Norton Antivirus

Norton AntiVirus , developed and distributed by Symantec Corporation, provides malware prevention and removal during a subscription period. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features include e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection.

Symantec distributes the product as a download, a box copy, and as OEM software. Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, a related product, held a 61% US retail market share for security suites as of the first half of 2007. Competitors, in terms of market share in this study, include antivirus products from CA, Trend Micro, and Kaspersky Lab.

Norton AntiVirus runs on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Version 17.0.0.136 is the latest Windows build. Windows 7 support is in development for versions 2006 through 2009. Version 2010 will natively support Windows 7, without needing an update. Version 11.1.1 is the latest Mac build.

Windows edition

In August 1990 Symantec acquired Peter Norton Computing from Peter Norton. Norton and his company developed various utilities, or applications for DOS, including an antivirus. Symantec continued the development of acquired technologies. The technologies are marketed under the name of "Norton", with the tagline "from Symantec". Norton's crossed-arm pose, a registered U.S. trademark, was traditionally featured on Norton product packaging. However, his pose was later moved to the spine of the packaging, and eventually dropped altogether.

Product activation was introduced in Norton AntiVirus 2004, addressing the estimated 3.6 million counterfeit Norton products sold. A alphanumeric code is generated to identify a computer's configuration, which ties in with the product key. Users are allowed to activate their product five times with the same product key. Spyware and adware detection and removal was introduced to the 2005 version, with the tagline "Antispyware Edition". The tagline was dropped in later releases. However, Norton AntiVirus 2009 Classic does not include spyware or adware detection. The Classic edition is marketed alongside Norton AntiVirus 2009, which does include spyware and adware detection.

Existing users of the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 versions can upgrade to the latest 2010 version without buying a new subscription. Upgrading will preserve the number of days left on a user's subscription.

Version 2006 (13.0)

The redesigned main graphical user interface aggregates information in a central user interface. CNET reports the Norton Protection Center, while useful, attempts to advertise additional products. To further facilitate detection of zero-day malware, Bloodhound disassembles a variety of programming languages, and scans code for malicious instructions using predefined algorithms. Internet Explorer homepage hijacking protection was introduced in this release as well; however notably missing is search engine hijacking protection. CNET highlighted Norton AntiVirus 2006's noticeable impact on system performance.

Operating system requirements call for Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 or Windows XP. 150 MB of free space and a 300 MHz processor is required under either operating system. 128 MB of RAM is required under Windows 2000, while 256 MB is required in Windows XP.

Version 2007 (14.0)

Norton AntiVirus was released on September 12, 2007. Symantec revised Norton AntiVirus with the goal of reducing high system resource utilization. Windows Vista compatibility was introduced in this release as well. Despite having about 80% of the code rewritten, CNET reports mixed results in performance testing. New features include a tabbed interface, eliminating the need to have separate windows open for the Norton Protection Center and for configuring the settings. Symantec extended its Veritas VxMS rootkit detection technology, allowing Norton AntiVirus 2007 to inspect files within directories to files on the volume level, detecting abnormalities or inconsistencies.

Windows 2000 compatibility was dropped from this release. Compatibility with 32-bit versions of Windows Vista was added to this release with a patch from Symantec. Hardware requirements under Vista call for 150 MB free space, a 800 MHz processor and 512 MB RAM. Requirements under Windows XP similarly call for 150 MB free space, a 300 MHz processor, and 256 MB of RAM.

Version 2008 (15.0)

Norton AntiVirus 2008 was released on August 28, 2007. Emphasizing malware prevention, new features include SONAR, which looks for suspicious application behavior. This release adds real-time exploit protection, preventing attackers from leveraging common browser and application vulnerabilities.

When installed in 32-bit versions of Windows XP Service Pack 2, 300 MB of free space, a 300 MHz processor, and 256 MB of RAM is required. When installed in 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, 300 MB of free space, a 800 MHz processor, and 256 MB of RAM is needed.

Version 2009 (16.0)

Norton AntiVirus 2009 was released on September 8, 2008. Addressing performance issues, over 300 changes were made, with a "zero-impact" goal. Benchmarking conducted by Passmark Software PTY LTD highlights its 47 second install time, 32 second scan time, and 5 MB memory utilization. It should be noted Symantec funded the benchmark test and provided some scripts used to benchmark each participating antivirus software.

The security status and settings are now displayed in a single main interface. A CPU usage monitor displays the total CPU utilization and Norton's CPU usage in the main interface. Other features include Norton Insight, a whitelisting technology which cuts scanning times by mapping known safe files using information from an online database. To address malware response times, updates are delivered updates 5 to 15 minutes. However, such updates are not tested by Symantec, and may cause false positives, or incorrectly identify files as malicious. The exploit scanner found in the 2007 and 2008 versions was dropped from this release.

When installed in 32-bit versions of Windows XP Service Pack 2, 150 MB of free space, a 300 MHz processor, and 256 MB of RAM is required. When installed in 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, 150 MB of free space, a 800 MHz processor, and 512 MB of RAM is required.

Gaming and Classic Editions

Two variations on Norton AntiVirus 2009 are also marketed by Symantec. The Gaming edition provides finer control over when Norton downloads updates and allows components of the suite to be disabled either manually or automatically when the computer enters full-screen mode.

The Classic edition cannot find or remove adware and spyware.

Version 2010 (Version 17.0)

Version 2010 is now available. It was released on September 9, 2009 Several features have been updated in this release, including SONAR, now dubbed SONAR 2. It now uses more information to determine if an application is truly malicious. Norton Insight can present users with information about the origins, activities, and performance of applications along with reputation data. A new feature codenamed Autospy helps users understand what Norton did when malware was found. Previous releases removed threats on sight and quietly warned users, potentially confusing when users are deceived in downloading rogue security software. Much of this information is placed on the back of the main window; a toggle button switches between the sides. Symantec has also added Windows 7 support. Aside from that, Symantec has also added the Norton Download Insight to prevent drive by drive downloads.

Macintosh edition

Norton AntiVirus 11 for Mac introduced support for Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard platform, with the capability to detect both Macintosh and Windows malware. Other features include a vulnerability scanner, which blocks attackers from leveraging software exploits. Norton AntiVirus 11 also includes the ability to scan within compressed or archived files, such as Time Capsule volumes. Operating requirements call for Mac OS X Tiger. A PowerPC or an Intel Core processor, 128 MB of RAM, and 100 MB of free hard disk space are also required. Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection for Mac is intended for Macintosh users with Windows running on their systems, using Boot Camp or virtualization software such as VMWare Fusion. It provides a license for both Norton AntiVirus 11 with Norton AntiVirus 2009.

Criticisms

FBI cooperation

The FBI confirmed the active development of Magic Lantern, a keylogger intended to obtain passwords to encrypted e-mail and other documents during criminal investigations. Magic Lantern was first reported in the media by Bob Sullivan of MSNBC on 20 November 2001 and by Ted Bridis of the Associated Press. The FBI intends to deploy Magic Lantern in the form of an e-mail attachment. When the attachment is opened, it installs a trojan horse on the suspect's computer, which is activated when the suspect uses PGP encryption, often used to increase the security of sent e-mail messages. When activated, the trojan will log the PGP password, which allows the FBI to decrypt user communications. Symantec and other major antivirus vendors have whitelisted the Magic Lantern trojan, rendering their antivirus products, including Norton AntiVirus, incapable of detecting it. Concerns around this whitelisting include uncertainties ab