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Norton AntiVirus

File:NortonAntiVirus Icon.png
Norton AntiVirus 2009
Developer(s)	Symantec Corporation
Stable release	2009 or 16.5.0.135 (Windows Edition), 11.0 (Mac Edition)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Type	Antivirus
License	Proprietary
Website	symantec.com/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% antivirus market share as of 2007. Competitors, in terms of market share, include antivirus products from CA, Trend Micro, and Kaspersky Lab.

Norton AntiVirus runs on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Version 16.5.0.135 is the latest Windows build. Version 11.0 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. 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 featured on Norton product packaging. However, his pose was later moved to the spine of the packaging, and later dropped altogether.

Product activation was introduced to 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 detection and removal was introduced to the 2005 version for Windows, with the tagline "Antispyware Edition". The tagline was dropped in later releases.

Existing users of the 2006, 2007, or 2008 versions can upgrade to the latest 2009 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.

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 Macintosh OS X v10.4.10. 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. System requirements for Norton AntiVirus 2009 are listed above

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 as part of a criminal investigation. 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. The trojan horse is activated when the suspect uses PGP encryption, often used to increase the security of sent e-mail messages. When activated, the trojan horse will log the PGP password, which allows the FBI to decrypt user communications. Symantec and other major antivirus vendors have whitelisted Magic Lantern, rendering their antivirus products, including Norton AntiVirus, incapable of detecting Magic Lantern. Concerns include uncertainties about Magic Lantern's full potential and whether hackers could subvert it for purposes outside the jurisdiction of the law.

Graham Cluley, a technology consultant from Sophos, said "We have no way of knowing if it was written by the FBI, and even if we did, we wouldn’t know whether it was being used by the FBI or if it had been commandeered by a third party". Another reaction from this came from Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer and cofounder of eEye Digital Security who states: "Our customers are paying us for a service, to protect them from all forms of malicious code. It is not up to us to do law enforcement's job for them so we do not, and will not, make any exceptions for law enforcement malware or other tools."

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson, in response if Magic Lantern needed a court order to deploy, "Like all technology projects or tools deployed by the FBI it would be used pursuant to the appropriate legal process." Proponents of Magic Lantern argue the technology would allow law enforcement to efficiently and quickly decrypt messages protected by encryption schemes. Implementing Magic Lantern does not require physical access to a suspect's computer, unlike Carnivore, a predecessor to Magic Lantern, since physical access to a computer would require a court order.

Product support

Retail customers report slow and indifferent service on bugs. Examples include a faulty error message stating current subscriptions had expired. Users received an error stating "Your virus protection cannot be updated." This error occurred after an update to the software and refused to allow daily updates. Though the bug was reported in 2004, it was not corrected for the 2005 or 2006 versions.

Another incident occurred in May 2007, when Norton Antivirus flagged components of the Pegasus e-mail client as malicious, rendering the program corrupted. Symantec customer service addressed the problem by running through a checklist of troubleshooting steps which were not always successful, perhaps indicating a need for a more thorough understanding of the product on the company's behalf.

Faulty update

On July 25, 2006, Symantec released a faulty update for Norton AntiVirus 2006 users. Users reported an onscreen message stating "Norton AntiVirus 2006 does not support the repair feature. Please uninstall and reinstall.". Symantec claimed the faulty update was downloaded to customers between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM on July 25, 2006. Symantec developed a workaround tool and has listed troubleshooting steps, available here. The company released a statement, stating they expected to deliver a repair patch to affected users by Monday, July 31, 2006."

Uninstallation

Norton AntiVirus has been criticized for refusing to uninstall completely, leaving unnecessary files behind. Another issue is versions prior to 2009 installed LiveUpdate, which updates Norton-branded software, separately. The user must uninstall both Norton AntiVirus and the LiveUpdate component manually. The LiveUpdate component is purposely left behind to update other Norton-branded products, if present. In response, Symantec developed the Norton Removal Tool to remove leftover registry keys and values along with files and folders. However, neither route of uninstallation will remove subscription data, preserved to prevent users from installing multiple trial copies.

Aggressive Subscription Marketing

A further criticism has been that, choosing not to update subscriptions, causes a pop-up reminder after 90 days which effectively disables the computer. It achieves this by obscuring nearly 1/4 of the screen, and by being "always on top" and impossible to get rid of. Symantec customer service acknowledges this as both "a design feature" and a "friendly reminder". The feature occurs despite the user electing to disable alerts. Symantec also acknowledge the only way to get rid of this disabling pop-up is to pay Symantec further money to upgrade or update subscription, or to uninstall software one has purchased the full rights to use. (Original citation Symantec Knowledge Base)

Incompatibilities with ZoneAlarm

Norton AntiVirus 2007 will not install alongside ZoneAlarm. This incompatibility has caused annoyance for Norton customers who purchased Norton AntiVirus 2007 with no prior warning or notice of the incompatibility. Symantec recommends removing ZoneAlarm, then reinstall with the Internet Worm Protection feature disabled, which controls what applications and the protocols which can be used accessing the Internet.

PIFTS.exe

On March 9, 2009 some users of Norton AntiVirus 2006 and 2007 experienced a firewall warning stating a Norton-associated file, "PIFTS.exe", was trying to connect to the Internet. Although this file was revealed to be a harmless diagnostic patch, the program gained attention in the media when Symantec removed posts from their forum concerning PIFTS. With no information available about the purpose of the program there was speculation that the program was malware or backdoor.

Investigation conducted by users suggested the file attempted to connect to servers in Africa. Some also speculated PIFTS was an acronym for "Public Internet File Tracking System".

The SANS Internet Storm Center claimed to have spoken to a Symantec employee who has confirmed that "the program is theirs, part of the update process and not intended to do harm." Graham Cluley, a consultant from antivirus vendor Sophos found PIFTS connected to a Symantec server, forwarding product information and computer information.

On March 10, Symantec made an official response to the PIFTS program, claiming posts in the support forum were deleted due to forum spam; however the deletion of PIFTS-related posts began before the spam attacks. Symantec stated PIFTS itself was a diagnostics patch. Cole stated the purpose of the update was to help determine how many customers would need to be migrated to Windows 7 compatible versions of Norton AntiVirus. PIFTS apparently was released without a digital signature to verify its identity, causing firewalls to prompt when it attempted to connect to the Internet.

References

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External links

• Norton AntiVirus
• Norton AntiVirus Gaming Edition
• Norton AntiVirus for Mac
• Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection for Mac

• Antivirus software
• Symantec software
• Proprietary software
• Computer and Information Security articles