Obviously a new laptop is not an indulgence few of us can afford on a regular basis so there's something pretty fantastic about the moment you open up your new toy and it isn't slow, isn't clogged up with junk, a hundred old documents you never look at but never delete and so on and so forth but actually runs beautifully and doesn't take an hour to load.  It seems to me that at times like this we become particularly fussy about what we put onto our new machine - although this rarely seems to last, for me at any rate.

So, when it became apparent that my partner's age old laptop had less power than the toaster, the only realistic course of action was acquiring a brand new shiny one.  The second decision was anti-virus software.  We wanted something that offered very good protection but didn't slow up the new machine: after all, it would soon be bogged down by the weight of photos, videos, music tracks and, of course, games. 

I've always sworn by Norton from Symantec and in recent years I've stuck with the 360 package but I was intrigued to try the Gaming Edition of the anti-virus software.  Reviewing it on the new computer seemed a great idea: I'd run Norton on desktops for several years without issue but running it on a new laptop would really help me gauge how big an impact it had on the speed and the running of the machine.  Well, I got my answer: it has very little impact at all.

The box promised 'fast and light antivirus and antispyware optimised for gaming'.  It offers most of the benefits of Norton Internet Security, the most noticeable difference being that it doesn't have a two-way firewall (MMORPG gamers may be aware of the laborious nature of customising your firewall to work with games such as World of Warcraft).  However, it does offer a 'Gamer Mode' which allows you to temporarily suspend updates and advanced security processes, so no chance of your game crashing because Norton decides to update at the wrong time (though nothing we can do about Windows... sorry!).

One downside to the Gaming Edition is that, unlike Norton Internet Security and Norton 360, the title doesn't offer identity protection and therefore does not block potential phishing sites.  However, the other benefits offered by the other packages, included storing personal information and automatic logins are services I remain staunchly suspicious about using at any rate, so I really didn't feel that I was missing out on much.

In terms of design, Norton users will no doubt see from the screenshot that this is a very different look but I really liked it.  It's a sleek design, easy to find everything you need and nice to see an application that is sensible without looking dull for once!

The software was extremely easy and quick to install and has run smoothly and unobtrusively since installation.  It does its job in the best possible way, so much so that neither I nor my partner seem to really notice it.  The downloading and installation of updates is also quick and painless.

I'd never hesitate to recommend Norton and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Gaming Edition.  If you have any quibble about the non-blocking of anti-phishing sites, ask yourself: if I don't trust it myself, should I be using it in the first place?  This is a great product and, as always with Norton, I feel completely secure when using it. 

**Review by Donna Haw**