MUMBAI -- February 27, 2001 Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that Norton AntiVirus has earned perfect scores in virus detection from three of the industry's most respected independent test organisations. Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition 7.5 earned its twelfth VB 100% award from Virus Bulletin; was awarded Checkmark Level One certification from independent testing and standards organisation West Coast Labs, and was singled out by the world-renowned Virus Test Center (VTC) as the only anti-virus software to perform flawlessly in its anti-virus repair test.
Commenting on this momentous award, Mr. Joy Ghosh, Country Manager, Symantec India said "Norton Anti Virus 7.5 has received overwhelming response in the Indian market for its Extensible Engine and Bloodhound Heuristic Tools. It is this technology that help Symantec provide and maintain this outstanding track record against viruses in the wild and it is the same advanced technology that also reduces the total cost of ownership. This recognition will go a long way in reinforcing Norton AntiVirus capabilities."
The VB 100% logo is awarded to products that detect viruses that are in the wild during both on-demand and on-access scanning in certain Virus Bulletin tests. The latest test was completed on the Microsoft Windows Millennium operating system.
"These independent test scores demonstrate the extraordinary effectiveness of Symantec's Norton AntiVirus in providing protection against security threats," said Rob Clyde, Chief Technologist, Enterprise Solutions Division, Symantec. "Symantec will continue to deliver the most advanced technology and products to combat the viruses, worms, and other malicious code that threaten to disrupt today's complex computing environment."
As the virus threat is continually changing, you should look for products that have garnered a string of VB 100% awards, rather than just manage to capture one or two," the latest Bulletin advises. Referring to Norton AntiVirus' string of 12 VB 100% awards, the Bulletin continued, "Norton AntiVirus' detection rates were again more than admirable and the product picks up another VB 100%." According to the Bulletin, Norton AntiVirus earned the most VB100% awards during the past six bi-monthly comparatives garnering perfect scores in every comparative thereby earning top placement on the VB 100% list.
By continuing to earn West Coast Labs' Checkmark Level One certification, Norton AntiVirus is identified as an anti-virus product that detects all viruses categorised as in-the-wild by the esteemed WildList Organisation International. Norton AntiVirus products have consistently earned this certification since their introduction. West Coast Labs' quarterly testing procedure is a standard, industry accepted test, which can be administered by West Coast Labs or an accredited tester. If the tested product does not retain its perfect score, its Checkmark is suspended.
In the November anti-virus repair test, besting a field of 19 competitors, Norton AntiVirus also earned the only perfect score in tests conducted by the Virus Test Center, located at the University of Hamburg in Germany. In these tests, anti-virus software must not only detect malicious code, but repair files. According to the VTC report, "Numbers and threats of self-replicating malicious code still grow at significant rates." Norton AntiVirus successfully detected and repaired 246 documents infected with 48 different macro viruses acknowledged as causing real-world virus incidents.
One of the center's conclusions was that only "one product Symantec's Norton AntiVirus repaired all documents for all viruses perfectly."
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, vulnerability assessment, intrusion prevention, Internet content and e-mail filtering, remote management technologies and security services to enterprises around the world. Symantec's Norton brand of consumer security products leads the market in worldwide retail sales and industry awards.
Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has worldwide operations in 36 countries. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.symantec.com
