Norton Internet Security 2005 combines three popular Norton utilities into a single, economically priced package--and then throws in a couple of extra features, to sweeten the deal. In this one box you'll find Norton AntiVirus, Norton Personal Firewall, and Norton AntiSpam. That's $140 worth of top-shelf protection against potential online threats bundled into one $70 package. Add to this privacy and parental controls, and you end up with a bargain that's simply too good to pass up.

Each of the three standalone packages included in Norton Internet Security 2005 already dominates its respective market niche. Personal Firewall guards your computer against unauthorized intrusion. AntiVirus recently added protection against emerging online threats such as spyware, adware, and dialers to its already-impressive list of features. Norton AntiSpam allows you to create custom "filters" that identify and block spam, based on key words and phrases you specify. We won't rehash their full capabilities, here, except to mention that all three have already earned "Best Buy" ratings from our reviewers.

If Symantec had sealed Norton Internet Security 2005 after bundling these three utilities, alone, it would have assembled an impressive package. Rather than stop there, however, the company decided to include two invaluable features that anyone worried about the safety of their online experience will appreciate.

Privacy control maintains constant vigilance over your computer, to make sure no one mines from it confidential information stored on its hard drive, such as your e-mail addresses, web surfing habits, correspondence, etc. Hackers and even legitimate commercial sites covet, and often secretly scrutinize, such items. Norton Internet Security effectively blocks these efforts.

Let's face it. There's a lot of bad stuff out there in cyberspace. Norton Internet Security's parental controls block access to selected web sites and newsgroups. Three default settings are created during installation: Child, Teenager, and Adult. By adding to these default settings customized control configurations, you can specify access privileges for each person who uses your computer to surf the 'net.

Categories of sites that can be blocked "en masse" include pornography, tobacco-related sites, gambling sites, and other general topics unsuitable for certain age groups. You can enhance this general protection by adding to a given user's profile specific sites you've discovered to which you decide they should be denied access.

Surfing the Internet can be either a positive or negative experience. Norton Internet Security 2004 provides virtually every tool you need to ensure that your online experience is a positive one.

Pros: All-in-one protection for anyone who surfs the 'net
Cons: Product activation process requires some fine-tuning