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Pleonasm

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Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Jan 22^nd, 2006 at 3:52pm

News from Symantec . . . .

Quote:

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Jan 17, 2006 Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the delivery of product technology updates to its consumer and enterprise antivirus solutions, providing users with expanded protection against stealth computer threats. These updates are the first incremental technology updates Symantec has brought to its consumer solutions. Prior to the release of the 2006 product line, new technology was delivered to consumers with new product versions annually.

Customers using Norton Internet Security 2006, Norton AntiVirus 2006, Norton SystemWorks 2006, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.0, and Symantec Client Security 3.0 received an updated antivirus scanning engine automatically through their products' LiveUpdate feature throughout December. Users also received new Auto-Protect Spyware Blocking after being notified of a "critical update" and provided with instructions on how to manually download the package.

"In order for Internet security solutions to be effective, they must keep pace with the rapidly evolving threat environment," said Enrique Salem, senior vice president, security products and solutions, Symantec Corp. "By being able to deliver product updates such as these, we are providing our users with the assurance that their Symantec security solutions have the latest technology needed to keep them safe and secure online."

The updated antivirus scanning engine now removes many of today's most stubborn threats from home and enterprise computer systems through its new driver technology. The engine works before the operating system loads - in kernel mode - and protects users against malicious code that attempts to hide from current scanning methods. By operating in the kernel mode, the engine can open locked files, bypass programs running in the computer's user mode, and initiate repairs during the system boot cycle.

Much like an airport x-ray machine can look inside luggage and identify items that security guards are unable to see, the new antivirus scanning engine can look deep inside a computer system to handle malicious code, adware, and spyware that are hidden from users by stealth technology.

The updates also include new Auto-Protect Spyware Blocking, which enhances Symantec's ability to handle non-viral security risks by blocking spyware and adware applications before they are installed on a user's system.

Source: http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20060117_02

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Rad

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #1 - Jan 22^nd, 2006 at 10:26pm

Pleo always finds the good stuff.

Re: "

These updates are the first incremental technology updates Symantec has brought to its consumer solutions. Prior to the release of the 2006 product line, new technology was delivered to consumers with new product versions annually

."

Well, there's some good news, giving the consumer more than he bargained for.

My laptop came with NIS 2005. Wish I could get the new goodies.

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Pleonasm

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #2 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 12:53pm

(Thanks, Rad!)

Symantec has moved to a “subscription model” in which both the application upgrades (i.e., enhancements) as well as the traditional updates (i.e., fixes) are included in one fee.

I suspect that Symantec will not be selling products in the future with a year designation. For example, we won’t see a Norton Internet Security 2007 in retail stores this fall, but simply Norton Internet Security. The latter will be a subscription, and if the subscription is active, then the consumer will receive via LiveUpdate all of the latest product enhancement as they are released.

Personally, I think this is a good move by Symantec that benefits the user as well as the company. The user will obtain the most recent technology enhancements at the earliest possible date, rather than having to wait as much as one year before an annual edition is released. Symantec, of course, benefits by driving more revenue directly through its own company rather than indirectly through retail distribution, thereby improving its profit margin.

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John.

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #3 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 2:45pm

Quote:

Symantec has moved to a “subscription model” in which both the application upgrades (i.e., enhancements) as well as the traditional updates (i.e., fixes) are included in one fee.

I could accept a subscription model. But it seems to me that any software product has to have two components for that model:
1. Software
2. Support

Does the subscription model guarantee support? I have the open Ghost 10 problem which has been open since October 2005 and I can't even get anyone at Symantec to say if they are even working on the problem? Or have accepted the problem.

3 months (25% of the subscription model timeline) is past. Will I have to wait for Ghost 11 and "hope" that my next subscription "may" fix it then?

If a company has some clearly defined escalation procedure for support, I could more easily accept it. The outsourced LiveChat may be fine for someone that can't search the knowledge base themselves, but what is the business model when Level 1 can't answer it? If a customer actually finds a real software bug?

How about 2 free escalation tickets as part of a subscription purchase? That would make it more palatable.

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MrMagoo

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #4 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 2:52pm

Pleonasm wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2006 at 3:52pm:

News from Symantec . . . .

Source: http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20060117_02

Operating in kernel mode, huh? As much as I love Norton's Anti-virus products, it worries me that they are getting deeper and deeper into the operating system. Open locked files? Run before the OS boots? It just sounds like a lot of power for a third-party program. Microsoft has put so much work into keeping third-parties out of the kernel because of the problems it was causing.

I would rather see them focus on their Real-time protection and get more effective at keeping infections from happening in the first place than find way to dig deeper into my computer to get them out. What does everyone think of this?

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John.

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #5 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 3:09pm

Being the eternal optimist

I am hoping that Windows Vista will finally be a secure operating system.

I understand that the Internet and the www was originally conceived as an open trusted system. That was back in the days that when enhancements were encouraged and API and add-ins were encouraged. Unfortunately we seem to be moving to a untrusted world wide web now and an untrusted world.

I agree with MrMagoo in that it would be nice if Windows were secure in the first place.

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Pleonasm

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #6 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 3:23pm

Ghost4me, I feel your pain. However, I don’t necessarily agree that a software manufacturer is obligated to provide free support for an application.

While various companies do bundle some degree of support with their software, in many cases software support (at various tiers of responsiveness) is an incremental service that a user may or may not choose to purchase. Symantec, for example, offers PriorityCare telephone support:

800-745-6052 at $29.95 per incident charged to your credit card
900-646-0009 at $2.95 per minute charged to your phone bill

Realistically, the choices are:

Option 1: We all pay a higher fee for purchasing software, whether or not support services are used, because the cost of the latter is incorporated into the former.
Option 2: We pay a reduced rate for purchasing software, with incremental fees incurred only by those users who require support services.

I believe Option #2 is preferable to Option #1.

The issue with Symantec support, in my opinion, is not that it doesn’t exist – the issue is that one must pay separately per incident to get “real” support from the company in situations where the email or chat options don’t deliver satisfaction.

* * * * * * * * * *
MrMagoo, I understand your concerns. But if the Symantec products are to provide both an adequate defense against the installation of malware and a successful offense for its removal, what other options exist? Fight fire with fire.

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John.

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #7 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 3:46pm

I don't expect free support for a vendor to fix a problem on my pc. I'm willing to pay $29.95 for that.

But, if I find a problem in the vendor's software, I expect some way to find out the status of their problem or when it might be fixed.

The Ghost 10 Recovery CD problem is affecting more customers than just me.

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MrMagoo

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #8 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 4:16pm

Pleonasm wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 3:23pm:

MrMagoo, I understand your concerns. But if the Symantec products are to provide both an adequate defense against the installation of malware and a successful offense for its removal, what other options exist? Fight fire with fire.

Like I said, I'd like to see Symantec focus on protecting the computer more than repairing it. Their worm blocker and real time protection have both saved me on more than on occasion. That's where I'd like to see them focus their efforts, not on modifing the Windows kernel. I guess that's just my 2 cents. I'm switching to Linux anyway.

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Pleonasm

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #9 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 4:18pm

Ghost4me, your expectations seem quite reasonable. Symantec, at least, owes you some communication about the status of the problem and their intention to take action.

When a problem with a Symantec product impacts many users and is serious, Symantec has a history of acting quickly. For example, it was recently discovered that malware could exploit the Norton Protected Recycle Bin, and Symantec issued a fix the next day (according to my recollection).

I’m only speculating, of course, but why would Symantec not react equally quickly to the Ghost 10 recovery environment/USB issue? The options might be:

Option 1: Symantec can’t replicate the problem.
Option 2: Symantec can replicate the problem, but it knows of issues that are more important (i.e., impacting more users) and is concentrating its development efforts upon those.
Option 3: Symantec has already fixed the problem, but is waiting to package it together with other updates in a single release.
Option 4: Symantec can replicate the problem, but for whatever reason, it cannot create a fix.
Option 5: Something else?

Options #1 and #4 don’t seem reasonable to me. Therefore, I suspect that either Option #2 or #3 applies, and – my own guess – is that Option #3 reflects the status of the situation.

What do you think?

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Pleonasm

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #10 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 4:24pm

MrMagoo, prevention of a problem is superior to repairing a problem, most certainly. But I doubt that the Symantec products (or those other of any other vendor) will ever be 100.00% effective at prevention. Therefore, a balance of focusing on both prevention as well as repair seems a reasonable course of action, from my own perspective.

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John.

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	Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features Reply #11 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 4:36pm Quote: Option 5: Something else? Option 6: There is no mechanism for problems or feedback from LiveChat to get back to the developers. Option 7: There is no way for customers to get feedback to the developers or information from the developers. Option 8: Both options 6 and 7.
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Pleonasm

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #12 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 5:08pm

Ghost4me, Options #6 - #8 are indeed possible. Maybe the escalation rules within Symantec prevent communication to the development team until a threshold number of complaints have been registered, and that quantity hasn’t been reached for the Ghost 10 recovery environment/USB issue? I guess that’s just a different way of restating Option #2: this specific problem probably isn’t impacting many users (although it certainly has such a potential).

In any case, it would be delightful if Symantec published a “working list” of development tasks and priorities. However, to minimize malware attacks and to protect against competitive threats, I doubt that it will occur.

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John.

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Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features
Reply #13 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 5:21pm

My guess is that the chain is broken between Symantec Corp and the outsourced LiveChat/Email support locations. When companies outsource they want the outsourced company to "take care of the questions, support, and problem(s)". Period.

There is likely a communications channel and mechanisms in place between Enterprise customers and the Symantec support and development staff. I would never wait 3 months to get a simple answer if I had Ghost LiveState product.

The corporate customer is important; the individual customer is not. That's the message I am getting here.

Ghost4me Ghost 9, 10, 12, 14, 15. Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7

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John.

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	Re: Symantec Adds New Protection Features Reply #14 - Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 6:11pm Just a note of clarification: I'm not trying to say that the Symantec products aren't good ones. They do have some good software and I personally use their AntiVirus and Ghost products. They just need to improve their responsiveness and support.
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