New tools for old problems
Peter Norton gained fame from the
widespread acceptance of his DOS-based Norton Utilities. Norton Utilities was
successful because it plugged some huge, gaping holes in MS-DOS. But that was a
long time ago, and Windows NT doesn't have the same holes. You can't compare
Symantec's Norton NT Tools to Norton Utilities for DOS and Windows--they're
different solutions for different OSs. A better way to look at Norton NT Tools
is to view it as four of the best programs from Symantec's family of Norton
products, all ported to run as native, 32-bit NT applications (Intel only).
Those programs are the AntiVirus Scanner, the File Manager, System Information
and System Doctor, and the Control Center.
Norton AntiVirus Scanner
Screen 1
shows Norton AntiVirus Scanner, which works on all NT file systems and can
detect (and often eliminate) thousands of viruses. Symantec updates virus lists
monthly, and you can download these lists into the product from
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter or ftp://ftp.symantec.com (Internet), GO
SYMANTEC (CompuServe), SYMANTEC (AOL), and SYM-NAV95 (Microsoft Network--MSN).
Norton File Manager
Screen 2
shows Norton File Manager, which supports local file browsing, network browsing,
and FTP server browsing. With an interface adapted from Norton Navigator, Norton
File Manager includes several interesting value-added features, such as the
capability to zip and unzip files.
Norton System Information and Norton System
Doctor
Screen 3 shows Norton System Information and Norton System
Doctor, which let you view your system's resources and configuration settings.
The System Information program lets you see the overall system environment, and
the System Doctor provides ongoing information about system resources.
Norton Control Center
Norton
Control Center lets you customize the operation and behavior of Norton AntiVirus
Scanner. It also lets you customize Norton System Doctor.
Norton NT Tools Time
Installing
Norton NT Tools was easy, and I didn't have to reboot the system. Following
installation, the program asked me whether to launch the virus scanner--a handy
step in the process. When I launched it, I was annoyed to find that my virus
list was outdated and I needed to download a new list--nothing like installing a
brand new product from a shrink-wrapped box only to find some of it obsolete.
Fortunately, after I ignored that warning, the virus scanner began examining my
hard drive with the existing virus list.
You can invoke any of the tools from the Norton NT Tools program group.
Alternatively, you can set Norton System Doctor to activate when NT starts, and
you can configure the virus scanner to run at scheduled intervals. Symantec
provides high-quality printed and electronic documentation for all products.
All the Norton NT Tools worked as advertised when I ran them in the Windows
NT Magazine lab. As I reviewed Norton NT Tools, I wondered: How much
better is Norton NT Tools than NT's tools? Is Norton File Manager dramatically
better than NT's File Manager? Do Norton System Information and Norton System
Doctor present system information better than NT's Diagnostic, Performance
Monitor (Perfmon), and Disk Administrator programs? (NT has no counterpart for
Norton AntiVirus Scanner.)
Judging Norton NT Tools against the standard NT tools is subjective. I find
that Norton NT Tools does a better job organizing and presenting information
than the standard NT tools. I can also point to specific features in Norton NT
Tools that don't have equivalent features in NT.
For example, you can browse local files, network-based files, and FTP
server files (assuming you have an Internet connection) with Norton File
Manager. Similarly, Norton File Manager provides tool buttons to zip and unzip
files. Of course, you can just as well use any FTP client program or a zip and
unzip utility. The point, however, is that Norton NT Tools puts several useful
tools at your fingertips. You don't have to open a separate program or access
the command line to start an FTP client or invoke a zip and unzip utility.
Similarly, Norton System Information and Norton System Doctor programs
provide detailed information about system resources in a convenient visual
format. Norton System Information presents detailed information similar to the
NT Diagnostic tool, but in an appealing, organized fashion. Norton System Doctor
displays easy-to-read gauges and indicators that show current CPU, hard disk,
and memory utilization.
After comparing the features of Norton NT Tools to the standard Windows NT
tools, I concluded that Norton NT Tools would be a worthwhile addition to any NT
system I used. The add-on feature in the Norton File Manager impressed me. I
like the FTP and zip/unzip support in particular, but you may find other product
features that ring your chimes. Norton NT Tools is clearly a product that casts
a wide net of features to capture a broad base of potential users.
Tools You Need?
Is Norton NT Tools a valuable addition to most NT systems? Absolutely. Are
these tools first class implementations of virus scanning, file management, and
system resource management? Sure. Can you live without Norton NT Tools? You'll
have to decide. However, considering its price of $49.95, the value-added
features in Norton NT Tools make the package pretty hard to pass by.