US software security company Symantec launched three new products in Cape Town yesterday, as the group continues to pursue the consumer market, which makes up 45% of its total revenue.
Security products, particularly those that protect users from viruses and other nasties that can be caught from Internet use, have seen increased demand recently with at least one high-profile South African case spurring new interest.
Symantec's SA MD Patrick Evans says Symantec, which makes the Norton range of security and anti-virus products, has captured about 80% of the local market, compared to the average of 60% in other markets around the world.
"We are the only company that supplies the same security engine in our consumer products as is used in our enterprise products," he says.
Evans says that with the emergence of high-profile security threats such as BugBear and Blaster, which are complicated and blended in nature, traditional anti-virus solutions are no longer enough to guarantee trouble-free computing.
Symantec says its Norton SystemWorks 2004 and its Norton Internet Security 2004 products are designed to protect small businesses and home users from a range of threats, including viruses and worms, and to secure passwords and manage content.
"The additional protection provided by Norton AntiVirus 2004 helps combat spyware and keystroke logging programs, which can be left behind by some of these new blended threats. Spyware can be acquired through everyday Web surfing, installing itself in the computer's background, frequently with most users never knowing it's there," he says.
Widespread security fears were sparked when the Absa hacker used spyware to record keystrokes of victims' Internet bank passwords and details in order to defraud them. This led to at least two banks, Standard Bank and Absa, offering their Internet bank clients free anti-virus and firewall software to help mitigate against the possibility of such attacks happening again.
New York-listed Symantec posted upbeat second quarter results in September, which analysts say is indicative of the need for security products.
The software maker reported net income of $83.4 million, or 49c a share, compared with net income of $52 million, or 33c a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue climbed 31.8% to $428.7 million from $325.3 million the year before.
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