Norton Antivirus for Gamers is a version of Norton 360 Deluxe with some changes and features explicitly aimed at customizing the security suite for this audience of gamers. You will get all the features provided with Norton 360 Deluxe, and there are many plus a few extras to help make sure that your gaming sessions go more smoothly.
Norton 360 Deluxe for Gamers is an antivirus aimed firmly at the gaming community. After all, the name gives that away. However, this security suite has little more than just a "good for gamers" credential.
Why is it good for gaming? What features does Norton 360 provide for gamers, its primary defenses, and how does Norton tailor this package to be a positive and helpful experience for gamers? Read on to know the answers to these and other questions.
Key features of Norton 360 for gamers that are also offered with Norton 360 Deluxe are as follows:
Real-time threat protection: The Antivirus Protection protects your device from malware, maintaining a constant shield against online disturbances of all kinds, with very sound web protection and an intelligent firewall to boot.
Computer cloud backup: The Windows PC gets a bundled backup tool that is very user-friendly and is equipped with 50GB of online storage space.
Parental control: An in-depth system of parental controls goes beyond web filtering and includes extensive monitoring features (with GPS tracking to keep tabs on kids via their mobiles). Remember, though, as mentioned above, Mac users don't get it.
Password manager: A built-in password manager saves the effort of remembering passwords while doing all the hard work for you, keeping them ultra-secure.
Secure VPN: Norton's VPN service is packed with a suite, providing you extra online privacy & security, and it is used across all devices, saving you the price of buying a separate VPN. Norton Secure VPN isn't the best offering globally, but it is good enough if short on features.
As well as above what you get with Norton 360 Deluxe, Norton 360 for Gamers further adds these gaming features to the mix, though remember that these only work on Windows PCs (except for dark web monitoring, of course). , which is platform agnostic):
Dark web monitoring: While Norton 360 Deluxe provides dark web monitoring for personal details that may be leaked online, Norton 360 for Gamers also covers your gaming account and gamer tag.
Game optimizer: This new addition to Norton 360 for gamers aims to shift CPU resources to perform better in your game. The system works with game launchers from Blizzard, Bethesda, Genesis (EA), Rockstar, Uplay (Ubisoft), and the Epic Games Steam and Store. You will need a quad-core processor or better to benefit from the technology.
Full-screen detection and notification optimization: Full-Screen Detection Automatically detects that you're running a full-screen app - like a game - and to make sure your gaming session isn't interrupted (unless it has to be), Silences the all-important security alerts. Notification optimization also means you will receive fewer (non-critical) alerts from the suite in regular daily operations.
Norton 360 Deluxe for Gamers can be installed on Windows PC and Mac and Android or Apple phones or tablets. But most gamer-focused features will only work on Windows, and remember that they won't function as well with Windows 10 S Mode, and some features require at least a quad-core CPU or better.
Also, remember that the parental controls that come with the suite cannot be used with a Mac, and not all features are available on the mobile platform. Other capabilities are exclusive to Windows, including Safe Cam and Cloud Backup.
The Norton 360 for Gamers subscription is good for up to 3 devices (and there's a difference between the suite and Norton 360 Deluxe, as the latter supports up to 5 devices).
Windows 10 and Windows 8/8.1 devices are supported, and Windows 7 PCs are still compatible, even though the OS is now unsupported – and with Macs, you need to be running macOS 10.14 Mojave or better. Norton's apps work with Android 6.0 or later or iOS 12 or better on mobile.
In Norton Antivirus review, you'll see that we rate the software very well. And independent testing labs rave about Norton's antivirus engine a lot in their recent reports, so you can be assured of getting powerful protection from malware, which is undoubtedly the best thing any antivirus product can get.
However, this particular security suite stands out from most because it gives gamers additional functionality. Those extra features are certainly helpful, aimed at making sure game sessions aren't interrupted, and even better, the games you are playing better. Remember that we haven't tested the Game Optimizer feature ourselves, but it's a pretty impressive benefit if it works as advertised.
The trade-off for gamers buying Norton 360 is that while you get these extras - only on Windows PC, remember - you lose device support compared to Norton 360 Deluxe, which only covers three devices, Instead of five with the latter.
In fact, given that the pricing is similar, remember that the Norton 360 is a whisker cheaper for gamers upon renewal — the choice here is whether you want those gaming features or support for an additional 2 devices. Indeed, if you're going to go the Norton route and do a lot of gaming and are happy with coverage for 3 devices instead of 5, the Norton 360 for gamers is a no-brainer, offering some nifty functionality along with providing a good security suite help on the gaming front.
Norton 360 for Gamers only offers protection for 3 devices, while the Deluxe version can protect 5 devices for basically the same price.
We've provided features to suspend alerts and background tasks while you play games or stream. These features make sure that Norton has minimal affect on the PC performance.
That's why we have added a new feature to Norton 360 for Gamers called Game Optimizer. Game Optimizer is patented technology for multi-core CPU PCs that provides an immersive game experience by reducing performance interruptions while still maintaining your computer's security.
Overall, Norton 360 for Gamers is a great choice for gamers who want to keep their devices as secure as possible without diminishing CPU performance — and at $34.99 / year, it's a pretty good value.
Keep antivirus programs on while gaming increases the chances that a virus is caught quickly. Sometimes, as careful as you are and as hard as you try to avoid malicious actors on the Internet, you can find yourself having encountered a virus or with malware on your device
That's why we have added a new feature to Norton 360 for Gamers called Game Optimizer. Game Optimizer is patented technology for multi-core CPU PCs that provides an immersive game experience by reducing performance interruptions while still maintaining your computer's security.