We're forever issuing warnings about online security and advice on making use of protective tools such as anti-virus software and firewalls. Symantec's Internet Security Professional 2004 is the latest revision of its seasoned Norton-branded software utility suite.

The main elements of this new edition are 2004-suffixed versions of Norton Firewall and AntiVirus Professional, and two licences are included. This means the product can be used on two computers simultaneously - a valuable attribute given that Symantec now requires users to 'activate' their product over the internet for continued use of the package.

However, the big news is the arrival of Norton AntiSpam, a program dedicated to filtering out all the unsolicited messages invading the inboxes of email users. This utility adds a new toolbar to your email program (Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora), affording easy access to the spam-scrapping options. However, as with many similar filter-based tools, AntiSpam's effectiveness is initially limited, becoming more useful only over time and use.

Norton Privacy Control, which attempts to stop personal information from slipping out of your computer unnoticed, provides rearguard action along with Productivity Control, an internet-access management tool that will appeal to worried parents and paranoid bosses.

If you've already got firewall and anti-virus software, you don't really need the Professional version, and would be better off with the standard edition. If you don't though, this is a great package to have.

Contact: Symantec 01628 592222
www.symantec.co.uk