NEWS
Symantec is betting heavily that program behaviour is the future battlefront of security and is making a big push in its 2010 security program lineup with a behavioural engine called Quorum.
Debuting on Wednesday, both the basic Norton AntiVirus 2010 and the more robust Norton Internet Security 2010 will use Quorum, which Symantec is calling an advanced security network based both on traditional malware signatures and on reputation for both files and software.
The Quorum system uses the fact that malware mutates against it, said Dan Nadir, director of product management for Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security.
Multiple variations of a single threat have become a potential risk to the efficacy of definition-based antivirus, so a system like Quorum - in which the unfamiliarity of a new threat becomes the tool by which the threat is neutralised - could drastically improve security programs.
In order to keep to the pledge it made last year to improve Norton's performance, Symantec said it is keeping the quick scan to about one minute.
Norton Internet Security 2010 beta (screenshot: Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
The Quorum technology is designed to expose system and threat-detection data, so users who want more than just "set-it-and-forget-it" information can customise Norton's responses.
The Insight Network incorporates Quorum and uses statistical analysis of file attributes to judge the trustworthiness of a file. Norton Threat Insight provides information on detected threats, such as the URL of a threat. Norton System Insight uncovers system information and can be used to detect system slowdowns. Norton Download Insight uses Symantec's cloud data to determine the safety of a downloaded file before it runs.
The more robust Norton Internet Security includes new enterprise-level antispam algorithms, which Symantec says shouldn't require any "training" from users. These have been incorporated from Brightmail, a company that Symantec bought more than five years ago. Norton Internet Security also includes OnlineFamily.Norton, Symantec's new parental control system, and Norton SafeWeb, which is a search results and ecommerce rating component.
