Symantec Announced New Norton 360 - All-In-One Security

Key technologies include: antivirus, antispyware, antiphishing, online identity protection, web site authentication, two way firewall and 2GB secured online storage. The suggested retail price of Norton 360 is US$79.99 (includes one-year service subscription to use the product and receive Symantec’s protection updates). It can be installed on up to three PCs.

The all-in-one security service protects computers and the information stored in them from Internet threats and risks, as well as data loss. Norton 360 also diagnoses and fixes common computer problems, optimizing PC performance and speed.

Designed to work as automatically as possible, Norton 360 provides comprehensive protection while performing its duties in the background without interrupting users’ computing experience.

“People today use their computers for much more than work or storing documents. If you ask most computer users what they rely on their PC for, they’ll tell you they use it to surf the web, bank online, shop, keep in touch with friends and family, listen to music and store their favorite photos,” said Enrique Salem, group president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec Corp. “Norton 360 was created with these activities in mind. It not only protects against traditional online threats, but it also helps secure users’ identity when transacting online and safeguards valuable files like music and photos.”

The product delivers complete protection across five categories of functionality:

-- PC Security – Norton 360 features Symantec’s industry-leading protection against a wide range of threats and risks, including viruses, spyware, hackers and more. The Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response (SONAR) is also included in Norton 360, providing behavior-based malware detection that identifies new threats in real-time based on application behavior. Norton 360 includes the ability to remove kernel mode rootkits through heuristics technology. Rootkits can pose a threat by granting attackers unauthorized access to confidential data on users’ computers. Norton 360 also boasts a smart firewall, intrusion prevention, vulnerability assessments and network detection, which automatically optimizes firewall protection using different security settings when connecting to various types of networks.

-- Transaction Security – Antiphishing protection gives consumers the confidence they need to shop, bank and conduct other transactions on the Internet by protecting their online identity. Utilizing black list and heuristic techniques to recognize both known and unknown phishing sites, dangerous sites are clearly marked through seamless integration of the Norton Toolbar into Internet Explorer 6 and higher Web browsers. Norton 360 also features Web Site Authentication, which verifies the authenticity of trusted brands that are commonly phished.

-- Backup and Restore – Norton 360 introduces new local and online backup and restore capabilities. Online backup is secured via users’ Norton Accounts as well as through encryption during file transfer and on the storage servers. The product includes 2 GB of online storage, and additional online storage can be purchased at $29.99 for 5 GB, $49.99 for 10 GB and $69.99 for 25 GB. Norton 360 automatically detects new or changed files and incrementally backs up those changes through custom backup scheduling or during idle time. Users can choose where to back up their content from a range of storage destinations including internal drives, CD/DVD drives, USB drives, mapped network drives, external hard drives or secured online backup.

-- PC Tuneup – Norton 360 identifies and removes unnecessary clutter such as Windows Temp files, Internet Temp files and Internet History files. The PC Tuneup feature also analyzes and defragments hard disks for faster and more efficient operation. Norton 360’s Smart Background Scheduler monitors the system for user input, CPU usage and disk activity, throttling the product’s tasks and minimizing impact on the computing experience. When idle time parameters are met, the Background Scheduler automatically initiates remaining scans, backups and tuneups.

-- Embedded Support - Norton 360 also includes embedded support, which automatically diagnoses and resolves common issues or guides users to easy issue resolution from within the context of the product. Users have easy access to Norton 360 technical support via phone, as well as free support via live chat and e-mail.

Norton 360 customers can also receive AntiSpam and Parental Controls through an optional add-on pack at no additional charge.

Norton 360 is backed by Symantec’s unmatched security knowledge and assets, including the company’s extensive Global Intelligence Network, which consists of the Symantec DeepSight Threat Management System and Symantec Managed Security Services, providing more than 40,000 sensors monitoring network activity in more than 180 countries. Norton 360 also takes advantage of Symantec’s Phish Report Network, an extensive antifraud community where members contribute and receive fraudulent Web site addresses for alerting and filtering, to protect consumers against fraudulent Web sites.

Source: Symantec Corp.