"Best Y2K Hardware and File Checker in One Complete Package; We Highly Recommend It," Review States

TORONTO, February 2, 1999 -- Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC), the world leader in utility software for business and personal computing has announced that Norton 2000 is the first Y2K solution to win a place on Windows Magazine's respected WinList of recommended products. The February 1999 issue called Norton 2000 "the best Y2K hardware and file checker in one complete package." Norton 2000 was named Reviewer's Choice by Government Computer News earlier this month.

"We are pleased that Windows Magazine's meticulous testing has proven that Norton 2000 is clearly the most accurate and robust Y2K solution available." said Enrique Salem, vice president of Symantec's Security and Assistant Business Unit. "Norton 2000's continued dominance in product tests and Y2K software face-offs make it as a best-of-breed solution that consumers can trust."

Windows Magazine editor Warren Ernst singled out Norton 2000 from its competitors for its superior searching, reporting and problem-solving capabilities. "While there are plenty of Year 2000 checkers available...nearly all of them check only hardware," he wrote. "Not so with Norton 2000...this program searches for, reports on and offers solutions to the Y2K problems lurking on most of your data files. Norton 2000 earns a spot on our WinList for going well beyond its competitors."

Ernst also found Norton 2000's automated checking abilities impressive. "Norton 2000 distinguishes itself from other Y2K software by automating the checking of spreadsheet and database files across an enterprise," he wrote. "[Its] detailed reports and ability to check files make it invaluable for Y2K problems. To prevent Y2K problems, Norton 2000 really is essential; we highly recommend it."

How Norton 2000 Works
Norton 2000 offers users a powerful tool that proactively guards the mission-critical data residing on desktop and laptop computers. Norton 2000 scans data, applications and hardware and alerts the user to non-compliance problems that may lead to financial losses and liability issues. One of the most critical issues consumers and businesses face with the approach of the next millennium is how to monitor spreadsheets and databases that are continually changing. One serious issue involves dates that fall close to a "cusp" point. Excel version 4, 5 and 7 assume that year values from 00 to 19 represent 2000-2019 and year values from 20 to 99 represent 1920 to 1999. Excel 8 extends this cusp point to 29/30. As a result, dates in a spreadsheet with years close to these cusp points may be incorrectly interpreted. In addition, the cusp point will change across a simple software upgrade and cause erroneous processing of dates. All of these types of errors can have widespread implications for both small businesses and off-site employees of larger corporations.

To address issues, Norton 2000 includes a data scanning component that not only discovers Y2K problems in these complex files but also generates a customisable report detailing findings. Norton 2000 scans the following files: Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Access, dBase, Clipper, FoxPro and Paradox. For recent versions of Excel, Norton 2000 colour-codes and annotates the spreadsheet to highlight and explain Y2K issues in each affected cell.

Norton 2000 also audits other popular software applications for year 2000 compliance and tests those applications against a database of known year 2000 problems. The application database is keep up-to-date using LiveUpdate, Symantec's powerful utility program that locates and helps install hardware drivers and software updates specific to the user's system. LiveUpdate gives consumers and small business owners easy and quick access to the most reliable information on compliant software.

In addition, Norton 2000 uses a boot floppy to test system clocks and the BIOS, where possible, thereby preventing users from inadvertently destroying data and program configurations during testing. For added convenience, Norton 2000 also offers a Windows-based System Date Test.

About Symantec in Canada:
With 250 employees, Symantec's Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. For information on Symantec products or current promotions, contact the Canadian office at (416) 441-3676 or access Symantec's Canadian Web Site. Symantec is an active member of the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST).

About Symantec
Symantec is the world leader in utility software for business and personal computing. Symantec products and solutions help make users productive and keep their computers safe and reliable anywhere and anytime. Symantec offers a broad range of solutions and is acclaimed as a leader in both customer satisfaction and product brand recognition. Symantec is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SYMC. More information on the company and its products can be obtained at www.symantec.com.

Founded in 1982, the company's global operations span North America, Europe, Japan and several fast growing markets throughout Asia Pacific and Latin America. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SYMC, Symantec Corporation is based in Cupertino, Calif., and employs more than 2,000 people. Information on the company and its products can be obtained by calling (800) 441-7234 toll free, (541) 334-6054 or accessed on the World Wide Web.

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