Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus 2007, Norton Internet Security 2007 Provide State-of-the-Art Security and Performance to Protect Against Today’s Newest Threats.
Symantec Corp. lately announced the launch of Norton AntiVirus 2007 and Norton Internet Security 2007, editions of its flagship consumer security products by touting new features and smaller PC footprints.
Industry leading security applications that have been enhanced in technology and performance to protect users from today’s evolving online threats. Slated to be available later this month, both products have been updated to provide better protection and system performance, Symantec said in a statement.
Norton AntiVirus 2007 is a proven and trusted solution that gives consumers advanced protection against viruses, spyware and related risks.
Norton Internet Security 2007 is a powerful security suite, which will ship later this month, now includes anti-phishing tools that rely on black lists of known phony sites as well as on heuristic technologies that sniff out potentially dangerous sites, with anti-spyware protection of Norton AntiVirus and, an enhanced firewall, and defense against software vulnerabilities.
Other enhancements to the security suite — the Cupertino, Calif. Company’s biggest consumer seller — include a new intrusion prevention feature that Symantec claims will protect Windows PCs from developing threats even if they are not fully patched against Microsoft-disclosed vulnerabilities.
"As the industry leader, Symantec is raising the bar by delivering significant advancements in two key areas of our 2007 release: security technology and product performance," said Enrique Salem, group president, Consumer Products and Solutions for Symantec.
Part of the changing threat landscape is the fact that virus writers are rapidly creating variations of existing malicious code rather than developing entirely new threats. Like Internet Security, Norton AntiVirus 2007 sports a revamped interface, and addresses this growing trend by delivering potent new technology that blocks attacks from entire worm and virus families without requiring separate individual signatures for each new threat.
Today’s threat landscape shows large, widespread virus outbreaks being replaced by groups of higher frequency, low-visibility attacks aimed at financial gain rather than notoriety. Symantec has responded by developing sophisticated new security features to restore consumer confidence online and world-class protection that automatically identifies and neutralizes online threats without requiring users to make complicated decisions about their security. We have complemented these technological advancements with ground-breaking performance enhancements our customers will feel in almost every facet of the products — from boot time to full system scans.
We also separated the core system [security] technologies from all other protection features, added Laura Garcia-Manrique, Symantec’s director of product development. The move toward modularization — as well as an accompanying code rewrite of several areas of Internet Security and changes to the malware scanning engines — has reduced the suite’s memory consumption to 10-15MB and shortened scanning times by 30-35 percent.
Also, the antivirus technology can now detect malicious software that tries to hide using stealth technology known as rootkits, the company said. This patent-pending technology detects camouflaged threats at all system levels, including the application, user mode, and kernel level.
Key Updated Product Feature Includes:
- Less Memory Usage – Size of working set memory for Norton Internet Security 2007 is only 10-15MB — approximately 2-3x less than the competitor’s average.
- Faster Scans – Norton Internet Security 2007 runs a full scan on a 1GB file set in 2:15 (mm:ss) — faster than the average scan time of 2:49 (mm:ss) for tested competing products. Scans 30-35% faster than Norton Internet Security 2006.
- Faster Boot Time – The average boot time impact for tested competing products was 20 seconds –Norton Internet Security 2007 impact was only 14 seconds. Systems boot 5-10% faster than with Norton Internet Security 2006.
- Faster UI Response – The user interface in Norton Internet Security 2007 launches in under 1 second (following initial launch), about 2 times faster than the competitor’s average.
There is a general need for simplicity, and for streamlined installs, Garcia-Manrique said. "We have also modularized the product so that anti-spam and parental controls that have traditionally been part of the automatic install are now optional, will be available for Norton Internet Security 2007 customers who desire these features."
Pricing and Availability:
Norton AntiVirus 2007 and Norton Internet Security 2007 are scheduled to be available for purchase through the Symantec online store at www.symantecstore.com as well as various retail locations and online retailers in September 2006.
The suggested retail price of Norton AntiVirus 2007 is for $39.99, while Norton Internet Security will sell for $69.99; both prices include a one-year’s subscription to product and signature updates. Small Office Packs for 5- and 10-users are scheduled to be available for both products. Norton Internet Security 2007 can be installed on up to three PCs.
Current subscribers of Symantec products who are eligible for Norton AntiVirus 2007 or Norton Internet Security 2007 upgrades will be notified via in-product notification. These customers can also renew their subscriptions for US$39.99 and US$49.99 respectively.
These Norton products are designed for Windows XP Home/XP Pro users and are eligible for a free Windows Vista compatibility update after the new Microsoft operating system ships.
The updates to Symantec’s traditional Norton products precede the launch of a next-generation security product called Norton 360, which is due by the end of March. Symantec has pitched Norton 360 as a complete overhaul of its security products and as a formidable rival to Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare, which launched in late May.
McAfee, Symantec’s chief rival in the consumer security space, launched revamped products last month.
Symantec Products Not Only Safeguards Consumers from Spyware, Phishing, Stealth Attacks, Crimeware, Viruses, Software Vulnerabilities, and More; But Also Delivers Major Performance Enhancements to Flagship Products the company said.