Symantec Launches Endpoint Protection 12

Backed by claims that it offers improved performance in both physical and virtual environments, Symantec's Endpoint Protection 12 (SEP12) is now available in two variants: Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition and Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.

According to Symantec, testing by Dennis Labs and the Tolly Group indicates that SEP12 outperforms competing products (in terms of number of threats prevented and performance) running in VDI environments. (Look for a full review of SEP12 from Windows IT Pro in the near future that will evaluate those claims independently.)

I've already blogged about a few of the new features SEP12 brings to the table based on a chat with Symantec Product Marketing Manager Katie Burton. That said, two features that I haven’t mentioned are Insight (Symantec’s cloud and community-based reputation technology) and SONAR, a feature that Symantec claims is the "world’s first hybrid behavioral-reputation engine" that monitors applications and checks for unusual behavior.

Symantec Endpoint Protection 12

SEP12 boasts improved speed and performance on physical and virtual machines, and I'd love to hear from IT pros that are currently testing (or planning to deploy) SEP12 to drop me an email with their thoughts on the raft of new features in this latest release.

In a statement announcing the release of SEP12, Symantec Senior Vice President Chirantan Desai suggested that "organizations of all sizes are at risk of targeted cyber attacks which continue to increase in size, scope and sophistication" and that "Pairing our award winning Insight technology with blazingly fast performance in Symantec Endpoint Protection 12 gives all our customers peace of mind that they are always secure and productive."

Symantec Endpoint Protection 12 is for companies with more than 100 users, and Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition 12 is for companies with less than 100 users. Trial versions of both products are available here.

Are you a Symantec Endpoint Protection customer? Let me know if you're planning to upgrade to SEP12, or what you think of the new features and speed improvements. Feel free to add a comment to this blog post or start up a discussion on Twitter.

Follow Jeff James on Twitter at @jeffjames3

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