Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

[Victek]

I am testing Link Scanner Pro at the moment and also using the NIS 2009 toolbar with Norton Safe Web.  I wonder if Link Scanner Pro is providing additional protection, compared with the combination of Norton Anti-phishing toolbar and Norton Safe Web?  Does the Norton software check links in real-time and protect against drive-by downloads?

[delphinium Norton Fighter]

I ran LinkscannerPro with NIS2008.  When I updated to 2009, I anticipated some problems, but they were minimal.  I had to take NIS off early load so that Linkscanner could start.  Since that time I have had no issues.  Linkscanner loads first and checks the sites prior to clicking on any links, which is what SafeWeb appears to do.  NIS is likely to step in once the link has been clicked.  While I have had iframe launchers blocked through Linkscanner, I have had no warnings, or antiphishing alerts from NIS.

I suspect that you are more likely to be vulnerable running Linkscanner and Safeweb together because they do the same thing.  Neither one may respond appropriately because of the other.

I haven't figured out whether NIS is failing to respond to security risks because of Linkscanner, or whether it is because I have a natural reluctance to click on anything with a big red X on it to see what will happen next. My NIS Antiphishing history remains disturbingly blank.

[TomV · Accepted solution]

Hi Victek,

The answer to your question is "Yes". Norton Internet Security 2009 offers protection against the infections that propagate through the drive-by-downloads. 

Let me explain this to you in detail.

Vulnerable browsers are the first point of entry for many Web threats that are known as drive-by downloads. The "Browser Protection" feature in NIS 09 identifies signatures of known Internet Explorer and Firefox browser vulnerabilities and then blocks exploits as soon as they are detected. This does not essentially confine our detections to only know vulnerabilities. It can also detect possible drive-by-downloads by comparing it against the behaviors that are defined to identify such attempts.

When you use this product with Norton SafeWeb, it offers an additional layer of protection. Norton SafeWeb will obviously have the blacklisted Websites and can alert you from getting into it. If it is a new Website that is not in the list of SafeWeb, your Browser Protection in NIS can stop it if it detects such malicious attempts.

Browser Protection supports Internet Explorer 6.0, Internet Explorer 7.0, and Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and higher versions.

Please let us know if this answers your question.

Thanks,

TomV

Norton Forums Moderator

Symantec Corporation

Message Edited by TomV on 02-15-2009 10:10 PM

[Victek]

Thanks for the detailed reply to my question.  I'm glad to hear that NIS 2009 has these layers of protection.

[j2000]

---

delphinium wrote:
... I have a natural reluctance to click on anything with a big red X on it to see what will happen next. My NIS Antiphishing history remains disturbingly blank.

---

LOL yeah me too but I love the way you worded it - thanks for brightening my day with humor. 

Edited to add:

And of course I'm happy to hear in this thread about the good NIS protection too, as I too had been wondering about that.

Message Edited by j2000 on 02-16-2009 11:23 AM

[NISBOB]

"When you use this product with Norton SafeWeb, it offers an additional layer of protection. Norton SafeWeb will obviously have the blacklisted Websites and can alert you from getting into it. If it is a new Website that is not in the list of SafeWeb, your Browser Protection in NIS can stop it if it detects such malicious attempts" 

So, Safe Web does not scan in realtime.  I think that was the orginal question.  I use the independent Linkscanner Pro, which does scan in realtime, according to the vendor.  (the AVG included LS does not).

Message Edited by NISBOB on 03-12-2009 03:11 PM

[Tim_Lopez Administrator]

Hi NISBOB,

You are correct - Norton SafeWeb does not scan in realtime. However, the Browser Protection in Norton Internet Security 2009 does. This will keep you protected.

[NISBOB]

Tim,

Thanks for the verification.  I read an article in Windows Secrets by Mark Joseph Edwards:

"New rating service verifies sites in real time"

"Version 3 of Symantec's Norton 360 security software includes a new "Safe Web" feature that competes directly with McAfee's SiteAdvisor.

But are Safe Web's real-time checks of the sites you're visiting any more effective than SiteAdvisor's database approach?"

"First of all, you must be a user of Norton 360 to gain access to the Safe Web browser toolbar; there's no equivalent to SiteAdvisor's free browser add-on. Secondly, Safe Web scans every Web site that you visit in real time by passing a site's content into the security tools contained within Norton 360."

So, is the Safe Web contained in Norton 360 different than in NIS?  Maybe I am not reading what he is writing correctly?

[Tim_Lopez Administrator]

Hi NISBOB,

The last sentence in the quote is correct:

[...]Safe Web scans every Web site that you visit in real time by passing a site's contents into the security tools [(Browser Protection)] contained within Norton 360 [and Norton Internet Security 2009]

I hope this clears up any confusion.