Norton AntiVirus, Personal Firewall, and AntiSpam are being updated to take on the new generation of worms, spoofs, and spam, with the updated AntiVirus program being offered separately as always but also being bundled with the others in an updated Norton Internet Security 2005, manufacturer Symantec announced August 17.
The separate updated Norton AntiVirus will ship in August 2005 for $49.95, while the Internet Security suite will ship a month later at $69.95.
Symantec said AntiVirus 2005 will feature a new, 30-second QuickScan, running during the AntiVirus’s standard LiveUpdate automatic software update check, and checking for active viruses in system memory and other crucial computer areas. And, it’s aimed to supplement traditional e-mail virus protection, Symantec added, with a new Internet Worm Protection feature – borrowed from Norton Personal Firewall - to fight threats that automatically scan Internet protocol addresses for open ports.
"It's a very targeted solution to stop the Blasters and Code Reds," said Norton AntiVirus senior product manager Kelly Marin to reporters.
Norton Personal Firewall will get an upgrade of its own, including what Symantec called new privacy controls letting you send personal data to sites you trust and interrupting data transmissions to those you don’t. This, the company said, should fight off the more sophisticated phishing attacks – hoax sites or pages or e-mails, mimicking legitimate Web companies, aimed at luring you to give up your personal information to likely scammers.
And Norton AntiSpam 2005 is aiming to keep you away from the spoof e-mail messages.
Internet Security 2005 will also include parental Web controls and an Outbreak Alert window, an option you can run in the background to tip you off if you might have turned off your virus protection accidentally and showing the number of critical-level, active viruses, Symantec said.
