You can use the Uninstall simulator to see what the impact would be on your PC if you were to uninstall a particular app. Damaged hard drives can result in extensive loss of information and slowed performance, and you don’t want that. Norton Utilities scans the state of your hard drives and alerts you on any hardware problems it detects. Separate to this is Norton Utilities' Toolbox where you will find numerous cleanup and optimization tools -- again, these can be used in automatic or manually mode. There are in fact a huge number of tools here, including no fewer than five individual cleanup tools -- all-in-one cleanup, internet cleanup, Windows cleanup, registry cleanup and advanced uninstaller. Note that the availability of live support options varies depending on your location. Customers residing in the US have the most convenient support. The competition

Norton Utilities measurably enhances a PC's performance. I examined the software by performing two tests—running the Geekbench system performance tool and measuring boot times. I performed each test three times and averaged the results, both before and after using the suite to clean the PC, a 2GHz Intel Core i7 notebook with 4GB of RAM and 80GB Intel SSD.Norton Utilities’ file shredder wipes away files to prevent anyone from retrieving and accessing them. It’s an excellent feature for people who work with sensitive files, for example, doctors, therapists, and school teachers. This feature scans for devices on your internet network that are using much bandwidth and causing congestion. Afterward, you can shut off these devices to improve your network performance. Something that puts many people off buying optimization and maintenance software is the cost involved -- but with Norton Utilities you get a great deal. As is the case with some many software titles these days, you pay for Norton Utilities on a subscription basis. Rather than including a single license, you can in fact use the software to boost the performance of up to ten computers -- perfect for the modern, multi-PC home! Norton Utilities Ultimate is the perfect all-in-one tool to clean up your PC and maintain it in good shape. Its extensive feature set is second to none. You may not need any other PC maintenance tool after paying for a subscription to get access to its full features.

Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. Read our editorial mission & see how we test. After running the tests, I used the computer extensively to get a sense of how the app had changed responsiveness. Norton Utilities delivered a noticeable performance improvement; the entire OS moved at a snappier pace, even with iTunes or Steam open. This feature helps you terminate Windows junk files, broken shortcuts, and more. Cleaning up these junk files helps improve your PC’s speed by a significant amount.

Keep your PC running like new

In terms of hardware requirements, Norton Utilities is not at all demanding. The software requires that your PC have 100MB of available storage and a 1024 by 768-pixel resolution (or better) monitor. These are all specs that most modern computers should easily exceed. Norton Utilities Ultimate builds on Norton Utilities Premium with enhanced features that help improve overall device functionality. Before Norton Utilities scrubbed the laptop, it achieved a 5,914 Geekbench score and booted in 50.2 seconds. After using Norton Utilities, the GeekBench score rose to 6,008. That's a definite improvement, but one that's still more than 200 points short of Iolo System Mechanic's 6,229 mark. On the other hand, the notebook's boot time decreased to just 38.3 seconds. That's almost one second slower than the result acheived with System Mechanic, 37.5 seconds. Over time, as your hard drive fragments, the Windows Registry goes awry, and junk files pile up, your PC inevitably begins to slow down. The Symantec Norton Utilities aims to fix the problems that plague older computers by repairing invalid Registry entries, freeing hard drive space, removing nonessential programs from the startup process, and so on. Norton Utilities is a solid tune-up program, but its performance improvement and feature set don't quite match that of our Editors' Choices, AVG TuneUp and Iolo System Mechanic. Rev Your Engine

Updates: your subscription may include product, service and/or protection updates, and features that may be added, modified, or removed, subject to the acceptance of the License & Services Agreement. Advanced Uninstaller - Completely uninstalls hard to remove programs and damaged installations to help free up disk. Norton Utilities Ultimate’s Startup Optimizer lets you easily enable or disable software programs from running automatically when your computer boots afresh to improve performance. Process Scanner - Scans processes that are running and maybe using unnecessary system resources that could lead to slowdown as well as for potentially malicious processes.System Troubleshooter - Easily access hidden Windows troubleshooting tools to resolve issues with programs, hardware, sound devices, internet and more.

Uninstalling software programs may seem trivial, but it’s a critical tool. Your computer’s in-built uninstaller often leaves leftover files after uninstalling programs. However, this tool eliminates all software program files to free up disk space. Identify unnecessary and unwanted software clogging up your Windows PC that you can easily uninstall to enjoy more space for the applications you actually use. Over time, your Windows system and the apps generate obsolete files that steal your disk space. You can get rid of this system junk, even pesky leftover files that remain after you uninstall an app. This tool helps improve your PC’s file access speed by re-aligning programs and defragmenting files on your hard disk. A really nice inclusion is Real-Time Boost which does very much what you would expect from the name. A series of algorithms are used to optimize power usage, boost CPU speed, free up memory and much more. The results are impressive.

Still Having Problems?

Every system has its troubleshooting tools, which can be hard to find. Norton Utilities makes it easy for you to find and utilize them. This tool lets you troubleshoot your computer extensively and resolve issues with programs, hardware, internet, sound devices, and more.