Symantec: Norton 360 v. 3.0 Released Today

Symantec's third iteration of its Norton 360 Internet security product offers online backup and data management tools as well the expected array of anti-virus, firewall and identity protection. All, the company says, at higher speed while making lower system demands. Marketed to home users, the package can be effective for small offices as well.Symantec's release of Norton 360, version 3.0, marketed for the home user, is worth a look for small businesses (the under $80 package includes licenses for up to three machines) and especially for remote or home-office-based employees.

In addition to the expected array of anti-virus, identity protection and other security tools, the new version promises faster operation, smaller footprint, and includes 2 gigs of online backup, with built-in automated tools for managing the backups. Disk management utilities are also part of the package.

While a home-computing security suite clearly isn't appropriate or, probably, practical, for businesses larger than a few employees -- Symantec itself, like other major security players, offers a variety of higher-end small and midsized business security products and services -- consumer products shouldn't be rejected out-of-hand for smaller offices and, again, and perhaps especially, remote and home-based employees.

I'm particularly pleased to see the trend toward automating backup -- something any business with offsite staff needs to consider. (Not just for offsite staff, of course: Symantec itself has reported that a quarter of businesses don't backup at all, despite having technology in place to do so, as we told you here a few weeks ago.

I'd bet the numbers are far higher for remote and home-based employees, another reason for taking a look at security solutions that include data backup as part of the package.

And for employees who are less than tech-savvy, the advantages of products designed for consumer comfort and ease-of-use zones is another plus.