New Set Of Security Features For Mac Users From Symantec

In a world where even non-Windows PCs are not secure any more, a new version of a security software has been released for Macintosh users by Symantec.

Cupertino, California-based Symantec Corporation has released version 4 of “Norton Internet Security” software suite with a new set of features.  This suite is targeted for installation on Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher. The version comes with an enhanced, two-way firewall functionality that automatically blocks computers attempting to take advantage of inherent weaknesses in different protocols through which a Mac machine can get connected. Firewall rules get updated at least once every day. Users can now manage their applications that access specific websites for various reasons, and this management helps them identify any spyware that might be trying to get into the system.

The suite also comprises anti-phishing solutions that block known fake Web sites and authenticate popular and secure sites, so that Mac users can confidently perform their banking, shopping and browsing operations.

The product is available at a retail price of USD 79.99, which also comes with a one-year subscription to updates.

A separate product released by the company, called “Mac Dual Protection”, is aimed at Mac users running Boot Camp or other Windows virtualization software.  This product costs USD 89.99.

Read more about the latest protection facilities for Mac users here.

New Version Of Norton 360 Antivirus Software Released

Cupertino, California-based Symantec Corporation today (December 30) announced the release of a beta version of Norton 360 version 3.0.

Norton 360 is a multi-layered security software that provides a range of protection to customer PCs, such as antivirus, antispyware, email scanning, antiphishing, rootkit detection, identity protection, website authentication, network monitoring, firewall protection, anti-spam and optional parental controls.

The new version, beta 3.0, performs a “smart” scanning that reduces scan time so that system resources are not hogged for more time than is necessary. The software keeps getting updated from the company’s central server on an instantaneous basis, so that protection against any latest threats can be handled. The beta version also has an inbuilt facility to manage users’ online identities by throwing a shield around usernames and passwords.

According to the company release, the beta version has facility to take multiple backup sets, so customers can backup their data concurrently on multiple destinations. This facility is especially useful in data center environments. Another feature highlighted by the release is a comprehensive diagnostic report that takes a snapshot of the entire network’s health along with a recommendation of appropriate fixes, so that center managers can take timely decisions.

Read more about the latest version of Norton 360 software here.

Exclusive AntiVirus For Gamers From Symantec

Sunnyvale, California-based Symantec Corporation today (November 25) launched a new version exclusively devoted to gamers, called the “Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition”.

The new product is priced at USD 39.99, including a one-year service subscription.

The Gaming Edition of the anti-virus software puts on hold all alerts and notifications when the user sets the product in “Gamer Mode”. Even updates, behavioral scanning and intrusion prevention are suspended temporarily while a game is in progress, so that resources are concentrated exclusively on the task at hand – i.e. playing the game. When the PC comes back to full-screen (non-playing) mode, all protection features are brought back; and when the system is idle, the software takes over all its resources and resumes its security-scanning exercise.

The software is claimed to install in less than a minute’s time and adds less than 1 second to the time for booting; hogs less than 6Mb RAM and takes up less than 50Mb of real-estate space on the hard disk, a premium property in netbooks and other portables. The program runs only two process threads at a time, thus expecting less CPU attention for what it is doing.

Read more about the latest release from Symantec here.

Microsoft’s “Morro” A Threat To Security Companies

Redmond, Washington-based software behemoth Microsoft Corporation put the proverbial “free software” cat amongst the priced security-software pigeons by announcing a product code-named “Morro”. The software will run on top of its various Windows operating system flavors, and protect the computer from viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojans. Morro can be downloaded from Microsoft’s site as a stand-alone product from June 30, 2009 onwards. Uncharacteristically, but with sharp business logic, the product is being offered free.

The announcement comes on the heels of the shutting down of the priced version of Microsoft’s security solution, ”Live OneCare”. Customers could subscribe to this solution at a cost of USD 29.95 per year (slashed from USD 49.95). This offering will run its course till the official launch of Morro.

Markets reacted quickly on the news of Microsoft’s latest attempt to enter the security solutions market by beating down the prices of scrips of established security solutions players such as Symantec and McAfee. It is not that there are free anti-virus softwares already available in the market, however consumers usually look upon them with suspicion. Microsoft is a different ballgame altogether.

Read more about Microsoft’s Morro here.