In some ways, Norton SystemWorks suffers from its own success. It's had so many impressive features, for so many years, that one can't always find much to tout, whenever a new version arrives.

Upgrades tend to be evolutionary, not revolutionary--which, although it might make for a good product, tends to necessitate a relatively mundane review.

Don't misunderstand. This isn't to say that Norton SystemWorks 2005 doesn't warrant consideration. It does, especially if you don't currently have a system maintenance and security suite installed on your PC. SystemWorks 2005 still comprises a software suite that includes several of Peter Norton's most popular PC utilities: Norton AntiVirus, Norton Utilities, Norton GoBack, and more. The first two alone, AntiVirus and Norton Utilities, would be worth the price of this impressive package. GoBack is an advanced system recovery tool that allows users to easily restore healthy system configurations and lost or damaged data.

Although much more rare than sensationalized news reports lead us to believe, computer viruses are a real and present danger. Norton AntiVirus monitors your PC operations, then identifies and, if necessary, removes any viruses it finds infecting your system. New to SystemWorks 2005 is an Internet Worm Protection module.

This new feature monitors your online activity and blocks automatically any suspicious incoming data that could be designed to attack your system. Given the growing dangers on the Internet, this last feature alone could justify an upgrade. System Optimizer is another feature new to SystemWorks 2005. Targeted at Windows XP, this module lets you monitor and modify, if desired, a wide range of Windows settings.

At the digital heart of SystemWorks 2005, however, still lies the Norton Utilities. This module contains a slew of elegant applets designed to protect and improve the performance of your computer. Norton DiskDoctor, one of the Norton Utilities, can identify and correct potential disk problems, including damaged data, missing file pointers, and corrupted directories.

Peter Norton built his software empire on this one utility, and it remains as impressive today as it was almost twenty years ago, when it first appeared. WinDoctor identifies dozens of potential problems associated with your Windows environment, including incorrect or outdated registry entries, inactive shortcuts, questionable system startup settings, unused device drivers, and more.

If you're like most people, you are becoming more and more dependent on your PC. It only makes sense, therefore, to take any and all steps required to make that PC more dependable. Norton SystemWorks 2005 places all the required tools in one place.

Pro: Everything you need to keep your PC running smoothly and efficiently, in one, inexpensive package.
Con: None

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Symantec Corp.
20330 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 517-8000
http://www.symantec.com/