Symantec will announce on Monday an
integrated antivirus and systems utility suite encompassing its Norton line
of utilities applications, the first such package for the Windows operating
systems, including Windows 98, according to the company.
Norton SystemWorks will include the latest version of Norton Utilities,
which detects and repairs system problems. The package contains: Norton AntiVirus, which monitors
PCs for viruses and provides Web-based virus protection in the form of
downloadable updates, Notron CrashGuard, Uninstall Deluxe, and six months
of Norton Web services.
"This is one integrated suite of utilities to protect your machine and
solve problems, and recover from disasters," said Tom Powledge, senior
product manager for Symantec. "What differentiates this from a marketing
bundle is that this is complete versions of all the categories. We see this
suite as the way the utility category is going."
The suite is one of the first Windows 98 utilities introduced since the
June 25 release of the upgraded operating system. "All the products in the
suite are updated to Windows 98 and ready for Windows 98," Powledge said.
The suite is priced at $99.95, which represents about a 40 percent savings
compared to the total purchase price of the individual applications,
according to the company. Owners of any of the individual Norton products
can upgrade to Norton SystemWorks for $69 through the end of the year, and
owners of competing products such as First Aid 98 or CleanSweep can also
receive a $30 rebate toward the cost of SystemWorks.
Norton SystemWorks will be available at retailers in September.