Introduction
PCMag has been writing about identity theft for nearly 20 years, and LifeLock has provided identity theft protection for almost the same amount of time. Combine LifeLock’s identity theft protection with Norton’s device protection, and you get Norton 360 with LifeLock, which is our award-winning Editor’s Choice recommendation. The security suite alone is our Editor’s Choice winner, with full licenses for Norton’s VPN and ample online storage for backups. With LifeLock added in, it also earns our Editor’s Choice for device security with identity protection.
How much does Norton with LifeLock cost?
At the base layer “Select,” a subscription to Norton 360 with LifeLock costs $149.99 annually, just $30 more than Norton 360 Deluxe. You get the same five-package licenses and five VPN licenses, although the amount of hosted online storage for backups doubles to 100 GB. You can also pay $179.99 annually for the subscription that increases device protection to 10 device security licenses, 10 VPN licenses, and 250 GB of storage for backups.
Yes, this is high for a security package. Bitdefender Total Security gives you 10 licenses for $99.99 annually, as do the flagship packages from Total Defense and Vipre. But when compared to other products that combine device security and identity theft protection, Norton’s prices are not excessive. For example, Bitdefender Ultimate Security costs $179.99, giving you coverage for 10 devices, unlimited bandwidth VPN access, and one identity. The highest tier of Bitdefender Ultimate Security costs $239.99 annually and offers significant enhancements in identity theft and payment features.
Can I protect my family with LifeLock?
The prices I’ve mentioned for Norton are for individual protection. To cover yourself and your partner, you will need a family plan. Don’t expect a volume discount, though. The family plan prices simply add the cost of the additional LifeLock subscription regardless of the tier you choose. You can also add limited identity protection for up to five children by opting for the family and kids plan, which adds $110 to $130 to the family plan’s price. The maximum price reaches Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus for Family & Kids, which is a subscription that costs $819.99 annually.
Device Protection by the numbers
As mentioned, there are three tiers of protection for Norton 360 with LifeLock: Select, Advanced, and Advanced Plus. The higher tiers come with increased identity protection features, as I will discuss later. However, the tier you choose also determines what you get in the area of device protection.
At the basic “Select” tier, your device protection parallels that of Norton 360 Deluxe. You get five security package licenses and five licenses to use Norton’s VPN, with no limits on virtual bandwidth and server options. You can use those licenses to protect devices running Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. The basic Norton 360 subscription provides 50 GB of online storage for backups, while that increases to 100 GB in the version that includes LifeLock. For an additional $30, you can increase the number of licenses to 10 and the backup storage capacity to 250 GB while retaining the basic LifeLock tier.
At the device protection level, there isn’t much difference between the advanced tier and the Select subscription with 10 licenses. You still get 10 licenses for the security package and 10 licenses for devices and 250 GB for backup storage. The difference comes entirely on the LifeLock side, with the enhancement and added features as well as larger amounts during reimbursement.
When
The Ultimate Plus plan provides you with every available identity protection feature, maximizing your reimbursements. At this level, there is no limit to the number of devices you can protect with Norton’s security suite and VPN. The online backup storage rises to 500GB.
Your Reading Mission
The cross-platform protection you get with this product is Norton 360 Deluxe, with only very small differences. The version equipped with LifeLock tracks more items in dark web monitoring and provides you with additional online storage for backups. Other than that, the security applications you install on your devices running Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS remain unchanged.
There is a slight difference from the installation without LifeLock in the Norton dashboard. Instead of dark web monitoring, the dashboard displays LifeLock ID Theft Protection. (credit: Norton)
As such, I will not summarize my review of the security suite without LifeLock. Please read this article for a complete understanding of the device security components in Norton 360 with LifeLock and what it offers for different platforms. Then, return here to find out what you get when adding LifeLock.
Using Norton 360 with LifeLock
Purchasing a Norton 360 subscription with LifeLock is slightly more complicated than buying the basic Norton 360 package. You must provide your credit card details for payment, but the app also asks for your address, Social Security number, date of birth, and mobile phone number. You’ll get used to providing personal details to Norton, as they need it to protect you. There is an option to expand LifeLock protection to your partner, children, or other adults (at an additional cost, of course). (credit: Norton)
After you complete the registration, you can log in to the LifeLock dashboard online. The left-hand menu provides eight options: Dashboard, Alerts, Credit Services, Lock & Freeze, Transactions, Recovery, Monitored Information, and Plan Details. You may see text panels at the top suggesting tasks such as setting up an identity lock or connecting your social media accounts.
Scroll down to find a range of dashboards. The Alerts panel displays unread alerts and contains a link to the full alert list. The Credit Services panel shows your credit score from Equifax with a link for more details. The Identity Lock panel displays whether you have activated the credit lock from TransUnion or a daily loan lock, or both. Once you configure transaction monitoring, social media monitoring, and privacy monitoring, you will see a summary of those features here. Following that is a panel linking you to your plan details and, at the bottom, a visual representation of the information monitored by LifeLock. (credit: Norton)
Early Warning System
Identity thieves do their best to keep you in the dark about their activities. The longer they have to interfere with your accounts, the more damage they can cause. You may be clueless about the incident until you receive a bill for an account you didn’t sign up for or are charged with a crime committed by someone else. Norton provides a variety of tools and early warning monitors so you can counteract thieves before they cause too much damage.
Identity Monitoring Across Layers
Norton 360 basic, without LifeLock, monitors the dark web for exposed personal information. It also alerts you when your data is exposed in a known breach. By adding LifeLock, even at the basic “Select” tier, the capabilities for this type of protection expand. You can track:
- 5 addresses
- 10 bank accounts
- 1 date of birth
- 10 credit cards
- 1 driver’s license
- 5 email addresses
- 10 player tags
- 5
- Insurance documents
- Mother’s last name
- 5 phone numbers
- Social security number one
Don’t delay; fill out all your personal information immediately. Norton cannot find your data being traded on the dark web if it doesn’t have what to look for.
If thieves are trading your personal details, your credit score may be affected. LifeLock monitors your credit score with Experian and alerts you to any suspicious changes.
Another person’s attempt to open credit in your name is a big deal. LifeLock monitors such attempts and notes any effort that uses your social security number, address, or date of birth. It also alerts you if it detects a change in address with financial institutions or the post office. It does its best to detect the misuse of your personal information in other different areas, including public records and unemployment records.
Advanced Identity Monitoring
There is general identity theft, and there is also actual cash theft that occurs when wrongdoers gain access to your financial accounts. At the advanced level, LifeLock (through partner Yodlee) monitors your credit, checking, and savings accounts for large purchases and unusual transactions.
To set up monitoring, provide the username and login for all your banks, credit cards, and other financial accounts. You can review all transactions from within the service.
LifeLock also looks for smarter tricks such as suddenly increasing recurring charges. Aura, Bitdefender, and IDShield also track unusual transactions, although Bitdefender reserves this feature for its top tier.
By signing up for a “buy now, pay later” plan, scammers can seize goods and disappear before you know something has happened. LifeLock also tracks these plans so you can stop the shipment before it’s due.
At the advanced level, you get more than just credit score tracking. LifeLock provides you with a full credit report from Equifax every month. It’s a lot to read, but if you’ve received alerts or other warnings, you’ll want to review it in detail.
Sometimes, thieves do not go straight for the money. They start small, working towards a full takeover of your identity. LifeLock monitors your social media accounts for any signs of them being compromised. Bitdefender, IDShield, and IDX Complete also offer their own privacy options on social media. You can link your Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Snapchat accounts with LifeLock.
How often does your phone play a role in verifying your identity? Hackers may use SIM swapping attacks and similar techniques to take control of your phone; LifeLock monitors to ensure they fail. IDShield and McAfee offer similar protection against phone takeover. Identity verification alerts you if your social security number has been misused.
If you have a common name, your name may get involved in an investigation of a crime committed by someone else with the same name. But even if your name is one in a million, a criminal can provide that name to the police, perhaps with a fake ID. LifeLock monitors crime reports for
Source: https://me.pcmag.com/en/security-suites/20797/norton-360-with-lifelock
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