Symantec toughens mobile security

Symantec Corp. is shoring up protection for remote users and handheld devices with enhanced versions of the company's client security and antivirus software.

Symantec Client Security 2.0 targets blended threats including worms such as Blaster, SoBig and SQL Slammer, which combine malicious code with server and Internet vulnerabilities to launch and spread cyberattacks.

The software integrates antivirus, firewall and intrusion-prevention technology for desktop and laptop computers. The software provides what Symantec calls zero-day protection from blended threats, giving users time to apply the appropriate security patches.

"Blended threats made up 54 percent of the malicious code submissions to Symantec's response center over the last six months," said Lily De Los Rios, Symantec's vice president of client and host security.

Among other things, the software protects against mass-mailer threats through an e-mail worm blocker that fortifies client systems against new worms such as MyDoom and NetSky.

The software includes a virtual private network compliance checker that gives systems administrators the ability to block access to a network when a remote system doesn't conform to the security policies set for the organization. This gives security managers a chance to stop fast-spreading threats that infect unprotected systems in the seconds it takes to log on to a network through a VPN.

Client Security 2.0 also incorporates capabilities found in several of Symantec's consumer products. It includes software to block Web ads and detect both adware and spyware, which are not necessarily malicious threats but can clog enterprises' networks.

Symantec also introduced a new version of its antivirus software for devices such as smart phones and handhelds that run the PalmSource Inc. operating system.

Administrators can install Symantec AntiVirus for Handhelds Corporate Edition 3.2 on devices over their centralized wireless management systems. Administrators can also change security settings remotely.

Robinson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. He can be reached at hullite@mindspring.com.