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Symantec: Third-Party Test Finds Norton Internet Security 2009 Protects More Effectively Than Other Security Suites

^{Published on 2008-12-08 08:02:11 - Market Wire}
 

CUPERTINO, CA--(Marketwire - December 8, 2008) - Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: [ SYMC ]) announced today that Norton Internet Security 2009 received a perfect score and was named the top-rated product in a comprehensive analysis of protection in security suites conducted by third-party testing organization Cascadia Labs. Recently engineered with performance as a key focus, [ Norton Internet Security 2009 ] and [ Norton AntiVirus 2009 ] also received top marks in overall performance in a comprehensive test conducted by PassMark Software, beating out competitors like Avira, ESET, Kaspersky, McAfee and Trend Micro.

"Today's malware authors are moving much more quickly, developing new threats and deploying new techniques to infect computers. According to Symantec's most recent Internet Security Threat Report(1), more than 700,000 new threats were detected in 2007, an increase of 468 percent," said Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Symantec. "Now, more than ever, it's critical for computer users to protect themselves with a strong security solution, like Norton Internet Security, that doesn't compromise performance and also protects against today's threats more effectively than freeware and less advanced solutions."

Cascadia Labs analyzed the effectiveness of popular consumer security products in protecting computers against web-based attacks. These threats, also known as drive-by downloads, often take advantage of vulnerabilities in a website to infect unsuspecting visitors' computers simply by viewing the site. Norton Internet Security 2009 was evaluated against AVG Internet Security 8.0, Kaspersky Internet Security 2009, McAfee Internet Security 2009 and Trend Micro Internet Security 2009. In every measure of the test, Norton Internet Security 2009 performed flawlessly, blocking 100 percent of the [ exploits ] tested against it.

Norton Internet Security 2009 was the only product to receive a perfect score of 50 out of 50 in overall effectiveness of fake application blocking and drive-by download protection. Norton's effectiveness in blocking exploits was nearly twice that of the nearest competitor. According to Cascadia Labs, "Norton's approach of focusing on the vulnerability that an exploit targets, rather than relying on specific signatures that can quickly get out of date, proved highly effective in our testing." In contrast to competing approaches that require users to scan for web browser[ vulnerabilities ] and apply patches, Symantec's Browser Protection feature works seamlessly with no additional user action required.

In addition, Norton Internet Security 2009 blocked every fake AV scanner and fake video codec site tested, with the nearest competitor blocking only 60 percent of the fake scanners and codecs and the remaining competitors blocking fewer than half. The full Cascadia Labs report, which was commissioned by Symantec, is available at:[ http://www.cascadialabs.com/reports/WebThreats09_Full.pdf ].

Additionally, Symantec recently earned top ratings from PassMark Software, an independent software and hardware testing company, in a major review of performance benchmark testing for 23 of the latest antivirus and Internet security products. The products were rated according to 17 core performance metrics using Windows Vista. Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton AntiVirus 2009 received the highest overall scores in their respective categories. Specifically, PassMark found that both Norton AntiVirus 2009 and Norton Internet Security 2009 installed faster, scanned faster, used less memory and required less disk space then every major competitor. The full PassMark Software report, which was commissioned by Symantec, is available at:[ http://www.passmark.com/ftp/antivirus_09-performance-testing-ed2.pdf ].

The 2009 Norton products' security and performance enhancements have already been recognized with more than 40 awards from publications worldwide. To see for yourself how Norton Internet Security 2009 stacks up against other security products when it comes to performance, take the Norton Performance Challenge at:[ http://nortontoday.symantec.com/features/detours/performancechallenge/index.php ]

(1) Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, Volume XIII, April 2008

About Norton from Symantec

Symantec's Norton products protect consumers from traditional threats with[ antivirus ], [ anti-spam ] and [ spyware protection ], as well as bots, drive-by downloads and identity theft -- while also being light on system resources. The company also provides services such as online backup and PC tuneup, and is a trusted source for family online safety.

About Symantec

Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help businesses and consumers secure and manage their information. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in more than 40 countries. More information is available at[ www.symantec.com ].