To boost Norton's reputational detection, Symantec has developed a new component known as Quorum.
The tool is said by Symantec to weed out malware by analyzing an application for such attributes as age, source and behaviour. The factors are then analyzed and used to build a 'reputation' attribute which then allows Norton to track and isolate malicious software.
Quorum will also utilize a cloud-based network to track malware and allow systems to share malware data and deploy protections at a faster rate.
With the new tool, Symantec hopes to help progress beyond a signature-based model which vendors are increasingly shying away from due to a rising tide of new malware samples which makes constant signature updates nearly impossible.
Symantec is also among the vendors looking to improve by security software and overall system performance by lowering install size and memory footprint. The company said that the new software installs in roughly one minute and utilizes 10MB of system memory when operational.
Pricing information (supplied by Symantec): The suggested retail price for Norton Internet Security 2010 is $99.95 for a three PC license, which includes a one-year service subscription to use the product and receive Symantec’s protection updates. The suggested retail price of Norton AntiVirus 2010 is $59.95 which includes a one-year service subscription to use the product and receive Symantec’s protection updates.