Norton 2015 Beta (Norton Security 2015 and Norton Security with Backup 2015) available for download - Windows 8.1/8/7/Vista/XP
Norton Antivirus and Internet Security will be changed to Norton Security 2015 and Norton 360 will be changed to Norton Security with Backup 2015.
NOTE: You shouldn't use the Beta version as your main security protection.
Norton Security
2015
The new Norton Security 2015 simply gives you the best of Norton on the many ways you connect. In one simple solution, you get comprehensive protection that’s specialized to secure your device so you can be safe however and wherever you connect. And with proactive Web protection, advanced privacy technology and more, it’s the one solution to help keep you, and your devices, safe.
Norton Security with Backup
2015
The new Norton Security with Backup 2015 delivers the best of Norton for your family of devices and helps protect your PCs and Macs and even backs up the personal files, photos, videos and other memories on your PC. With Norton Security with Backup, you can be safe online with the many ways you connect. It’s the one solution to help keep the devices underneath your roof safe
What’s New for 2015?
NEW-generation of SONAR technology
Norton SONAR Protection - use heuristics technology and proactive monitoring to find new threat.
A redesigned SONAR engine detects never-before-seen threats based on the real-time behaviors of such threats. Now SONAR is even more effective against malware attacks that inject malicious threads into trusted application processes and applications that drop malicious files on the system.
Refined defenses against socially-engineered attacks
A socially engineered attack relies on the natural human tendency to trust others when information is presented in a certain way instead of relying solely on technological means to steal information. In this Beta release, many Norton protection technologies, including Safe Web, Scam Insight, Download Insight, and Anti-Phishing, have all been refined to better share information with each other. This sharing allows key attribute information about web sites (i.e., the site’s age, its popularity, its volume of malicious downloads and its prior history of collecting personally identifiable information) to determine if a site is being used as part of a new social-engineered attack scam.
Smarter plugin-less browser protection
Web browsers allow for new functions, or extensions, to be added. This allowed us to create security extensions for common web browsers. Unfortunately, this same extensibility also allows attackers easier access to deliver unwanted toolbars and redirect web traffic. To make them less prone to this, browsers increasingly restrict plug-ins and extensions. So we totally rebuilt several Norton security features in this Beta release to work outside of the traditional browser plug-in architecture. This increases the scalability of browser protection, enabling our customers to continue to use features like Norton Safe Web and Norton Web Protection without having to worry about browser plug-ins.
Smart-sharing of enhanced Norton Community Watch malicious website data
We have enhanced our Norton Community Watch program to better track and share information about malicious websites. This information is used to provide earlier blocking of phishing or scam web sites before they have a chance to trick others into unknowingly providing personal data.
Smart ping payload data-leakage protection
Ping messages, using the ICMP network protocol, allow applications to verify the status of a remote server. It’s like a computer application saying to a remote web site, “Hello, are you there?” and are referred to as “pings”. Many firewalls do not block these useful messages. But new malware variants piggy-back data onto these messages to send data to a remote server. This could include your sensitive data, perhaps your credit card data. Improvements to our Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) allow the flow of regular ping messages. But our IPS will block “non-standard” payloads that may be a malicious application trying to send out your information.
Automatic aggressive botnet scanning triggers
A new set of network monitoring capabilities that trigger on suspicious outbound connection activity (for example: a botnet “command and control” center) will automatically prompt users to run Norton’s aggressive scan detection capabilities.
Performance Improvements
Best-in-class real-time performance
The new Norton maintains the best-in-class performance while providing more protection. Performance is not a tradeoff option for new improved Norton.
Faster browser experience
Plug-in less browser protection means one less item to load into memory while browsing web sites. This improves the launch speed of your favorite browsers and browsing websites.
Performance tuned for the latest Windows 8.x updates
All Norton products are tested thoroughly with Microsoft’s ADK performance assessment user scenarios on the latest Windows 8 platforms.
Conserving battery power on connected standbys
Norton passes the Windows 8 connected standby WHQL requirement – consuming less than 5% of battery life on a system in standby mode for 16 hours while connected to a network.
