Norton Security Premium released with added protection and performance features

Norton by Symantec has released the latest features of Norton Security Premium in New Zealand and Australia, boosting its protection and performance levels for consumers. Norton Security Premium provides customers with its best security protection in one subscription service across multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. 

“Norton by Symantec engineers are on the front lines of cybersecurity, building technologies that are constantly analysing new threats and devising new ways to protect consumers and their devices,” said Mark Gorrie, Director, Norton Business Unit, Pacific region, Symantec. “With the growing frequency of cyberattacks on all platforms, consumers need the comprehensive multi-platform protection offered by Norton Security Premium.”

Norton Security Premium uses advanced, multi-layered security technology to help protect devices, privacy and personal files such as financial information from today’s most dangerous emerging threats, including ransomware, malicious websites, zero days and phishing attacks.

Some of the recently added protection and performance features of Norton Security Premium include: 

• Proactive Exploit Prevention: Zero-day vulnerabilities (which were up 125 percent in 2015), are holes in software applications that are unknown by the software vendor. Norton Security Premium’s Proactive Exploit Prevention technology helps protect the holes in common software applications by recognising a range of malicious behaviors that are trademarks of zero-day attacks. One of the benefits of this approach is that it provides protection against a wide variety of exploit attacks during the critical window when vulnerable software is deployed until the point that a software patch is installed – a process that can take weeks or months.
• Emulation Technology: In their attempts to bypass traditional security software, cybercriminals often hide their malicious code in innocuous-looking files. Norton Security Premium’s newly developed emulation technology hunts down antivirus-evading malware before it can compromise a user’s system. It does this by unpacking and running the suspicious files in a virtual machine for examination before the malware in these files can compromise the user’s machine. With 83 percent of all malware currently employing anti-virus evading techniques, Norton Security Premium’s newly developed emulation technology is an important advancement in protecting consumers.
• Predictive Machine Learning Engine: Traditional antivirus solutions often rely on signatures of known malware to protect consumers. Criminals know this, and as a result, develop automated ways to deliver variations of malware designed to evade the signatures. The Predictive Machine Learning Engine anticipates new and evolving malware variants. Using a machine learning algorithm, it develops statistical models that help accurately detect and block both new and unknown malware.
• Faster Mac Protection: Mac users will see faster scans and lower overall memory utilisation on their devices.
• My Norton: The new updates to Norton Security Premium will also include My Norton, a next generation web portal that completely changes the way customers interact with Norton. With My Norton, customers can access their Norton subscription features, manage their account and devices and learn about new threats from any device. It offers more engagement with customers with smarter alerts and messaging, and helps customers get the most of the Norton subscription (e.g., utilising backup, parental controls, multi-device protection).

At the same time the company has announced the latest features of Norton Mobile Security for Android, its flagship mobile solution. The App Adviser feature, which deploys proactive protection against malicious apps and other sophisticated threats on Android devices has been redesigned for ease of use. The update also includes a Report Card feature and integration with Norton Safe Search and Web Protection.

“More than ever before consumers are increasingly faced with privacy and security threats for their personal data,” said Mark Gorrie, Director, Norton Business Unit, Pacific region, Symantec. “Norton Mobile Security has been carefully designed to empower consumers to seamlessly protect their personal data from potential privacy vulnerabilities, anywhere, any time.”

Mobile apps can access and control an ever-increasing amount of personal data and content stored on mobile phones, including photos and videos, health records and financial information. Today, hackers are enhancing their skills and hiding malware inside applications to steal personal information and profit. In fact, since January 2016, Norton by Symantec has identified 6,464,472 new pieces of malware apps and 5,741,834 new pieces of greyware – apps with potential privacy issues or intrusive behaviours.

The Report Card feature gives Norton Mobile Security for Android users a 360-degree view of their mobile device’s security and privacy status, helping them take control of and overcome potential mobile threats and privacy risks. Within this feature, subscribers can take advantage of the enhanced Privacy Report and see where mobile apps are sending their photos and other personal information. It also offers an easy-to-understand list of potential privacy vulnerabilities, like past unsecure Wi-Fi connections, so users can understand what data might be at risk and course correct.

The solution’s integration with Norton Safe Search and Web Protection protects users from visiting malware-infected sites and blocks phishing websites helping to protect devices from sites that can install ransomware, Trojans and other threats. It also protects users by displaying a website’s safety and shopping ratings before a user visits the site. In the event a device is lost or stolen, Norton Mobile Security for Android also includes anti-theft capabilities and contacts backup to help users find their device and restore lost information.