Symantec Launches Internet Security Web Site Featuring Free Tool to Evaluate Online Security

Powerful Yet Easy to Use, Symantec Security Check Determines Home Users' Susceptibility to Hackers, Viruses, and Privacy Threats and Recommends Solutions

CUPERTINO, Calif. - October 24, 2000 - Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced www.Symantec.com/SecurityCheck, the Symantec Internet security web site designed to give home users easy-to-understand information about their individual Internet security needs. The free web site features Symantec Security Check, an easy-to-use, web-based tool to evaluate potential online security threats and recommend solutions.

A key component in Symantec's comprehensive family of Internet security products, Symantec Security Check helps to ensure that users of all levels of expertise enjoy a safe and productive Internet experience. After determining whether the PC is susceptible to hackers, viruses, and privacy threats, Symantec Security Check provides clear recommendations for protection and pinpoints the most effective and appropriate deterrents. Articles on the site provide detailed descriptions of potential online threats to home PC users and parents, with broadband or dial-up connections, along with steps that can be taken to increase their online security. By ensuring that users have an accurate understanding of the current state of their system security, the guesswork typically associated with finding the most appropriate solution is eliminated.

"Regardless of the type of connection used, all computers that are on the Internet are susceptible to a growing variety of preventable online attacks," said Steve Cullen, senior vice president of Symantec's Consumer Products Division. "Symantec's Internet security web site and Symantec Security Check enables consumers to take the first step toward reducing their risk online with an easy-to-use web-hosted vulnerability assessment tool."

Symantec Security Check, which runs within a web browser, utilizes several software scanners to search for possible vulnerabilities on a computer, checking for open ports, open file-sharing access, as well as viruses and Trojan Horse programs. The tool also examines the browser to determine whether it reveals personal information, such as a history of recently visited web sites, and establishes whether the PC is exposing that information to Internet hackers.

Symantec's Internet security web site and Symantec Security Check are key components of Symantec's growing family of Internet security solutions for home computer users. The vulnerability assessment tool provides a necessary complement to such best-of-breed Symantec products as Norton Internet Security, the essential Internet protection suite for home PC users. Norton Internet Security includes Norton Personal Firewall, which defends against hackers, and award-winning Norton AntiVirus that eliminates malicious code. It also allows users to keep personal information private, control Internet cookies, and block banner ads to accelerate download speeds. The Family Edition of Norton Internet Security adds parental control capabilities to protect children from questionable online content. Together, Symantec Security Check and Norton Internet Security enable consumers to address specific Internet computing risks with the most advanced security software available.

About Symantec
Symantec, a world leader in Internet security technology, provides a broad range of content and network security solutions to individuals and enterprises. The company is a leading provider of virus protection, risk management, Internet content and e-mail filtering, remote management and mobile code detection technologies to customers. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has worldwide operations in more than 33 countries.

Symantec's Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver. For more information on Symantec products or current promotions, contact the Canadian office at (416) 441-3676 or access Symantec's Canadian Web site at www.symantec.ca. Symantec is an active member of the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST).

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements. There are certain important factors that could cause Symantec's future development efforts to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the statements made above. Among these are the anticipation of the growth of certain market segments, the positioning of Symantec's products in those segments, the competitive environment in the software industry, dependence on other products, changes to operating systems and product strategy by vendors of operating systems, new security threats and the importance of new Symantec products. Additional information concerning those and other factors is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000.