Norton AntiVirus 2004 now includes tools to combat nonvirus threats such as adware and spyware.

Industry leader Symantec revs its venerable Norton AntiVirus (NAV) product with new tools to combat nonvirus threats such as pesky ad-serving software (adware) and keystroke-logging Trojan horses (spyware). It also stops viruses transmitted through instant messaging and found within compressed files.

Upside: New edition includes the tools to detect and remove spyware, the source of many pop-up ads. It also prevents Trojan horses, which capture passwords and other personal information, from taking root in your PC.

Downside: Symantec now requires users to activate the product before using it. Although the process demands very little personal information, we still think this is an unnecessary hassle. Also, NAV 2004 still does not include a personal firewall--technology that proved useful in deflecting recent network-based worms such as MSBlast and Nachi.

Outlook: Symantec will continue to dominate the domestic antivirus market based on name recognition and past performance, but the new product-activation requirement and the continued absence of a firewall feature may start to eat into the market share.