Hello,
I thought I'd share my optimized Norton 360 configuration, which in my opinion, offers great protection and importantly leaves the user in peace unless there is a problem!
Many people nowadays (elsewhere) seem to recommend against Norton, which in a large part due to their misconception of the product still being stuck in the past. But it's true, it is a little "naggy" out of the box.
I've made the below changes on all new installations of Norton 360, and personally find it to be a vast improvement in quality of life.
So take this for what it is, it may not suit everyone, but thought I'd share it anyway.
My Norton
Launch View: Classic
Notifications: Untick Special Offers
Alert Categories: Critical Only
Norton 360 Settings
Quick Controls - Uncheck Backup (only suggested if using a different solution, as I do).
Antivirus Settings
Boot Time Protection: Aggressive
Scans and Risks - USB Drive Scan: Off (files will be scans on execution anyway).
Administrative Settings
Report Card: Off
Performance Monitoring: Off
Power Saving Mode: Off
Settings Password Protection: On
Special Offer Notification: Off
Automatic Tasks Delay: 2 Minutes
Tasks Scheduling Settings
Uncheck all, except perhaps Windows Temporary Files and Disk Optimization - depending on your preferences and/or other software.
Don't run Smart Scan - it is a quick scan, with the underlying purpose to upsell other products.
Either schedule a Quick Scan, or preferably a Full System Scan, suggested weekly.
With these changes, I simply don't hear from the product unless there is actually a problem requiring attention.
If I click the product icon in the system tray, I actually get to where I wanted to go - Norton 360.
I was someone who used Norton Internet Security/360 years ago, before it became very bloated. I switched elsewhere for many years.
The product nowadays is very light on resources and works extremely well. Arguably has some of the best IDS and protection out of the box.
It is however my sincere opinion that the default settings are not where they should be. Heavily focused on upselling other products (VPN, Driver Updater, Software Updater). I'm a fan of the product, but don't think I'm alone in thinking this is extremely bad for the user experience.
Sure, make these other products and allow the potential customer to discover them online if they are searching, but don't offer them in the Internet Security package. Maybe unpopular to post this on the official Forum, but I simply want the software to become the best it can be and these are my thoughts.
Hope this helps, these settings are my suggestion only. Your mileage my vary!