Monday, February 28, 2011

Norton’s ‘Beyond-the-PC’ Initiative Expands with New Partnerships and Technologies



 Norton’s New Technologies Support Android and Tablets with New Reach Extending Via Retail, OEM and ISP Partners;


Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Feb. 28th , 2011 – Norton by Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) has announced the next steps in its Norton Everywhere initiative, introducing four new global partnerships and several product updates that help deliver Norton protection across locations, devices and digital experiences. The new and expanded partnerships include Best Buy Canada Ltd., Dixons Retail plc, Kingston Digital, Inc., and UOL Inc. S.A. Product updates include remote locate functionality in Norton Mobile Security, giving Android users the ability to find their device; and the ability to filter inappropriate websites on kids’ mobile and tablet devices over Wi-Fi with Norton DNS.

“As consumers access the Internet on new platforms and devices, they need protection and safety services regardless of how they choose to stay connected,” said Tamim Taufiq, Head of Consumer Sales MENA, Symantec. “With Norton Everywhere, we’re developing new technologies and partnerships that span multiple channels around the globe to protect consumers and moving Norton beyond the PC security market.”

Product and Technology Updates
·         Norton DNS 1.5 – Planned for this week, Norton DNS 1.5 users will be able to set household rules to increase web safety and enforce parental controls on Internet usage. Based on the Domain Name System which acts as the Internet’s invisible switchboard, Norton DNS provides a safer, more reliable, and faster Internet experience by leveraging Norton Safe Web technology to deliver a variety of basic protection services like antiphishing, antimalware and anti-spyware. Norton DNS protects users who click on unsafe or inappropriate websites and now gives parents the freedom of creating a single Internet policy for all of the household’s connected devices, from laptops to tablets, filtering inappropriate sites on kids’ mobile and tablet devices when over Wi-Fi.
·         Norton Mobile Security for Android 1.5 – Now featuring remote locate functionality in addition to remote wipe/lock, call/SMS block, and antimalware technology. Following a quick initial set-up, users can now locate, lock or wipe their Android device with a simple text message in the event of loss or theft.  Norton Mobile Security 1.5 beta has more than 140,000 beta downloads and a 4 out of 5 star rating on the Android Market. Additionally it has been optimized for Android tablets so users can now enjoy the offering on any Android form factor.
·         Norton Mobile Utilities Beta – Introduced today, Norton Mobile Utilities is a free beta developed for Android devices to help users stay within their preset call, text or data plan and manage their downloaded applications.  Norton Mobile Utilities beta is available for immediate download from the Android market.

Also new today, the highly active Norton User Discussion Forum has been optimized for mobile devices on the iPhone, Android, RIM, Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian platforms.  The discussion forum is a destination for Norton customers, employees and others to discuss Norton products and related topics. With more than 2 million monthly visitors, it serves as an interactive friendly resource to find help with offerings such as Norton Mobile Security and Norton DNS in addition to the flagship Norton products.

New and expanded Partnerships extend to Best Buy Canada Ltd. – Canada's fastest-growing specialty retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics, Dixons Retail plc – Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailing and services Group, UOL Inc. S.A. - Brazil's largest Internet Service and Content Provider and Kingston Digital, Inc. – The Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Co., Inc. The independent world leader in memory products, Kingston Digital, Inc has selected Norton as the security provider for their USB Flash drives.

Pricing and Availability

Norton DNS remains free to all users and can be downloaded via http://nortondns.com/. Norton DNS is available for any device where the DNS settings can be changed to point to a Norton DNS server.  This includes PCs, Macs, tablet computers and smartphone platforms such as Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile phones.

Norton Mobile Security is now available for a one-year license through select Symantec partners. Alternatively, consumers can download a free limited-trial beta version directly from the Android Market.

The new Norton Mobile Utilities beta application was developed for the Android platform, version 2.0 and later. It is free and can be downloaded to a device by navigating to the Android Market and searching for Norton Mobile Utilities.