Norton Personal Firewall 2005 Office Pack - 5 Users Review

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(More customer reviews)Just bought it today, and installed it. Not 100% impressed, yet!
Executive Summary: I've tried previous versions of Norton ever since they purchased the software-rights to GuardDog and made it Norton... and screwed it up (GuardDog was excellent!). This is the first version of Norton I'm keeping!
After installation, my CPU started cooking. I took a look at my processes running (under Task Manager). The program NMAIN.EXE was using between 98 and 99% of my CPU. A quick file search found it under Symantec Shared files. Called Symantec Tech Support. Solution (which wasn't found in their Knowledge Base) was to increase the "Initial" Windoze Page File size to 2.5 times my memory (512 MB x 2.5 = 1280) and "Maximum" size to 4 times my memory (512 x 4 = 2048). Seems to have fixed the problem (after a Blue Screen of Death during the first reboot, mind you!).
Compared to ZoneAlarm Pro:
1. Norton/Symantec HAS phone support! If Norton determines the problem is YOUR problem, then ya pay $30... but in the above issue, it was FREE!.
2. Norton ANSWERS your tech support questions if you use the free online service. ZoneAlarm, which I'd used for centuries, NEVER answered a single question. Ever!
3. Norton boots MUCH faster than ZoneAlarm.
4. Norton still needs some work. For example, if you tweak the configuration to NOT automatically configure known applications, and you set the options to CHECK other modules for previous authorization, you are going to be bugged to DEATH! And worse, the only two options when you get the "... trying to start an unauthorized module" kinds of messages, the ONLY two options are "Block" and "Allow Once." Ain't no option to "Go ahead and ADD this-here module to the Official OKIE-DOKIE" list. So, if you want the module or program approved, you get to hunt it down and add it manually. Oh, yeah... this is fun! If you leave (or revert) the options at the original settings, the problem goes away.
So, if you want TOTAL control... go with ZoneAlarm. If you want ease of use, but with complete trust in some group of programmers who you THINK know what they're doing (think about it a while: just how stable are the programs you're using now?)... then go with Norton.
Bye-Bye ZoneAlarm!!! Howdy, Norton! Guess I'll have to trust you.

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