without sacrificing what you really need. The only caveat: You can acclimate to Norton’s quirks, including an app with two different interfaces.\n\n## What does Norton Antivirus Plus include?\n\nThough its name lacks the reference, Norton Antivirus Plus is part of Norton’s 360 lineup—albeit as the most stripped down version, both in features and number of devices supported. Its primary focus is on direct threats to your online security, with the antivirus engine protecting you against malware and the firewall blocking network threats. The app screens for dangerous links and attachments as well.\n\nThis subscription also offers 2GB of cloud backup storage, access to Norton’s password manager, and PC utilities that include the ability to clear temporary files and monitor for outdated software.\n\nNorton’s introductory pricing can vary—but generally you’ll find it between $20 and $30 for the first year.\n\nNorton\n\n> As an entry-level software suite, Norton Antivirus Plus is an affordable, reliable option for those who don’t mind its dual set of interfaces.\n\n## How much does Norton Antivirus Plus cost?\n\nIf you buy through Norton, the Norton Antivirus Plus plan costs $30 for the first year, and then increases to $60 thereafter. You can try the software for 30 days before committing, though you’ll have to put down a credit card. Subscriptions also come with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Be aware that Norton automatically enrolls you into auto-renewal at sign-up.\n\nNorton Antivirus Plus (1 device)\n\n  * $30 for the first year\n  * $60 per year thereafter\n\n\n\nNorton Antivirus Plus supports PC, macOS, Android, and iOS, but this plan limits you to just one device.\n\nYou can save even more on Norton Antivirus Plus if you purchase your license through third-party retailers like Amazon or even PCWorld’s own software store—generally the price hovers around 75 percent off the normal price, and sometimes with extra bonus months.\n\n## Key features of Norton Antivirus Plus\n\n### Installation and user interface\n\nAfter purchasing a subscription to Norton Antivirus Plus, you’ll get access to the installation file, which automatically downloads.\n\nNorton Antivirus Plus’s interface has two different views, and you have to switch between both for access to all features.\n\nAfter installation, the My Norton window will be the first thing you see—it’s one of two interfaces you’ll interact with. It has a contemporary look and serves as a springboard to the most important features. You can start scans, update the app and its virus definitions, jump over to the password manager, manage your cloud backups, and fire up the secure browser. You can also run the software updater, as well as dig into a few program settings. (Tip: Turn off notifications for “Special offers” in the settings while rooting around.)\n\nGenerally, this view is simple and straightforward, with one exception. You get no back button while navigating through submenus (like in settings).\n\nFor a deeper dive into the program, you must switch to the Classic view by clicking on the _Open_ button within the Device Security part of My Norton. A second window with a more outdated vibe will appear. Selecting any four of the tiles (_Security_ , _Internet Security_ , _Backup_ , and _Performance_) reveals the full lineup of features related to that topic. The fifth tile takes you back to the My Norton view.\n\nTo tweak the settings of features, you have to first open the Classic interface view, then choose Settings.\n\nPCWorld\n\nAlso within the Classic view are the feature settings (like behavior of antivirus scans). You can adjust how antivirus scans, the firewall, and backups behave, as well as the protections for email and apps, and a several app settings.\n\nThis dual interface setup can be confusing initially—but it becomes less of a problem the more you use the program.\n\n### Virus, malware, and threat protection\n\n#### Real-time protection\n\nNorton Antivirus Plus protects your PC in real time by scanning new or changed files, watching for unusual app behavior, and screening for malicious scripts, attachments, and links in downloads and local email. Additional defenses (like protected folders, if you have a particular concern about ransomware) are only available on higher plans—though these days, ransomware is less of a concern for most individuals.\n\nTo avoid phishing sites and other malicious pages (including ones that cause your PC to automatically download sketchy files) while browsing, you must first install the Norton Safe Web extension. It blocks dangerous sites and provides visual indicators for how trustworthy a link is.\n\n#### Scheduled and manual scans\n\nBy default, Norton Antivirus Plus will run a full scan of your PC once per month. Scheduling can be very precise—if you want to run one every 13 hours, it’s possible. You can also set a schedule for the other default scan types (Quick Scan, Drive Scan, Folder Scan, File Scan), as well as for any custom scans you’ve created.\n\nYou can edit the settings for scans to change their location and how often they happen.\n\nPCWorld\n\nFor manual scans, you can choose _Scan Options_ from the Device Security dropdown menu in the My Norton view, or click on _Scans_ in the Classic view. Norton includes the option to scan for hard-to-find threats, as well as get diagnostic reports and recommendations on which of your files should be examined.\n\nAdvanced users may find scan settings too simplified—for example, the full scan only allows you to change if it looks within compressed files, scans network drives, removes infected folders automatically, and wipes low risk and tracking cookie files. The other default scans have even fewer settings. You also can’t choose to check over all files, even if unchanged.\n\n#### Browser extensions\n\nRare is the PC that isn’t continuously connected to the internet. Since web browser use is a daily occurrence for most everyone, Norton includes several browser extensions to boost online safety: Norton Home Page, Norton Safe Search, and Norton Safe Web.\n\nNorton Home Page switches your default to Norton’s own start page, while Norton Safe Search changes your default to Norton’s search engine. Meanwhile, Norton Safe Web scans links results for malicious content and also adds a visual badge to Google and Bing results showing if it’s safe to click (green is good, red is dangerous). Of this set, Norton Safe Web is the most useful—most people already have their own preferred home page and search engine.\n\nThe Norton Safe Web browser extension screens links in Google and Bing search results.\n\nPCWorld\n\nA fourth browser extension, Norton Password Manager, lets you manage your passwords. While not strictly necessary (you can access the service through the website), it’s the most polished of all available extensions and easy to use.\n\n#### Cloud backup\n\nHaving backups of your most important files is a wise move—even if you’re not afraid of ransomware locking you out, premature storage drive death or a lost device always loom as dangers. Norton attempts to help on this front by allowing you to save copies of your documents to its servers.\n\nBy default, cloud backups will upload all but email and video files in your Windows document folders (i.e., Documents, Pictures, Music, etc). You can add or exclude file types, as well as specific files and folders. Norton also allows the creation of different backup rules (called a “Backup Set”), which is handy since you can only save to one location per backup set.\n\nAttempting to back up to a local drive did not work when I tested the feature on more than one PC.\n\nPCWorld\n\nNote that for the Norton Antivirus Plus plan, you don’t get much included storage—just 2GB. That won’t be enough to back up music or a even a moderate photo collection, but should adequately cover your important text-based documents.\n\nYou can also create backups that save to a local drive—but in my experience, this option is buggy. On more than one computer, Norton would claim it had saved files to an external drive, but the files wouldn’t actually appear. You’re better off setting up your own system for local backups.\n\n#### Password manager\n\nThough simple, Norton’s password manager is good—a pleasant contrast to services that feel too stripped down. Setup is straightforward, with Norton prompting you to create a separate vault password, then to download a recovery key. (If you forget your vault password, you’ll need this key to recover the account.)\n\nThis double login system (once with your standard Norton credentials, then your vault password) would normally be a pain, but using passwordless authentication through the Norton Password Manager mobile app nips that in the bud. It’s seamless, if fractionally slow with authentication approval requests. You can access your vault through the website, a browser extension, or the mobile app.\n\nPCWorld\n\nNote that for the browser extension, you can’t set the clipboard to automatically clear a copied password after a certain time. That’s a feature usually offered by rival password managers.\n\n#### PC utilities\n\nNorton includes a handful of PC tools in its antivirus suite, which replicate existing Windows features, sometimes in a more limited way.\n\nOptimize Disk is one such example. It’s Norton’s version of the Windows Optimize Drives utility, but more limited—it only defragments hard disk drives. Windows’ native tool is the better call, since it handles both HDDs and SSDs with the appropriate protocols. (Solid-state drives don’t benefit from traditional defragmentation.)\n\nFile Cleanup wipes temporary files in Windows, including any unwanted Internet Explorer files. (If the latter is applicable to you, it’s time to upgrade your operating system.) Again, you’re better off using the native Windows utility for this task.\n\nYes, Norton still supports Internet Explorer in its features. (Legacy Windows users…it’s time to upgrade.)\n\nPCWorld\n\nStartup Manager controls which apps launch automatically when Windows starts up—but you can easily manage this in Windows by typing _startup apps_ in Windows search.\n\nGraphs is the only interesting one of the lot, showing a history of system use (installations, downloads, optimization, virus detections, quick scans, and alerts). If you like to know exactly what your system is doing in the background, this overview makes those details easily accessible.\n\nFor these four tools, you must dig into Norton’s Classic view to find them. An additional tool lives in the My Norton view—Software Updater keeps track of out of date apps and lets you update them directly from the interface. (Our recommendation: Use the utility as a notification system, and then manually update yourself, to avoid potential software issues down the road.) Overall, Norton’s inclusion of these features is a nice thought, but not what sells the suite.\n\n#### Secure browser\n\nIf you’re wary of Chrome, Norton Antivirus Plus includes an alternative called Norton Secure Browser. It’s also based on the same Chromium code as Google’s browser, but with a more curated experience.\n\nNorton Secure Browser drops onto your PC preconfigured with the Norton Privacy Guard (which blocks trackers and some ads, but not sponsored search results), Norton Password Manager, and Coupons add-ons already installed. You can only uninstall the Password Manager and Coupon extensions.\n\nPCWorld\n\nIf you want to add more add-ons, Norton offers a pared-down storefront—but you can get more by scrolling all the way to the bottom for a link to the Chrome Web Store (or just hop on Google or Bing search). That’ll allow you to install stronger ad-blocking add-ons like uBlock Origin, if you want more comprehensive screening.\n\n### Customer support\n\nHelp with Norton Antivirus Plus is available within the app, both from the My Norton and Classic views. Of the two, the Classic view is easier to navigate, but the My Norton view puts the answers to commonly asked problems right upfront.\n\nYou can also look up information on Norton’s support pages and community forums, and get technical support through chat, social media, and phone assistance. The in-app help and support pages are a good place to start, while the forums and company support are better options for troubleshooting.\n\n### Updates and maintenance\n\nNorton automatically updates the virus definitions and app version, but the LiveUpdate feature within the app also lets you manually check for pending updates. It looks for any changes to the antivirus protection, Norton app, and process protection.\n\nIf you need to find the version of your Norton app, you can access it through _Help > About_ in the Classic view.\n\n## Performance\n\nNorton generally performs well in tests performed by leading security research institutes—for online protection, at least. It caught 100 percent of the threats in AV-Test’s zero-day attack and malware tests for January and February 2026 (the most current results released), blocking all 285 zero-day attack samples. For recently widespread and prevalent malware, it detected 100 percent of the 12,728 samples.\n\nIn AV-Comparatives’ real-world protection test for February and March 2026, Norton spotted 99.5 percent of the 200 test cases, with 2 false positives. The samples were a mix of exploits (like drive-by downloads), malicious web addresses, and URLs linking directly to malware.\n\nAV-Comparatives’ real-world test results for February through March 2026.\n\nAV-Comparatives\n\nWhen facing AV-Comparatives’ March 2026 malware protection test and its 10,000 samples, Norton scored a 96.3 percent offline detection rate, 98.7 percent online detection rate, and a 99.97 percent online protection rate, with 9 false positives. Of these results, the online protection score matters most, since it represents how well antivirus software stops threats that reside on your PC.\n\nIn AV-Comparatives’ June 2025 anti-phishing certification test, Norton detected 95 percent of the 228 phishing URLs thrown at it.\n\nFor AV-Comparatives’ November 2025 Advanced Threat Protection Test, which evaluates a security suite’s resistance to more sophisticated, targeted attack methods like malicious scripts and fileless attacks, Norton scored 13 out of 15. It was weak against two specific types of attack, one related to spearphishing and the other to removable media.\n\nAV-Comparatives’ malware test results for March 2026.\n\nAV-Comparatives\n\nAs for PC performance, Norton Antivirus Plus can have a notable effect on common tasks—if running full scans while you’re active on the computer. The impact is softer during everyday activities, as shown by our PCMark 10 test. This benchmark simulates web browsing, video chatting, gaming, and file editing in open-souce programs like GIMP and LibreOffice. When idle in the background, watching for real-time threats, Norton Antivirus Plus had virtually no impact on PCMark 10’s test scores. But when a full scan ran simultaneously throughout the benchmark, the results decreased by about 6 percent.\n\nThat performance drop increased during our UL Procyon benchmark, which simulates document editing in Microsoft Office apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Benchmark results fell about 6 percent at idle, and almost 10 percent during a full scan. That difference swelled for our Handbrake encoding test, with a 11 percent decrease on idle and a sizable 22 percent tumble during a full scan.\n\nHowever, these numbers don’t reflect how Norton typically handles full scans. After an initial full scan, subsequent ones only examine new or changed, which speeds up the scan time and reduces the hit to system resources. And by default, full scans are scheduled for off-hours.\n\nStill, if you’re often copying to or changing files on your PC, Norton’s affect on system performance is something to consider—especially if you use a mid-range or budget computer.\n\n## Should you buy Norton Antivirus Plus?\n\nAs an entry-level software suite, Norton Antivirus Plus is an affordable, reliable option for those who don’t mind its dual set of interfaces. Its one-device limitation can be tight in an era where most people own at least a computer and a smartphone, but it’s cheaper than similar rival plans while offering more features. If you don’t need extra devices or features — smartphones are very secure even without third-party antivirus protection these days — this can be an ideal antivirus solution.",
  "title": "Norton Antivirus Plus review: Fantastic security for digital minimalists"
}