Norton (Symantec)

History

Peter Norton Computing, Inc., was a software company founded by Peter Norton. Norton and his company developed various DOS utilities including the Norton Utilities, which did not include antivirus features. In 1990, the company was acquired by Symantec and renamed Peter Norton Consulting Group. Symantec's consumer antivirus and data management utilities are still marketed under the Norton name.

By early 1991, Symantec's Norton Group launched Norton AntiVirus 1.0 for PC and compatible computers. Throughout the last few decades the company as updated and diversified its product line until recently combining its offerings into one seamless product, Norton Security.

Products and Services

Norton’s products are primarily digital security tools for personal computers and server devices, and more recently, mobile devices.

Norton Security (2014)

Norton Security is a multi-device program that provides malware prevention and removal during subscription period for up to five devices. Other features included in the product are a personal firewall, email spam filtering, and phishing protection. The program was released in September 2014, replacing Norton 360, Norton Internet Security, and Norton AntiVirus. When compared to Norton legacy products, Norton Security came with improved scalability and protection and a money-back guarantee.

Norton Security with Backup (2014)

Norton Security with Backup is Norton’s industry-leading premium protection for up to 10 devices. It protects PC, Mac, Android and iOS devices with a single protection plan, and includes Norton Family Premier. This product safeguards against viruses, spyware, malware, and other online attacks. It also includes up to 25GB of online storage for backing up important photos and documents from all your devices.

Norton Family Premier

Norton Family Premier is a cloud-based parental control service, previously known as Norton Online Family. Norton Family Premier is aimed at "fostering communication" involving parents and their children's online activities.

Norton Mobile Security

Norton Mobile Security is a single-subscription, proactive protection program for smartphones and tablets. Operating across all devices, Norton Mobile Security protects the user from risky apps, safeguards online privacy, restores lost contact information, and helps recover lost or stolen devices.

Norton Small Business

Norton Small Business is a multi-device, single solution program specifically designed to secure businesses from malware, viruses, and other threats. The program manages protection for companies from one convenient web portal, covering all devices with one subscription, which can easily be expanded as the business grows.

Norton Online Backup

Norton Online Backup is a program that automatically backs up users’ digital photos, videos, music, and documents. The program lets users quickly restore their files in case of hard drive crashes, accidental deletion, computer theft, natural disasters, and other mishaps. It backs up files from up to five computers in a single subscription and lets users easily add additional secure storage space if needed.

Norton Computer Tune Up

Norton Computer Tune Up is a program that lets users restore their old computer systems, giving them like-new performance. The program uses multi-point inspection and repair service designed to restore speed and performance, for a cheaper price than the cost of a new computer or repair-shop work. Through Norton Computer Tune Up, Norton-certified technicians are available 24 hours a day, year round, to offer repair assistance.

Services

Support and Downloads

Norton Utilities (1982)

Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize, and maintain a computer. The current version of Norton Utilities, Norton Utilities 16 for Windows XP/Vista/7/8, was released October 26, 2012.

Norton Guides (1985)

Developed and distributed by Peter Norton Computing. The guides were written by Warren Woodford for the x86 Assembly Language, C, BASIC, and Forth languages and made available to users via a TSR program that integrated with programming language editors on IBM PC-type computers. This appears to be the first example of a commercial product where programming reference information was integrated into the software development environment.

Norton AntiVirus (1991)

Norton AntiVirus was developed and distributed by Symantec, providing malware prevention and removal during a subscription period. It used signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features included were email spam filtering and phishing protection.

Norton SystemWorks (1998)

SystemWorks expanded the tools found in Norton Utilities and added other Symantec software titles, primarily antivirus, and later backup software for the high-end versions.

Norton Internet Security (2007)

Norton Internet Security was a computer program that provided malware prevention and removal during a subscription period and used signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features included were a personal firewall, email spam filtering, and phishing protection.

Norton 360 (2007)

Norton 360 was developed and marketed as an "all-in-one" computer security suite. The package included an antivirus program, a personal firewall, a phishing protection program, and a backup program. What distinguished this suite from Norton Internet Security was the inclusion of file backup and PC maintenance capabilities.

Norton Clean Sweep (2009)

Designed by Quarterdeck and designed to aid in the removal of installed programs on Microsoft Windows. CleanSweep was acquired by Symantec and sold as a standalone product for a period of time. It is currently unavailable from Symantec standalone and is incorporated in Norton SystemWorks.

Product Reviews

Awards