topic Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011 in Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

TomiRed — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:34:37 GMT

I hope that the announcement above means also that we can start discussing NIS 2011. :smileyhappy:

This is an architectural question, to head off potential questions in the future.

I noticed during the beta that the Activity Map was not updated for at least 4-5 days, while Smart definitions are ON (but possibly never, because I turned them off after such an interval).

My question is: when Smart Definitions are set to ON, the activity map data updates

a) less frequently

b) never?

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

Tim_Lopez — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:58:45 GMT

Hi TomiRed,

What do you see now with the final release?

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

TomiRed — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:05:32 GMT

Tim_Lopez wrote:
Hi TomiRed,

What do you see now with the final release?

So far, the same behavior. SmartDefs on, no activity map updating. Turn them off after, like, a day, first automatic/live update for full definitions - the activity map is updated too.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

Tim_Lopez — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:50:55 GMT

Hello TomiRed,

Automatic LiveUpdates and Pulse Updates run at different times. It's likely that the information provided for the Map Data was queued up on the server for the next time your product performed an Automatic LiveUpdate, and not just a Pulse Update. If you keep Smart Definitions on, Run LiveUpdate, and then don't manually run LiveUpdate for a couple days, does it eventually update on its own?

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

TomiRed — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:08:37 GMT

I think we might have a misunderstanding here. There is no update, pulse, live or automatic, that updates the Activity Map data when you turn the Smart Definitions on. This was the way it was during the beta - for days; but I never had Smart Defs for more than 5 days on continuously, so I don't know how long it would take for it to eventually update, or if it would at all. Thus I'm asking the question, cause I thought you'd know.

Then if you turn on the full defs and Activity map updates after the first manual/automatic update, and it is kept up to date.

The final release hasn't been around so long to know if it would take longer than 4-5 days for that to happen with Smart Defs on, or ever.

I mean, someone is going to pop this question sooner or later, so I thought let's better clear this up now in an informed way. Personally, I don't feel the need for that data to ever be updated , I must admit.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

Tim_Lopez — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:27:48 GMT

Hello TomiRed,

The Activity Map update is a separate update package that the definitions or pulse updates. It would show up as another entry in the LiveUpdate Details. I think the reason why you see this when you toggle Smart Defs is because it runs LiveUpdate, and downloads not only defs, but anything else that is queued up on the LiveUpdate server to be downloaded for that specific product.

Since this product hasn't been out long to fully verify this, and since you were previously testing a beta which didn't have full production definition update frequency, now would be a good time for you to observe the behavior.

Let us know if you still have this issue, and keep in mind that the Activity Map will only update once a day, so you may have to wait sometimes up to 2 days to see it come in (if by chance it was uploaded at the beginning of one day, and then the end of the next day).

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

dbrisendine — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:41:44 GMT

Tim,

My History of Live Updates shows the Map Data "updates" being downloaded almost once an hour (with Smart Definitions OFF), along with other definitions.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

TomiRed — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:46:19 GMT

OK, I'll wait for a couple of days. I'm already a day behind people with smart definitions untoggled :smileyvery-happy: (my Activity Map covers 29. 8. from 00:00 GMT to 24:00 GMT.)

If it is still on 29.8. in two days, I'll come back to this thread and report, screencap included. :smileytongue:

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

SvS — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:53:47 GMT

Found this post while searching the board for reasons the Activity Map is not updated on my system. I had Smart Definitions turned on. The Activity Map data displayed covered August 27 and was never updated (not on August 29, 30, 31 nor today September 1). By turning Smart Definitions off the Activity Map was downloaded by LiveUpdate. This was the first time a map update was performed since the product was installed.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

BorisVasilev22 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:19:16 GMT

Yes, Same thing here. When I was using the smart definitions set, the activity map data was a few-days-old. When I turned on the not-smart definitions, activity map data was downloaded and updated.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

Tim_Lopez — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:01:24 GMT

Hello SvS/BorisVasilev22,

And just to make sure, you're not running the beta version of the software, correct?

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

SvS — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:45:50 GMT

Correct, the system NIS 2011 is installed on has never seen a Beta version of said product. This was an upgrade install from NIS 2010, btw. I enabled Smart Definitions right afer installation (LiveUpdate run before at least once).

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

dbrisendine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:31:28 GMT

Tim -

24hrs - Smart Defs. ON - NO MAP updates

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

cgoldman — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:38:46 GMT

The operation does indeed appear strange. With all updates up-to-date switching off Smart Defs, results in an immediate live update pulling down Norton Activity Map Data. However, the activity map data is not latter than that previously displayed when Smart Defs were onl .

If one toggles smart def on and off and immediately runs liveupdate, it seems that a liveupdate download of around 44mgs (turning smart defs on) and 64mgs (turning smart defs off) takes place. I.e. it seems that the mere toggle of this switch will force a download even if the files previously installed were up to date. However, repeated toggle and liveupdate does not force the Norton Activity Map data to be repeatedly downloaded.

I conclude from this that Norton Activity Map data seems to be queued for download only when smart defs are on and an activity map data update is available.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

BorisVasilev22 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:23:36 GMT

I'm using the official version gathered through the update center. After the unusually long beta period (even Norton 2009, which was a revolution in the security products, didn't have such a long beta period) the few new features you've added, should work more then well now.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

TomiRed — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:51:02 GMT

Still the same today.

I reinstalled, and turned Smart Definitions on immediatelly. This is the result:

Therefore, having an updated activity map and using smart definitions seems to be mutually exclusive.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

dbrisendine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:12:56 GMT

Exact same thing I am finding also. With Smart Definitions enabled, the Map data is not updated and once it is out of date, you can no longer click on a city to find what exact malware is attacking there and get to the malware information pages on Symantec. If you use Smart Definitions (for now), it seems you are really at Symantec's mercy that you are protected against the latest malware as the Activity Map was the only way to check quickly about the latest malware that Symantec was aware of.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

delphinium — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:27:45 GMT

I have Smart Defs turned off and I just got updates to the map data twice in the last 20 minutes which would seem to disprove the theory that it is updated when Smart Defs are toggled on andf that it only updates once a day.

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

BorisVasilev22 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:06:34 GMT

Toggled or not, activity map gets updated only when smart defs are off (at least on my system).

Re: Activity map updates vs. Smart Definitions - NIS 2011

PieterV — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:04:04 GMT

We reproduced the no map update when smart defs are on problem.

When smart defs are on, the map data, and the recent safeweb statistics, will not update.

This does not impact the security of the system, the issue will be correct in a future update.