Norton Core offers respectable wi-fi speeds and coverage in your home, but, more importantly it can head off any threat before it even enters your network. Now that's peace of mind.
- RATING
Norton Core is a wi-fi router with a major difference. Apart looking nothing like a regular router, it brings with it an all-new level of security to protect all of your home’s connected devices.
It’s like hiring a bodyguard for your home internet security. It also creates a respectable wireless network and provides tools for parents to monitor and manage screen time by person and by device.
Norton brings to the table the power of the Symantec Global Intelligence Network to your home.
It puts all those smarts into Norton Core to head off any threats before they reach your connected devices.
And it is always being updated and staying a step ahead of the threats that could compromise anyone else with less protection.
The significance of Norton Core is emphasised when you consider we are connecting more than just computers and mobile devices to a network.
There are also a growing number of smart Internet of Things devices which could be a vulnerability a cyber criminal may try to exploit.
Norton Core is super simple to set up thanks to the companion app which takes you step-by-step through the whole process.
For the best results, Norton Core should be connected directly to your modem so it can become the first line of defence.
Set up took just a few minutes and we were also able to choose the network’s name and password.
The unit itself has multi-faceted spherical shape – the last thing it looks like is a router. This is handy because it means you can put it anywhere.
Norton Core has a dual core 1.7Ghz processor onboard to power the security features and provide solid wi-fi coverage plus more memory and flash storage than your regular router.
The device supplies a dual band network at 2.4GHz and 5GHz with combined speeds of up to 2.5Gbps and uses beamforming technology to focus the wi-fi on your devices.
For our testing, we stacked the Norton Core up against other routers from D-Link and Netgear and it was equal or slightly slower when tested at various points in our home which is still an impressive result.
And while it can stay in touch in the speed stakes, the Norton Core offers security and peace of mind that not many other routers can provide.
The real strength of the Norton Core is the enhanced security it will provide for your home.
Wi-Fi routers can be vulnerable to attacks by cyber criminals and Norton Core can halt any threats before they get anywhere near your connected devices.
Any product connected to Norton Core is protected.
And when you leave your home, the router comes with 10 licenses to protect your mobile devices when you’re outside the network.
In your home Norton Core, through the app, gives you a security score which is determined by the number of threats it has blocked.
The higher the score, the better.
Naturally, if you have a lot of smart devices in your home, these should be connected via Norton Core to ensure their safety and to alert you if any vulnerabilities are detected.
Cyber criminals will try and find the easiest path into your network which could possibly be a security camera, smart light or other IoT product.
Rather than troubleshoot each and every product, Norton Core provides an umbrella of protection.
Through the app you can also see how many devices are connected, prioritise a device to receive additional bandwidth and even check your data consumption.
It’s also possible to set up a guest network for your visitors to use and even set a time limit on their connection.
For a parent, Norton Core is a godsend because it provides a powerful and easy way to monitor your kids’ internet activity and access to detailed content filters which can be set to an appropriate level based on their age.
Parents can also manage screen time by person and by device and they can even pause the entire network at the press of a button in the app.
The beauty of Norton Core is that it will get better over time as its databank of threats is updated continually to stay a step ahead of cyber criminals and keep your network safe.
Norton Core is available now from Harvey Norman and is priced at $399.
VERDICT
Norton Core offers respectable wi-fi speeds and coverage in your home, but, more importantly it can head off any threat before it even enters your network. Now that’s peace of mind.
