In case you missed it, Symantec Corporation has just announced today the launch of Norton Internet Security 2008 as well as the Norton AntiVirus.

Says Janice Chaffin, Group President, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec, “Our 2008 products bring valuable new protection technologies to block threats before they get a foothold in systems as well as significant performance improvements to make the end user experience better than ever before.”

According to Symantec, the new features found in Norton in 2008 include:

  • Browser Defender — Defends against drive-by downloads and other unknown threats that exploit vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer.
  • Norton Identify Safe — Fills in passwords and Web forms automatically to defeat keystroke loggers. (Norton Internet Security 2008 only).
  • One-Click Support — Single access point for support (Telephone, e-mail, live chat).
  • Home Network Feature — Monitors the overall security status of other computers with 2008 products installed.
  • Performance — Interface claimed to respond up to 54% faster than NIS 2007, uses 69% less memory, among other performance enhancements.

Both products includes heuristic detection capability, now re-badgered as SONAR. A full scan will be initiated every time an application attempts outbound communications, which improves “the firewall’s effectiveness against unknown threats.” Not sure how it would react to a P2P application, though rootkit protection capabilities are already built into NIS.

You can get your copy of Norton AntiVirus 2008 and Norton Internet Security 2008 at the usual places, as well as at Symantec’s online store. Norton AntiVirus 2008 is sold at a RRP of US$39.99, whilst Norton Internet Security 2008 has a RRP of US$69.99 for a three-PC license.

You can read the full press release here.