Norton Internet Security
Norton Internet Security, developed by Symantec Corporation, is a discontinued computer program that provides malware protection and removal during a subscription period. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features include a personal firewall, email spam filtering, and phishing protection. With the release of the 2015 line in summer 2014, Symantec officially retired Norton Internet Security after 14 years as the chief Norton product. It was superseded by Norton Security, a rechristened adaptation of the original Norton 360 security suite. The suite was once again rebranded to Norton 360 in 2019.
Symantec distributed the product as a download, a boxed CD, and as OEM software. Some retailers distributed it on a flash drive. Norton Internet Security held a 61% market share in the United States retail security suite category in the first half of 2007.
History
In August 1990, Symantec acquired Peter Norton Computing from Peter Norton. Norton and his company developed various applications for DOS, including an antivirus. Symantec continued the development of the acquired technologies, 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 later moved to the spine of the packaging, and then disappeared.Users of the 2006 and later versions could upgrade to the replacement software without buying a new subscription. The upgraded product retains the earlier product's subscription data.
Releases were named by year but have internal version numbers as well. The internal version number was advanced to 15.x in the 2008 edition to match the Norton AntiVirus release of the same year. As of the 2013 release the product dropped the year from its name, although it still was referenced in some venues.
Windows edition
2000 (1.0, 2.0)
Norton Internet Security 2000, released January 10, 2000, was Symantec's first foray beyond virus protection and content filters. Its release followed an alliance between Internet provider Excite@Home and antivirus vendor McAfee.com to provide Internet subscribers with McAfee's new firewall software, McAfee Personal Firewall. Version 2000s firewall, based on AtGuard from WRQ, filters traffic at the packet level. It could block ActiveX controls and Java applets. Other features included cookie removal, and banner ad blocking. ZDNet found the ad blocker to remove graphics that were not ads, breaking pages. Adjusting the settings fixed the problem, however the process was complicated. ZDNet noted the lack of information presented concerning attacks the firewall blocked. Norton LiveUpdate downloads and installs program updates.The Family Edition adds parental controls. Parental controls were backed by a quality control team of 10 people who searched the web for inappropriate content. Found content was categorized in subject matter and placed on a blacklist of about 36,000 sites. A designated administrator could add blocked sites, however the pre-supplied blacklist cannot be viewed or edited since it was hard coded. Administrators could block certain subject matter. Another option was to block all sites, then create a whitelist of allowed sites. Family Edition could block transmission of specified personal information. Such information was replaced with the letter "X". However, CNN noted X-rated sites were retrieved when personal information was queried by a search engine.
Version 2.0 was released June 12, 2000
2001 (2.5, 3.0)
Version 2001 was released September 18, 2000, adding support for Windows ME in addition to the Windows 9x series, Windows NT, and Windows 2000. Following attacks by the ILOVEYOU and Anna Kournikova script viruses, this version could block malicious scripts without virus signatures, by analyzing behavior.The firewall scans for Internet-enabled applications and creates access rules during installation based on a knowledge base maintained by Symantec. In PC Magazine testing, the installation took 24 minutes to complete on a 750 MHz Pentium III with 92 Internet-enabled applications. Using the firewall, users could determine whether to accept cookies, Java applets, and ActiveX controls on a global or per-site basis. A new feature, Intrusion Detection with AutoBlock, could detect port scans and block further intrusion attempts. The program provides notifications for intrusion attempts, reporting the severity level and providing access to threat details. Alternatively, the firewall could put the computer in stealth, essentially hiding the system. Users could configure the security level, managing the number of notifications. Testing conducted by PC Magazine using Shields Up and Symantec's Security Check found that the firewall successfully stealthed all ports, hiding the computer from view. A leak test was conducted to see the firewall's ability to detect outbound connections. Each attempt was detected and the suite offered to block the attempts.
The Family Edition, like the prior version, included parental controls and the information filtering feature. Parental controls come with a list of objectionable sites, separated into 32 categories. The list was updated every two weeks by Norton LiveUpdate. Using the list alone, Norton only blocks listed sites. Consequently, Norton may not block sites until the next update. Parents could customize the list, adding or removing sites. A list of allowed sites could be created to restrict children to those specific sites. This version used application blocking rather than protocol or port filtering to control Internet access. Children could be restricted in the applications they used to access the Internet. A parental control profile could be set up for each child, and settings could be automatically configured based on their age group, whether they be a child, :teenager, adult, or administrator. Internet usage and violations were noted in a report presented to parents. PC Magazine found that enabling parental controls added a minute to a computer's boot time.
Version 3.0 was released March 19, 2001.
2002 (4.0, 5.0)
Version 2002 was announced on August 28, 2001. The Family Edition was dropped, so parental controls and information filtering were bundled. The installation was noted as quick and simple by both PC Magazine and CNET. Installation required a reboot, and afterwards the Security Assistant guides users through a questionnaire to best configure the service. CNET encountered a problem when upgrading from the prior release: customized settings were lost. PC Magazine found the default settings, aimed at avoiding frequent notifications, were somewhat permissive. Windows 95 support was dropped.Running a full scan compiled a list of Internet-enabled applications. Users set permissions or accepted Norton's defaults. The firewall detected and blocked port scans and logged intrusion attempts. This version did not trace attackers. To ensure rogue programs could not masquerade as trustworthy applications, Norton verifies programs against a list of digital signatures for known programs. Update Tracker warned users when hackers attempted to gain access. The firewall blocked all access attempts from Shields Up and Port Checker. This version included a wizard to simplify firewall setup to accommodate multiple computers sharing an Internet connection. With this release, Norton could prevent specified personal information from access by a compatible instant messenger client, e-mail, and websites. Ad-blocking included the Ad Trashcan, where users could place ads that escaped ad-filtering.
A Professional Edition was announced December 11, 2001, aimed towards business owners. This version featured Norton Intrusion Detection, which intercepted suspicious connections and attacks, such as the Code Red worm. Intrusion Detection focused on Windows-based attacks. Central management was available. Administrators configured firewall and productivity settings for client computers. Productivity settings allowed administrators to block newsgroups, websites, and advertisements. The suite integrated with XP user accounts; settings could be personalized.
2003 (6.x)
Version 2003 was announced September 16, 2002. This version added Norton Spam Alert to reduce spam. The filter scanned the whole message and its context, rather than looking for keywords. A POP3 client had to be used. When a message was identified as spam, Norton inserted a phrase, by default "Spam Alert:", in the subject line. Users could create a rule to delete or move flagged messages. Users could create strings of text for Spam Alert screen when classifying messages. In PC Magazine testing, Spam Alert mistakenly classified 2.8 percent of legitimate e-mail as spam. 47 percent of spam slipped past the filter. Although false positive rate was low, the feature did not fare well at finding actual spam.The updated main interface offered green and red indicators to show which features were active and which needed attention. The firewall updated features. A Block Traffic button in the main interface blocks all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic from an URL. Another new feature, Visual Tracker, graphically mapped attacks to their origin. The firewall blocked all port scans conducted by CNET, stealthing each one.
Following the Nimda and Code Red worms, this version scanned all incoming and outgoing traffic for suspicious data exchanges against a routinely updated database, a feature ported from Norton Internet Security 2002 Professional Edition. Connection to the offending computer was automatically severed if the traffic matches a database item.
Symantec announced a Professional Edition on November 19, 2002. Data recovery tools allow users to recover deleted or malware-damaged files. The inclusion of a data erasure tool allowed users to delete files while minimizing the chance of recovery. Web Cleanup removes browser cache files, history, and cookies. To maintain dial-up connections, Connection Keep Alive simulates online activity during periods of user inactivity. Norton Productivity Control enables users to filter Internet content and block newsgroups. When used with User Access Manager, multiple filtering profiles could be created, assigned to different users.