App Review Norton 360 Deluxe 2026

[Shadowra]

Content source

https://odysee.com/@Shadowra:f/Norton-360-2026:b

Norton is a well-known American computer security company.
After acquiring Avast/AVG, Avira and BullGuard and changing its name to “Gen Digitals”, the company is currently undergoing a metamorphosis.
In this version 24, the publisher is taking a very risky turn by doing away with the identity we know from Norton to... become an Avast clone!
Since then, Norton has evolved, while remaining a clone of Avast...
Let's see how it performs now...



Interface :

The interface has not changed since v24, except for the detection alerts at the bottom right, which are the same as the old Norton alerts before the acquisition by Avast.
As for the rest, nothing has changed; it is indeed a clone...

Web protection: 10/10
Everything is blocked by Norton Web Agent

Fake crack : N/A
The sample is too old and the site that distributed it was down.
Skipped.

Malware Pack : 18 out of 95 threats remain
Norton/Avast has an excellent detection engine and manages to block various threats with its IDS and web blocking.
However, its IDS is quite slow, the machine is disrupted by a script that tries to disconnect my session, and malware even manages to infect the memory!
The IDS is good, but still needs improvement.

Final scan :
Norton : 0
NPE : 5
KVRT : 8 (Infection Memory !! )

Spoiler: Quick Notice - In Pictures

Final opinion:
Norton is a fairly robust and consistent antivirus program, although I have noticed some regression since its acquisition by Avast.
Even though Avast's shields are quite excellent, it suffers from the same problem as Norton: its IDS still lags behind.
It has certainly improved, but it still lacks proactivity against more sophisticated threats.
Norton is only recommended if you are a cautious surfer. If you have critical usage, look elsewhere.

@RansomwareRemediation & @Szellem request

 

[Parkinsond]

Thank you for your thorough test @Shadowra

Which of K, B, ESET, and McAcee has the fastest behavioral protection intervention?

 

[Szellem]

Thanks for the Test. Good job.

 

[Shadowra]

Thank you for your thorough test @Shadowra

Which of K, B, ESET, and McAcee has the fastest behavioral protection intervention?

Kaspersky & Bitdefender

 

[RansomwareRemediation]

Norton is a well-known American computer security company.
After acquiring Avast/AVG, Avira and BullGuard and changing its name to “Gen Digitals”, the company is currently undergoing a metamorphosis.
In this version 24, the publisher is taking a very risky turn by doing away with the identity we know from Norton to... become an Avast clone!
Since then, Norton has evolved, while remaining a clone of Avast...
Let's see how it performs now...



Interface :

The interface has not changed since v24, except for the detection alerts at the bottom right, which are the same as the old Norton alerts before the acquisition by Avast.
As for the rest, nothing has changed; it is indeed a clone...

Web protection: 10/10
Everything is blocked by Norton Web Agent

Fake crack : N/A
The sample is too old and the site that distributed it was down.
Skipped.

Malware Pack : 18 out of 95 threats remain
Norton/Avast has an excellent detection engine and manages to block various threats with its IDS and web blocking.
However, its IDS is quite slow, the machine is disrupted by a script that tries to disconnect my session, and malware even manages to infect the memory!
The IDS is good, but still needs improvement.

Final scan :
Norton : 0
NPE : 5
KVRT : 8 (Infection Memory !! )

Spoiler: Quick Notice - In Pictures

View attachment 295552

Final opinion:
Norton is a fairly robust and consistent antivirus program, although I have noticed some regression since its acquisition by Avast.
Even though Avast's shields are quite excellent, it suffers from the same problem as Norton: its IDS still lags behind.
It has certainly improved, but it still lacks proactivity against more sophisticated threats.
Norton is only recommended if you are a cautious surfer. If you have critical usage, look elsewhere.

@RansomwareRemediation & @Szellem request

Thanks for the gesture, and very good review. I have a question. Norton is very light, but I have noticed that my hard drive constantly changes space, could it be Norton's fault? Between Norton and Bitdefender, which is better? And which one uses less SSD? Greetings.

 

[Shadowra]

Thanks for the gesture, and very good review. I have a question. Norton is very light, but I have noticed that my hard drive constantly changes space, could it be Norton's fault? Between Norton and Bitdefender, which is better? And which one uses less SSD? Greetings.

Bitdefender

 

[Parkinsond]

Bitdefender

Bitdefender has less SSD writes than Norton?

 

[RansomwareRemediation]

Bitdefender has less SSD writes than Norton?

With Norton it happens to me that my disk changes size, Bitdefender I understand that its signatures are loaded more into ram.

 

[Miravi]

Bitdefender has less SSD writes than Norton?

Bitdefender still writes to the disk more than Norton/Avast/AVG during updates, but Norton doesn't minimize disk writes much better than most other competitors. Microsoft Defender appears to do better in this department. (Edit: McAfee should as well. They're both heavily cloud-based.)

Updates don't happen too often, so it's not the end of the world for most SSD users.

 

[RansomwareRemediation]

Bitdefender still writes to the disk more than Norton/Avast/AVG during updates, but Norton doesn't minimize disk writes much better than the other main competitors. Microsoft Defender appears to do better in this department.

Updates don't happen too often, so it's not the end of the world for most SSD users.

Therefore, if it does not minimize writes, it is not so "recommended" for the SSD.

 

[Miravi]

Therefore, if it does not minimize writes, it is not so "recommended" for the SSD.

SSD users should be mindful about wasteful disk activity, but most antiviruses come close to each other when it comes to signature updates. Bitdefender might write more than the average antivirus, but most other competitors don't trail far behind.

Microsoft Defender seems to be able to minimize writes better than the average AV because it relies so heavily on cloud detection. McAfee fits this model as well.

I haven't conducted much testing on my own in this regard. These are the observations I've gathered, however.

 

[SeriousHoax]

With Norton it happens to me that my disk changes size, Bitdefender I understand that its signatures are loaded more into ram.

When signatures are updated, the older definitions are not immediately deleted. It can keep upto 3 older versions, which is why you will see disk space reducing. You should get back the space after restarting the system. At least one older version of the definition is always kept.

Nice test @Shadowra. I see that in Norton, the exploit protection has a few toggles that are not present in Avast/AVG if I remember correctly. I also see that they also mention Norton Safe Web extension similar to the old Norton. The Norton Safe Web extension is still the old Norton/Symantec reputation database, which is completely separate from the Avast database offered via the WebShield.

 

[Parkinsond]

With Norton it happens to me that my disk changes size, Bitdefender I understand that its signatures are loaded more into ram.

Did not use Norton since ages, but with Avast I face the reverse; Avast update does not change C drive size, while that of Bitdefender inflicts the largest change with all AVs I have tried.

 

[Parkinsond]

The Norton Safe Web extension is still the old Norton/Symantec reputation database

I have it in Chrome.

 

[Miravi]

Nice test @Shadowra. I see that in Norton, the exploit protection has a few toggles that are not present in Avast/AVG if I remember correctly. I also see that they also mention Norton Safe Web extension similar to the old Norton. The Norton Safe Web extension is still the old Norton/Symantec reputation database, which is completely separate from the Avast database offered via the WebShield.

Thank you for clearing that up. Sometimes it's hard to know how many distinctions are left between Avast/AVG and Norton.

Norton VPN is also completely different and runs on separate high-performance, independently audited infrastructure that was upgraded last year.

 

[Jonny Quest]

When signatures are updated, the older definitions are not immediately deleted. It can keep upto 3 older versions, which is why you will see disk space reducing. You should get back the space after restarting the system. At least one older version of the definition is always kept.

Nice test @Shadowra. I see that in Norton, the exploit protection has a few toggles that are not present in Avast/AVG if I remember correctly. I also see that they also mention Norton Safe Web extension similar to the old Norton. The Norton Safe Web extension is still the old Norton/Symantec reputation database, which is completely separate from the Avast database offered via the WebShield.

@Shadowra but really Avast is different than Norton 360 in general, correct, they are not one in the same? Avast always seems to score higher than Norton, and it also has the ability for hardened mode, or am I missing something besides IDS? TIA

Final opinion:
Norton is a fairly robust and consistent antivirus program, although I have noticed some regression since its acquisition by Avast.
Even though Avast's shields are quite excellent, it suffers from the same problem as Norton: its IDS still lags behind.
It has certainly improved, but it still lacks proactivity against more sophisticated threats.
Norton is only recommended if you are a cautious surfer. If you have critical usage, look elsewhere.

 

[Shadowra]

@Shadowra but really Avast is different than Norton 360 in general, correct, they are not one in the same? Avast always seems to score higher than Norton, and it also has the ability for hardened mode, or am I missing something besides IDS? TIA

Yes, Avast has a hardened mode that Norton doesn't have, but 95% of the other modules are the same (except for Norton Safe Web, the extension that still has its old database).

 

[devjitdutta2025]

@Shadowra thanks a lot friend for making this review. The timing couldn’t have been better. I just got myself a new MSI Gaming laptop and it came pre-installed with 90 days trial of Norton 360 for Gamers. I’m very pleased with it and after your review I’ll keep it. I’m a careful user and I use Simple Windows Hardening to disable the scripts on all my computers(scripts are the weak point of Norton). Norton should really really consider adding the hardened mode like Avast & AVG.

 

[Khushal]

Norton is a well-known American computer security company.
After acquiring Avast/AVG, Avira and BullGuard and changing its name to “Gen Digitals”, the company is currently undergoing a metamorphosis.
In this version 24, the publisher is taking a very risky turn by doing away with the identity we know from Norton to... become an Avast clone!
Since then, Norton has evolved, while remaining a clone of Avast...
Let's see how it performs now...



Interface :

The interface has not changed since v24, except for the detection alerts at the bottom right, which are the same as the old Norton alerts before the acquisition by Avast.
As for the rest, nothing has changed; it is indeed a clone...

Web protection: 10/10
Everything is blocked by Norton Web Agent

Fake crack : N/A
The sample is too old and the site that distributed it was down.
Skipped.

Malware Pack : 18 out of 95 threats remain
Norton/Avast has an excellent detection engine and manages to block various threats with its IDS and web blocking.
However, its IDS is quite slow, the machine is disrupted by a script that tries to disconnect my session, and malware even manages to infect the memory!
The IDS is good, but still needs improvement.

Final scan :
Norton : 0
NPE : 5
KVRT : 8 (Infection Memory !! )

Spoiler: Quick Notice - In Pictures

View attachment 295552

Final opinion:
Norton is a fairly robust and consistent antivirus program, although I have noticed some regression since its acquisition by Avast.
Even though Avast's shields are quite excellent, it suffers from the same problem as Norton: its IDS still lags behind.
It has certainly improved, but it still lacks proactivity against more sophisticated threats.
Norton is only recommended if you are a cautious surfer. If you have critical usage, look elsewhere.

@RansomwareRemediation & @Szellem request

Oh magnifique analyse, SHADOWRA—Norton n'est plus qu'un Avast en perruque chic, bloquant 77/95 menaces comme un héros pendant que son IDS fait sa sieste caféinée. Révolutionnaire, vraiment ; je garde mon chapeau en alu pour les "usages critiques". Qui a besoin de proactivité quand on a la régression ?

 

[Khushal]

Norton is a well-known American computer security company.
After acquiring Avast/AVG, Avira and BullGuard and changing its name to “Gen Digitals”, the company is currently undergoing a metamorphosis.
In this version 24, the publisher is taking a very risky turn by doing away with the identity we know from Norton to... become an Avast clone!
Since then, Norton has evolved, while remaining a clone of Avast...
Let's see how it performs now...



Interface :

The interface has not changed since v24, except for the detection alerts at the bottom right, which are the same as the old Norton alerts before the acquisition by Avast.
As for the rest, nothing has changed; it is indeed a clone...

Web protection: 10/10
Everything is blocked by Norton Web Agent

Fake crack : N/A
The sample is too old and the site that distributed it was down.
Skipped.

Malware Pack : 18 out of 95 threats remain
Norton/Avast has an excellent detection engine and manages to block various threats with its IDS and web blocking.
However, its IDS is quite slow, the machine is disrupted by a script that tries to disconnect my session, and malware even manages to infect the memory!
The IDS is good, but still needs improvement.

Final scan :
Norton : 0
NPE : 5
KVRT : 8 (Infection Memory !! )

Spoiler: Quick Notice - In Pictures

View attachment 295552

Final opinion:
Norton is a fairly robust and consistent antivirus program, although I have noticed some regression since its acquisition by Avast.
Even though Avast's shields are quite excellent, it suffers from the same problem as Norton: its IDS still lags behind.
It has certainly improved, but it still lacks proactivity against more sophisticated threats.
Norton is only recommended if you are a cautious surfer. If you have critical usage, look elsewhere.

@RansomwareRemediation & @Szellem request

On a serious note what is norton downloader? and it is also called cybercapture?