Trends

In the coming months, Symantec plans to integrate behavior-based malicious code detection from WholeSecurity and endpoint compliance technology from Sygate into the Symantec anti-virus engine. The company also plans to replace its enterprise firewall with Sygate`s technology, a move that could cause a strategic shift between Symantec`s consumer and enterprise technologies, said Brian Foster, senior director of product management in Symantec`s Enterprise Desktop and Server Antivirus and Security Solutions group, in California.

Symantec is moving quickly to add new features in an effort to stay one step ahead of competitors, including Microsoft, which will soon offer its own consumer and enterprise anti-virus and anti-spyware technology, said David Friedlander, an analyst for Forrester Research, in the Netherlands.

Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition Version 11, due next year, will be bundled with Sygate`s security compliance agent, a software program that protects systems from unknown threats and attacks and monitors compliance with enterprise security policies, Foster said.