Symantic Unveils New Products

Most notable for VARs, all of the new 2004 products include product-activation sequence to prevent copying, similar to how Windows XP is sold. The difference is that Symantec will allow up to five activations on the same CD, and also claims to be willing to work with its customers if they run afoul of the activation sequence. Product activation has been in place with Internet-only downloads of Symantec's NAV 2003 since January, and has not had any reported problems, according to product managers at the company.

NAV 2004 includes expanded definitions of what threatens your computer, and can alert users to nonvirus threats such as spyware, keystroke-logging programs and other so-called "Malware" when these appear on a computer. These include automatic dialing products that will surrepticiously dial a modem with a long-distance toll number. The most critical feature to VARs is the ability to inform a user when their subscription has lapsed and virus definition files are out of date. The product can also scan compressed files in real time as they are being downloaded to a user's computer.

NAV2004 is part of the Norton Internet Security suite of products, which also includes the new Anti Spam product as well as the Norton Personal Firewall product. Anti Spam replaces Spam Alert and has been significantly upgraded with support for POP3 e-mail accounts (other products from competitors support IMAP servers) as well as tool bar integration with Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora. The Personal Firewall product has been enhanced to be adjustable depending on a particular location, which helps laptop users as they move from corporate to home to remote networks to alter their security settings accordingly.

Another nice feature is the ability to selectively block ads from particular Web sites. Important for VARs is the ability to install the Personal Firewall 2004 product directly on users' machines that are running previous versions and still maintain their existing settings. (Previous versions required users or VARs to first uninstall the older software.) There is also a Professional version of Internet Security that includes user access manager to deploy customized configurations across an enterrpise.

Another suite of utilities from Norton is SystemWorks 2004, which includes the NAV 2004 version and a new product called Norton Password Manager. This product automatically fills in password screens on Web sites, and has different security settings to support users who wish to have flexibility in how they login to secured sites. The highest setting asks for confirmation and a special password for each login, while the least lax will login automatically and only ask for a single sign-on. The Password Manager will also be sold as a separate software SKU. In addition to passwords, this software will also autofill other fields on Web forms. SystemWorks 2004 also comes in a Professional version that includes the Ghost imaging software, which has not been updated from its 2003 version.