Posted 09/08/09 at 06:43:24 PM by Jason Barry

Symantec announced the newest version of its popular Norton security software.  In particular, they elaborated on Norton 2010’s new file analysis technology codenamed “Quorom”.  

The new technology attacks the problem faced by most security software: the overwhelming abundance of unique malware applications.  Malware creators are able to churn out innumerable amounts of unique malware based on similar vulnerabilities and exploitations in hopes of bypassing standard signature and behavior-based detection.  Quorum aims to use the uniqueness of the software as a means of threat detection itself.

Further, the new software was developed to maintain its light footprint and quick operation.  Passmark Software benchmarked Norton Internet Security 2010 and its competitors.   Norton reportedly installs in less than 60 seconds and occupies less than 10 megabytes of operational memory.

Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus both support all versions of Windows 7 and Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) as well as Windows XP SP2.  They are currently available for purchase in the United States.

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Posted 07/03/09 at 05:19:54 PM by Paul Lilly

Many of our readers were taken off-guard when we rated Norton Internet Security 2009 a 9/Kickass in last year's antivirus roundup, and we even admit to being surprised at Norton's transformation from a resource-heavy sloth to a lean and competent antimalware package. We hope the trend continues, and we'll have a chance to see if it does now that Symatec has released beta versions of its upcoming 2010 releases to the public.

The new version features a new protection model codenamed Quorum and will put a heavier focus on reputation-based malware detection. While it won't replace existing signature-based detection for known threats, Norton says the reputation model can detect zero-day malware that's never been seen before.

"Our new approach changes the rules by both enhancing traditional security techniques to make them more aggressvie and by making it dramatically more difficult for attackers to evade detection by simply changing their malware," said Rowan Trollope, Symantec senior vice president, Consumer Business Unit.

Other features include an overhaul to parental control and spam filtering, more detailed information provided by Norton Insight, which identifies known good programs for faster scanning, and a new feature called Autopsy, which is designed to help the user understand what just happened when Norton automatically removes an infection.

Norton Internet Security 2010 Beta
Norton Antivirus 2010 Beta

Had a chance to try either one of these out? Hit the jump and let us know about it!

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Posted 03/05/09 at 10:00:58 AM by Paul Lilly

To the surprise of many (including ourselves), Symantec shed its old bloaty ways with the release of Norton Internet Security Suite 2009, a svelte security suite that earned a 9 verdict and KickAss award in our Antivirus Software Roundup. Now Symantec says its ready to do it again with a revamped version of its Norton 360 software. Has the world turned topsy-turvy?

"Norton 360 has become one of Symantec’s most popular consumer offerings in just two years due to the all-in-one convenience it delivers and the solutions value we have built directly into the suite,” said Janice Chaffin, group president of Symantec’s Consumer Business Unit. “With version 3.0, we are combining the unmatched performance of our 2009 security products with Norton Safe Web to create even more convenience and value for our customers."

Just like NIS 2009, Symantec says its new Norton 360 version 3.0 takes about a minute to install and consumes less than 10MB of system memory. Not only that, but the company claims users will see faster boot times once 360 turns off "unnecessary" startup programs. Other new features shipping with version 3.0 include pulse updates, idle backup routine, botnet protection, and a web rating service called Norton Safe Web.

Coinciding with the 360 v3.0 release, Symantec also announced the official launch of the Norton Users Discussion Forum. Prior to the launch, the forum had been in beta since April 2008 and currently boasts 1,200 new users and 7,000 posts every month.

Norton 360 is available now with an MRRP of $100 (includes 25GB of secured online storage) for the Premier Edition, $130 for the Small Business Edition 5 User Pack (plus 10GB), and $250 for the Small Business Edition 10 User Pack (plus 25GB).

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Posted 07/17/08 at 03:28:14 PM by Paul Lilly

Ping any enthusiast forum about security software and you'll likely get conflicting recommendations. But one thing most advanced PC users seem to agree on is that there are better, faster alternatives than Symantec's Norton software. With the release of Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus 2009, Symantec is telling those users to take another look.

Helping them do that, Symantec today has gone live with public betas for both programs, which the company purports are "designed to set a new industry standard for speed and performance." Symantec calls it their "zero-impact" performances goal and says it has implemented more than 300 improvements running the gamut from scanning engine tweaks to a better user interface. Even the installation looks to waste no time, with Symantec touting a one-minute install time and "less than half the memory usage of the next leading competitor."

Why the sudden interest in speed? "Based on customer feedback, we viewed performance as the key feature for this release. Our goal is to create the fastest security product in the world, hands down," said Rowan Trollope, Senior VP of Consumer Products.

Find out what else is new with Norton 2009 after the jump.

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Posted 07/08/08 at 07:08:37 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

How much antivirus and firewall protection do I need? I just purchased a laptop that comes with Norton Security 2007. I had also planned on using Webroot AntiVirus, which includes a firewall and anti-spyware protection. I also thought about using ThreatFire after I read about it in Maximum PC (February 2008), as well as Spybot Search & Destroy. Is all this overkill? What do you recommend?

After the jump: Our experts' answers!

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Posted 07/02/08 at 09:53:57 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Microsoft has always recommended disabling antivirus programs before upgrading Windows. Most of us have smiled, nodded, waved, and done whatever we pleased. Unfortunately, some Windows XP SP3 installs failed because antivirus was running - and some installs "worked," but caused big problems with Device Manager and Network Connections.

To find out why it happened and how to fix your system, catch us after the break.

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Posted 02/27/08 at 07:20:53 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Our consumer advocate investigates the Dog's fuzzy math, KillerPings.com's disappearing act, and Norton's three-user license.

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