The Chronicler's Web (TCW)

by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 9 March 2010

WEAVERVILLE, NC – The following article is a discussion of Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition (NAVCE) and its dependence upon a reliable and fully-functional network to perform its functionality.

Discussion

The network application this author has chosen to discuss as one with which he has worked closely in the past and that is dependent upon a reliable network to function properly is Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition (NAVCE). Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition, also known as Symantec Antivirus Enterprise Edition, is an antivirus software application developed by Symantec Corporation whose network component provides 24/7-365 solid protection against incoming viruses and spyware to corporate enterprise networks and servers and whose client component provides the same level of antivirus and anti-spyware protection to host computers connected to the network (“Enterprise Antivirus Software – Threat Prevention | Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition,” 2010).

Symantec Corporation has acquired several small antivirus companies and security vendors over the years, but its prominence and recognition as a leader in the antivirus and anti-spyware business came about when it purchased IBM’s and Intel’s antivirus business in the latter 1990s (Hunter, Khan, & Shimonski, 2003). The development of NAVCE was built upon decades of solid know-how and support that came from Norton’s support of desktop clients in the 1980s and early 1990s, protecting desktop operating systems and email systems from malicious code since the first trojan worms and email viruses appeared in those early days and the technologies acquired from IBM and Intel in the area of enterprise antivirus software management and automated virus handling, respectively.

Application Description

Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition is a network-based antivirus and anti-spyware application that provides advanced enterprise-wide virus protection and management from a single web-based console. It incorporates an integrated web-based graphical reporting capability for network administrators. NAVCE also supports the Symantec Antivirus client for Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (“Enterprise Antivirus Software – Threat Prevention | Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition,” 2010). The key benefits of this application are: (1) Provides effective enterprise-wide antivirus and anti-spyware protection; (2) Incorporates Symantec tamper protection guard, which prevents unauthorized antivirus access and attacks on the network through attempts from viruses to disable network security; and (3) The application is backed by the Symantec Security Response Team, which is the world’s leading Internet virus research and support group. NAVCE offers antivirus and anti-spyware support for the Symantec System Center, Symantec Antivirus Server for Windows, Symantec Antivirus Server for Netware, AMS Server, Reporting Server, Reporting Console, Quarantine Console, Central Quarantine Server, 32- and 64-bit Windows clients (including Vista), and Linux clients (including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.x, 4.x, 5.x; SUSE Linux Enterprise Server/Desktop 9.x and 10.x; Novell Open Enterprise Server; and VMware EX 2.5x and 3.x) (“Enterprise Antivirus Software – Threat Prevention | Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition,” 2010).

In January, 2010, Symantec Corporation announced that it would stop support for NAVCE in the near future and recommended to its customers to begin looking at its successor applications: Symantec Endpoint Protection or Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business, which is the Next-Generation antivirus/anti-spyware application that protects the endpoints of the network using simple management capabilities, fast deployment, and pre-configured settings.

Network Dependence and its Impact on NAVCE

Although NAVCE has a client component as well as a network component in its application package, its dependence on a reliable, and fully-functional network is crucial to its overall functionality. If the network upon which it is installed and configured fails to provide adequate connectivity between network servers (Quarantine, System Center, Reporting Server, Reporting Console, and WUS) and host computers attached to the network, and between the LAN and the Internet that provides access to the web-based administrator console for remote management purposes and the virus/anti-spyware definition and engine updates essential to maintain the application’s viability as a product that will protect the network against the latest viruses and malware (supported by WUS), then NAVCE will cease to be an application that will fully support the network or its hosts from external and internal viral and spyware invasions.

Implication of Network Infrastructure Developments on NAVCE

Obviously, as network infrastructure and network developments change in the coming years, Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition will not be directly impacted since support for this application will end in the months following January, 2010. However, for its successor applications, such as Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Endpoint Small Business, their interface with upgraded network and client desktop operating systems, requirements for updated microprocessors, enhanced RAM at the server and desktop level, file system changes at the software and hardware level (512 KB/sector to 4KB/sector ATA hard drive changes) (“bit-tech.net | All new hard drives will be “4k advanced format”,” 2010) will require application changes to remain in lock-step so that the applications can be implemented on the network hardware and software and so that the minimum requirements to run the applications will be met on the corporate networks themselves (“Enterprise Antivirus Software – Threat Prevention | Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition,” 2010). Symantec Corporation, as an antivirus and anti-spyware vendor that wishes to remain in business in the foreseeable future, will have to ensure that its future products are compatible with the latest technologies, such as more advanced mail clients, FTP clients, and the like, or its inability to provide continuing support in protecting future LANs will result in its inability to remain competitive in the marketplace.

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References

bit-tech.net | All new hard drives will be “4k advanced format”. (2010, February 2). bit-tech.net | All new hard drives will be “4k advanced format”. Retrieved March 9, 2010, from http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2010/02/02/all-new-hard-drives-will-be-4k-advanced-for/1.

Enterprise Antivirus Software – Threat Prevention | Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition. (2010). Enterprise Antivirus Software – Threat Prevention | Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition. Retrieved March 9, 2010, from http://www.symantec.com/business/antivirus-corporate-edition.

Hunter, L., Khan, A., & Shimonski, R. (2003). Configuring Symantec Antivirus Enterprise Edition. Syngress. Retrieved March 9, 2010, from http://books.google.com/books?id=nHPzTZ27a5UC&dq=symantec+antivirus+corporate+edition&lr=lang_en&source=gbs_navlinks_s.