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From
TNPC issue #3.17...
Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (Security):
Part 7
by Al Gordon
August 17, 2000
Symantec has re-launched its Norton Internet Security 2000 suite
with Windows 2000 support, a choice of packages, and a price
hike. NIS Version 2 now comes in three flavors: "Personal
Firewall" -- safeguards against being hacked, provides cookie
controls, and prevents surreptitious access to your personal
information. The "Internet Security" edition adds advertising
blocking and Norton Antivirus to the Personal Firewall version.
The "Family Edition" adds parental controls to the Internet
Security version.
Norton's product formerly was WRQ Inc.'s AtGuard, which was a
TNPC featured product (TNPC #2.15). I found the NIS firewall to
be relatively easy to set up, lower maintenance than Black Ice
Defender, and it tested well on Steve Gibson's "Shields Up" site.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util1
You set the security levels you want and it pretty much takes
care of itself. As new Internet connections are made on your
system, Norton brings up a wizard to assist you in setting up a
"rule" to govern that connection. I found it particularly helpful
in blocking Web site and HTML-formatted emails that were trying
to access my email address and like information.
The good news is that Personal Firewall is a straightforward
solution for users who already have Norton AntiVirus and don't
feel like paying for it twice. Likewise the kid-safe features
were unbundled into a separate package. Tom Powledge, Symantec's
IS product manager, said that the company's research showed that
nearly half the expected purchasers for the software did not have
kids and did not want to have blocking features on their systems.
The bad news is that in unbundling the different components into
three separate products they've hiked the price. Personal
Firewall will cost you a little over $40. That's about what you
paid for the entire Version 1 NIS package, which had all the
features of the new Family Edition. The new Family Edition will
set you back around $70. Given that Zone Alarm is free to
individual users, Symantec may be charging a higher price than
many user will want to pay.
Powledge, in any case, was a refreshing spokesman for his
product. He acknowledged that the software's interface had some
kinks and that the Help files were weak. These issues are being
addressed in the 2001 version. For now, he said, the priority was
to get Windows 2000 support on the market, and when asked if
owners of Version 1 gained anything from Version 2 other than
Win2K capabilities, he said no, and advised users not to upgrade.
Let's hear it for a software manager with genuine candor.
[Norton security products are only being shipped within the USA]
Norton Personal Firewall 2000 2.0
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util2
Norton Internet Security 2000 2.0
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util3
Norton Internet Security 2000 2.0 Family Edition
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util4
Zone Alarm:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util5
You can reach Al Gordon at:
mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com
Copyright © 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved.
The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422
You may reprint an article from TNPC as long as you show the
entire article and include the authors byline, excerpt and
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Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (Security): Part 7
by Al Gordon
(This article originally appeared in The Naked PC
newsletter #3.17, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com)
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