On guard: Comcast adds latest version of Norton Security Suite

Mike Robuck

Comcast, the nation’s largest ISP, recently made the latest version of Norton Security Suite available for its broadband subscribers at no additional cost.

Norton Security Suite Version 6 is now available through Comcast’s Constant Guard Protection Suite [1]. Comcast’s Constant Guard program was first trialed in Denver in 2009. At the time, it included a bot detection and notification service [2] before Comcast added other online protection features such as identity theft protection [3].

According to a blog post today by Comcast’s Jim Janco, director of security and privacy, the newest version offers improved features that further protect a subscriber’s identity, detect and eliminate viruses, and stop online threats.

The Norton protection system includes four layers of protection that were designed to proactively stop online threats before they can infect a computer:

Network-based protection stops malware as it travels over the network.
File-based protection looks for and eradicates many types of malware that could be hidden in files.
Reputation-based protection uses data that Symantec has collected from its Norton Community Watch program, and cloud-based technologies such as Norton Insight and Norton Safe Web, to quickly identify known or unknown threats.
Behavior-based protection, known as SONAR, inspects computer programs. The program's actions are monitored for malicious behaviors, and if SONAR believes a program is malicious, it can stop the process and have the Norton product take action on the harmful file.

Constant Guard also has PC tune-up, which frees up memory and removes unnecessary clutter from a computer's hard drive to help it run faster and trouble-free.