Norton Toolbar / Norton Identity Safe

[jpmtam]

Refer to an older post at http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-360/Norton-Toolbar-for-64-bit-browsers/m-p/608990#M61716 

My question....

When will Symantec provide 64 bit support for Firefox/IE so customers can take advantage of the toolbar and password management?

[James_Carr]

Hello jpmtam,

As with any major software developer, if there is a major demand for a 64-bit version then it will become a priority, however it seems that because there are not a lot of 64-bit addons, people tend to stick to 32-bit browsers. So we raise the question, if everyone would just port to 64-bit then we would all be able to use 64-bit browsers.

I'm not on the development team so I don't know what's in store for a 64-bit Norton toolbar, but will bet that within the next couple of years, 64-bit browsers will become standard, especially with Windows 8, and we will see a lot of new 64-bit addons. In fact, I believe the default IE browser in Windows 8 is 64-bit.

-James

[jpmtam]

James, thanks for the response.  Perhaps a developer might see this post and comment.

I agree with your assessment.  Windows 8 will likely change the outcome of browser support significantly.  It's unfortunate that it's taking this long for 64 bit adoption across the spectrum.  There are clear benefits to running a 64 bit browser. 

The password management capabilities within Identity Safe are quite convenient and now with the push by Symantec for a free version of the tool for those that don't have a paying subscription to 360 et al. products, I'm guessing this question will continue to be asked.

[Yoda]

Symantec senior management need to recognise and appreciate the marketing potential of providing comprehensive 64-bit support. 

By providing a native 64-bit product supporting 64-bit browsers and Microsoft Office 64-bit, and advertising it widely, I believe Norton would be seen as "cool" and "ahead of the game".  This could be used to gain a significant marketing advantage.

[hagendl]

Same problem - can't use Norton with waterfox

[JimboC]

Hi jpmtam and yoda,

I totally agree we do need 64 bit toolbars right now or in the near future. I use the 64 bit version of IE 9 each day for the added security (32 bit malicious shell code can’t run in a 64 bit browser), there are less ActiveX controls running and installed (so fewer security vulnerabilities to patch) and the 64 bit process has more effective/randomized ASLR due to the increased virtual memory address space in which to place all of the DLLs needed to run IE (explained in more detail in the 2 links porivded below).

Jame_Carr is right, IE 10 64 bit will be the default browser for the Metro version of IE running on a 64 bit version of Windows 8.

See the following blog post for more information about this from Microsoft:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2012/03/12/enhanced-memory-protections-in-ie10.aspx

Specifically: “By default, the Metro style browser runs in 64bit mode on 64bit computers, providing a much larger address space and thus more random memory layout”

More information on Microsoft’s approach to 64 bit browsers can be found at:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ieinternals/archive/2009/05/29/q-a-64-bit-internet-explorer.aspx

I realize that this is only one browser of many to be 64 bit but it shows that the tide is turning towards 64 bit and that can only be a good thing. I have used 64 bit Windows since 2008 and it is great. I am never going back to 32 bit.

I would also be favour of an Anti-Spam toolbar for Outlook 2010 64 bit and Outlook 2013 64 bit (when it is released).

Thanks for creating a thread on this. It’s great to hear that other people also want to move to 64 bit.

JimboC