One of the biggest announcements from Google at the beginning of 2006 was a collection of free software called “Google Pack.” Google Pack was developed in order to provide computer users with essential software which Google felt every user needed for their new or current PC. One of the programs in Google Pack was free virus protection software.

The virus protection software in Google Pack was provide by Symantec the vendor behind the popular Norton Antivirus products. The Norton Antivirus products have continuously received excellent reviews from independent testers and still remain one of the leading anti virus products. For Google Pack to start with Symantec supplied Norton Antivirus 2005, although not the latest version, a more than capable anti virus program. The only limitation was that Symantec would only supply 6 months of virus definition updates after that the user would need to upgrade.

At the beginning of 2007 Google persuaded Symantec to provide a virus protection program which the user would not have to upgrade from. Norton Antivirus 2005 was replaced by “Norton Security Scan.” Despite the name Security Scan both scans for AND removes virus threats. The product is based on the same award-winning virus scanning and removal technology found in the Norton Antivirus range of products. More importantly the virus definition updates are not limited to six months.

There are a number of other good reasons to download Google Pack. For starters, Google Pack now includes a Starter Edition of Spyware Doctor which is based on one of the best anti spyware programs on the market today. There is also an excellent photo organizer software called “Picasa.”