symantec posts

Nice try, Symantec! Cheesey video warns against free antivirus

by Lee Mathews Sep 29th 2009

Back in July, a Symantec exec predictably talked down free antivirus apps. This week, the cheeky devils behind Norton Antivirus have turned out a real tour de force. Seriously. It's a flippant look at the old adage "the best things in life are free."

The spot starts by mentioning love. Yeah, that's free, right? Sure, except for weddings says the straightman - those could cost as much as *gasp* $10,000! I'm not sure what year Symantec thinks it is, but I'm pretty sure many weddings run well in excess of three to five times that amount.

What about kids, those are great - and free! No, jackass, that's another bad call on your part. They're expensive too, says Unfunny Guy. Really? Thanks for pointing that out.

Tags: free-antivirus, norton, symantec

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Symantec, Commercial, Windows x64

Symantec release 2010 Norton security products

by Paul O'Brien Sep 14th 2009

Little in the Windows world seems to polarize opinion like a Symantec product, and in particular one from the Norton range. Seemingly equally loved and hated by users, Norton products in recent times have grown in both functionality and size, leading many to categorize the applications as 'bloated'.

Fanboys and haters sit up and take notice, Symantec have announced the release of their 2010 range of security products, including Norton Antivirus 2010 and Norton Internet Security 2010!

In the list of new features in the 2010 range, it does seem that Symantec have taken note of the concerns of users around the size and performance of the applications, as they state:

"Symantec has made an ongoing commitment to delivering security products that are fast and light. The Norton 2010 products have maintained an eye on performance, in spite of adding significant new protection technology to the release. Independent 3rd party test lab, PassMark Software was commissioned to benchmark Symantec and top security software competitors' performance impact on key metric."

Long story short: NIS 2010 is faster than previous versions and it's less resource-intense (idling at a reported 10Mb). The once painful install has been addressed as well -- NIS installs in about a minute. Test scans under NIS turned out solid results as well: 61 seconds on an HDD and 31 on an SSD.

Tags: Internet Security, InternetSecurity, NAV, Norton, Norton Antivirus, NortonAntivirus, Symantec

Filed under: Security, News

Satan gets frostbite, security providers form coalition to fight malware

by Lee Mathews Aug 17th 2009

Remember the other day when I said I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the security providers join forces for the greater good?

Sophos' Graham Cluely has this morning announced the formation of the Industry Connections Security Group under the umbrella of the IEEE Standards Association's Industry Connections program. Initially the group includes Sophos, Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee, AVG, and Trend Micro.

While Cluely states that the security providers shared information in the past, he adds that it's been in a mostly "Here's a truckload of new malware samples, enjoy!" kind of way. One of the primary objectives of the ICSG is to standardize how information is shared and to develop "an electronic delivery mechanism that not only shares the malware samples, but can also include useful information such as the website where the samples were found."

The IEEE's ICSG website notes that while the bad guys have been doing this for ages - sharing toolkits and other code freely - the security providers have mostly been operating in isolation.

Now that they're organizing, here's hoping the collaboration can make a difference in the battle against malware.

Tags: antivirus, collaboration, coppoeration, IEEE, malware, mcafee, microsoft, security-providers, sophos, spyware, standards, symantec, trend

Filed under: Internet, Security, Symantec

Symantec's Hall says free antivirus is for chumps

by Lee Mathews Jul 4th 2009

In a discussion with tech.blorge.com, David Hall, who is Symantec's Product Manager for Asia-Pacific Consumer Products and Solutions, voices his concerns over the popularity of free antivirus programs.

"People tell me, 'oh well look I use free antivirus because it is free and it protects me from everything in those areas,' but when you compare that with what's really going on in the threat landscape, there is a very, very big gap between what antivirus does and the threats that are being delivered today."

He later continues, "[...] attackers are not necessarily only targeting the web browser. Think about all the plug-ins you have installed on your machine – RealPlayer, Flash, QuickTime – all of these have vulnerabilities too."

Yes, the threats we face on the Internet have changed over the years and In some respects, Hall is correct.

Like many of you, I no longer rely only on AV software. It's a starting point in keeping my systems protected. I also use a firewall, OpenDNS or a hosts file blocker, and browser addons like NoScript and NoFlash. For added protection, I'll use Sandboxie (and sometimes Windows SteadyState). All of these tools are totally free, and they've been doing the job quite nicely on my home systems.

Hall's quotes do help explain why I've seen several machines on my workbench running only Symantec's own Norton Antivirus that have fallen victim to drive-by attacks. Yes, Symantec, even users running your AV protection aren't totally safe. And it's not free. They paid for it.

In fact, they're still paying for it.

See what I did there?

Tags: free-antivirus, norton-antivirus, symantec

Filed under: Internet, Security

1 million viruses, worms, and trojans on the loose

by Brad Linder Apr 11th 2008

The internet is a scary place. No, we're not talking about predators out to rob you or offer candy to your kids. We're talking about malware like viruses, worms, and trojans. According to security company Symantec, the amount of malware on the internet has reached an all-time high, with over 1 million malicious programs in circulation.

A surprsingly large number of those threats were developed in the last year, with 711,912 new pieces of malware coming out in 2007 compared with 125,243 in 2006.

The good news for Linux and OS X users is that most of these threats are targeted at computers running Windows. And the good news for Windows users is that most of these applications are variations of older threats, which means if your anti-virus software is up to date, you should be relatively safe.

Of course, Symantec puts reports like this out there in order to sell its own security software. But there are several excellent free anti-virus suites that will also help protect your computer from most threats.

[via BBC News]

Tags: symantec, trojan, virus, worm

Filed under: Business, Developer, Internet, Security, Web services, Symantec

Symantec to release Online Backup Service

by Chris Gilmer Apr 18th 2007

A large expense, and head scratching issue many businesses face is data backup. Should they pony up the cash to develop an internal solution, or do they hunt out external solutions. Symantec, the well known protection company, has opened a solution for small to mid-sized businesses.

Symantec has released its Online Backup Service for beta testing, with a full release later this year. The system is aimed at businesses that have been facing challenges with data protection, offering them an affordable solution with a name they can trust. Symantec's data recovery and backup system would sync critical data to Symantec's data centers under a high level of security and backup systems.

There is no word yet on the cost of the Online Backup Service, but with Symantec's track record at protecting users and businesses, we can guess its going to be a great (if pricey) offering.

[via informationWeek]

Tags: backup, business, data, online backup, online backup service, OnlineBackup, OnlineBackupService, security, servers, small, symantec, sync

Filed under: Developer, Internet, Utilities, Productivity, Web services, Symantec

Symantec bug exploits

by Chris Gilmer Nov 29th 2006

Symantec has collected evidence of an attack in progress from a new bot that is exploiting multiple bugs that have been around for a few months. Including a bug in Symantec's very own antivirus scanning engine. There have been seven exploits for seven different vulnerabilities from Spybot.acyr that were found in Microsoft Windows and in Symantec's antivirus application. The vulnerability has been around since May 2006, and customers that have updated their applications since then will remain unaffected. Symantec is monitoring a spike in traffic recently with activity mainly lying in .edu domains. Symantec is asking that all customers update their products to the latest available security updates to prevent against any possible attacks.

Tags: antivirus, bot, bugs, microsoft, spybot, symantec

Filed under: OS Updates, Security, News, Microsoft, Symantec, Commercial

Microsoft is being cooperative, Kaspersky says

by Ryan Carter Oct 9th 2006

McAfee and Symantec, among others have accused Microsoft of not cooperating with them by giving them access to Windows Vista's core so it can be tested and new products created to help secure it from the third party vendors. Microsoft's stigma is always that they are involved in anti-trust activities, which McAfee and Symantec could be trying to exploit here. Anti-Virus company Kaspersky doesn't think so. McAfee's open letter to Microsoft pretty much accuses them of wanting world domination over both the computing and security markets, but Kaspersky says Microsoft has remained cooperative despite McAfee and Symantec's whining. I don't doubt Microsoft's desire for maniacal dominance of the world, but every other company starts out wanting the same thing, so this is nothing new. Are they cooperating or not?

Tags: Kaspersky, McAfee, Microsoft, Symantec

Filed under: Security, Windows, Microsoft, Symantec

Windows Vista's new network code vulnerable?

by Jordan Running Jul 18th 2006

One of the many Windows Vista features Microsoft is eagerly touting is its networking code, which has been re-built from the ground up and promises superior performance to XP networking. Considering all the legacy cruft in Microsoft's products, fresh new code seems like something the be happy about, but according to CNet, Symantec feels otherwise. According to the networking company, scrapping the old "tried and tested code" and writing it anew has introduced fresh vulnerabilities and instabilities which its researches have observed in beta versions of the operating system. Microsoft calls Symantec's analysis is premature and that it does not accurate reflect the maturity of the product when it finally ships.

Tags: bugs, microsoft, networking, security, stability, symantec, vista, windows, windowsvista

Filed under: Fun, Apple, Google

Google has very loyal followers

by Chris Gilmer Jul 13th 2006

In a recent study, Google was found to have some of the most loyal followers according to recent studies.

The studies looked at online services, computing, and consumer services divisions of the IT world. The surveys measured the importance in customer's eyes, and which overall services you would recommend.

Apple and Symantec were also ranked high on the Satmetrix survey.

Tags: apple, computing, consumer services, ConsumerServices, followers, google, google loyalty, GoogleLoyalty, IT, online services, OnlineServices, search, symantec

Filed under: Security, Windows, Symantec

Symantec patches AntiVirus vulnerability

by Jordan Running May 31st 2006

Symantec moved quickly to squash a security vulnerability in its AntiVirus Corporate Edition which was disclosed by eEye Digital Security last week, and according to CRN Australia an official fix is now being rolled out in the form of an IPS signature update. An unnamed executive from another security vendor, however, says they are "scratching their heads in disbelief" regarding the choice, because hackers could reverse-engineer the signatures and get "a blueprint of the vulnerability." It seems to me that any fix released could likewise be reverse-engineered, but it may be true that an IPS signature is easier to dissect. Let's just hope all of those Corporate users have their AntiVirus set to keep those signatures up-to-date.

Tags: antivirus, fix, patch, security, symantec, vulnerability

Filed under: Security, Windows, Symantec

Security flaw puts Symantec AntiVirus users at risk

by Jordan Running May 26th 2006

According to eEye Digital Security, the latest version of Symantec AntiVirus contains a security flaw that could be used to take control of the victim's PC "without any user action." eEye spokesperson Mike Puterbaugh describes the hole as "definitely wormable," i.e. malicious software could gain access to a machine, change or delete files at will, and spread itself to other machines. Symantec says they "are evaluating the issue now and, if necessary, will provide a prompt response and solution." Puterbaugh says no proof-of-concept code has been released, but warns that hackers may already know about the flaw.

Tags: antivirus, flaw, security, symantec, vulnerability, worm

Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Symantec, Commercial

Symantec to release subscription-based security mega-pack

by Jordan Running Feb 3rd 2006

Symantec is making loud noises about its new "Security 2.0" initiative, which will usher in "a new age of trust on the Internet." What is it? Well, it's some new products with a snappy name. The first product is an unnamed app resulting from Symantec's recent acquisition of WholeSecurity that's designed to prevent phishing. The second is a big new package Symantec is calling "Genesis," and which will go head-to-head with Microsoft's OneCare, providing "anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, firewall, PC optimization and maintenance elements, the transaction security tools, and online/offline backup." Genesis will be a subscription-based product and is being readied for Windows Vista users.

[Via Slashdot]

Tags: antivirus, firewall, onecare, security, spam, spyware, symantec

Filed under: Google

Google to introduce paid TV downloads

by Jordan Running Jan 5th 2006

Ars Technica is reporting that tomorrow Google will be announcing a new video service that will "allow users to buy video content for pre-determined prices," and they're also planning to announce partnerships with CBS and the NBA. Ars has lots of juicy speculation, including whether they'll be offering downloads or only streaming video, if they'll use Flash video as Google Video currently does, and if this means we'll finally see the long-rumored Google Wallet. Google also plans to announce Google Pack, a software bundle which, says Ars, will include the obvious Google software like Desktop Search, Picasa, Google Earth, Google Talk, and more, but also some third party tools including "Google-tweaked" versions of Firefox, Acrobat Reader, Symantec anti-virus software, the malware remover Ad-Aware, multi-network IM client Trillian, and RealPlayer. I agree with Ars: Those last two choices are very curious indeed.

Tags: acrobat, ad-aware, adobe, anti-virus, ars technica, ArsTechnica, firefox, googl earth, google, google desktop search, google pack, google talk, google wallet, im, pdf, picasa, realplayer, spyware, symantec, trillian, tv, video

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