In the past, Symantec has gotten a lot of grief about its tech support. PC Magazine readers frequently write me with gripes about waiting for hours, getting bad advice, or giving up on technicians due to language problems. NIS 2008's One-Click Support (originally introduced with Norton 360) aims to turn this perception around.
To start a support session, you invoke the built-in AutoFix feature. In some cases AutoFix will identify a problem and either fix it or direct you to the appropriate instructions. But if it doesn't you can get help via e-mail, telephone, or live chat. A handy screen shows the expected wait for each type of help. The live chat feature includes an option to let the Symantec analyst take charge and remote-control your computer to identify and fix the problem. And all of this happens within the NIS 2008 user interface. I put the system to the test and it worked fine. Of course, if you can't get on the Internet or your system is locked in a reboot death spiral, you'll still have to use direct phone support. Whether there's been any improvement in phone support remains to be seen. When I checked during testing, Symantec was estimating 12 minutes hold time for phone support, versus 2 minutes for live chat.
Norton Internet Security 2008 remains PC Magazine's Editors' Choice security suite. The unobtrusive firewall is tough as nails, and it actively identifies and blocks exploits and other intrusions. NIS 2008 did a super job of cleaning up malware in testing, and its cleanup is significantly more thorough than most. The new Identity Safe manages your passwords and personal information effectively. And if you have a problem, help is built right in. Now if Symantec would do something about the embarrassingly antiquated spam-filtering and parental-control modules…
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