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Norton Internet Security 2002 4.0 Norton Personal Firewall 2002 4.0 Release Notes - August 25, 2001 Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001 Symantec Corporation All rights reserved This document contains detailed information about some features of Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall. Note that the release notes may refer to features that are not in the product you have installed, as it covers three products with different features. Please also check the Read Me file for additional notes regarding installation and uninstallation issues. Please review the Technical Info.TXT file (from the start menu) if you are a technical user who wishes additional info. Topics include: - Blocking ads speeds up download time - Blocking ads can block other Web elements - Blocking ads blocks graphical advertisements - Blocking applications from accessing the Internet - Blocking browser type and version is off by default - Blocking popup windows is limited - Blocking referring Websites - Blocking scripts only blocks scripts on Web page - Creating Firewall Rules for N/A programs - Firewall alerts are cached - Incompatibility with Regclean - Permitted sites can contain items from blocked sites - Referring address blocking is for browser only - Restricted account users do not see prompts - Showing animated .gif files after blocking them - Terminating http connections - Hiding your computer name from the Internet - Attacks and Auto Block - Running the Security Assistant with Norton SystemWorks - Auto Block and Legitimate Connection Attempts - Alerting while using DirectX and OpenGL - Windows XP Delayed Startup on a network - Delays in logging into a Windows Domain - Limited accounts in Windows XP or Windows 2000 - Interaction with the Windows XP Firewall - Supported Instant Messenger Clients for filtering - Earthlink Setup and NetBIOS - Use of GNU Public Libraries -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking ads speeds up download time -------------------------------------------------------- The ad blocking feature does not block all advertisements on the Internet, but it can speed up download time when websites contain several ads. For information on blocking ads not blocked by Norton Internet Security, see the User's Guide or Help. -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking ads can block other Web elements -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking ads prevents specific HTML strings from being downloaded to a Web browser. This can prevent other Web elements from appearing in the browser in addition to advertisements. It can also cause script errors on some pages. If you visit a site that does not download properly, try disabling the Ad Blocking feature. Visit the Symantec Online Support Knowledge Bases for information on using the event log to help you determine why a site is blocked. Visit http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/, or select the Knowledge Base from the Help menu. -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking ads blocks graphical advertisements -------------------------------------------------------- The Norton Internet Security ad blocking feature blocks graphical advertisements and pictures. It is not effective against text-based or script-based advertisements. -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking applications from accessing the Internet -------------------------------------------------------- Norton Internet Security restricts applications from accessing the Internet. It does not prevent someone from running the application. When some programs cannot access the Internet, they may respond by crashing, freezing, or reporting problems with your Internet connection. The results depend on how the program was designed. -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking browser type and version is off by default -------------------------------------------------------- By default, Norton Internet Security does not block information about the type of browser you are using because many Web sites depend on this information to display Web pages tailored for specific browsers. Blocking this information can cause Web page errors, or display warnings about updating your browser. To block information about the type and version of browser you are using: 1. Open Norton Internet Security. 2. Click Options and click Advanced Options. 3. Under the Web tab, click the privacy tab and change the Browser (User-agent) settings. -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking popup windows is limited -------------------------------------------------------- The Block Script Popups Only feature blocks the most common methods Web sites use to open additional browser windows, but does not block all methods. Even with this feature turned on, you might find Web sites where pop-up windows are not blocked. Some Web sites, such as Microsoft's Windows Critical Update, will not operate correctly when you block script popup windows. -------------------------------------------------------- Blocking scripts only blocks scripts on Web page -------------------------------------------------------- The advanced feature to Block All JavaScript blocks any JavaScript embedded in Web pages. However, it does not block JavaScript found in form objects or in external script (.JS) files. Blocking JavaScript causes errors on Web pages that require JavaScript for proper display or navigation, and should only be used by advanced users. -------------------------------------------------------- Creating Firewall Rules for N/A programs -------------------------------------------------------- If Norton Internet Security cannot identify a program or process that is attempting to access the Internet, it displays the name of the process as N/A. If you create a firewall rule for N/A programs, make sure the rule blocks or permits the connection for a specific port or address. If you create a rule to permit or block N/A programs for all ports or addresses, Norton Internet Security will use that rule for every program it cannot identify. -------------------------------------------------------- Firewall alerts are cached -------------------------------------------------------- Sometimes Internet-enabled applications send requests to several computers to contact your machine. If you are using the Firewall Rule Assistant, you could see several alerts. Multiple alerts are cached in Norton Internet Security. This can cause alerts to appear even if you close the original program that caused the alert. Specific examples include multiplayer Internet games like Unreal Tournament or Gamespy. -------------------------------------------------------- Permitted sites can contain items from blocked sites -------------------------------------------------------- When you specify a list of permitted Websites, content from all other Websites is blocked. If a site reference graphics or other items from other sites, these items are blocked even though they appear to be from the same Web site. These are some steps you can take to reduce these situations: - Use domain names instead of more specific Web site names. For example, permit the site example.com instead of images.example.com to allow the content from the example domain. This allows access to all the websites within that domain, including www.example.com, help.example.com, images.example.com or any other sites in that domain. - If you are viewing a permitted site and notice images that are blocked, open the Event Log and look at the information under the Restrictions tab. This shows the items that were blocked from the Web site you are viewing. Then add the blocked sites to the permitted list so the blocked images will appear. These steps are only useful if you are specifying which sites are permitted. If you use the Specify Blocked Sites option, everything that does not fall into a blocked category is permitted. -------------------------------------------------------- Referring address blocking is for browser only -------------------------------------------------------- Although Norton Internet Security blocks the information from your browser about the last Web address you visited, it cannot block this information when it is passed from a Web server. For example, if you visit a site that refers you to another site on the same Web server, the Web server might transfer the referring information internally. This information does not come from your browser, and is not blocked by Norton Internet Security. These occurrences should not cause privacy or security concern. -------------------------------------------------------- Restricted account users do not see prompts -------------------------------------------------------- Norton Internet Security lets you enable, block, or prompt the user for various settings. However, restricted account users do not receive prompts. For restricted accounts, any item set to prompt the user is automatically blocked without warning. -------------------------------------------------------- Showing animated .gif files after blocking them -------------------------------------------------------- One of the advanced options lets you prevent animated .gif files from repeating their animation. This feature modifies incoming .gif files to prevent them from animating. To show the animation of a modified .gif file again, turn off animated .gif blocking, clear your browser's cache and revisit the Web site where you found the file so you can download it again. -------------------------------------------------------- Terminating http connections -------------------------------------------------------- Norton Internet Security lets you terminate most types of network connections from the statistics viewer, but terminating http connections requires that you close your Web browser software. -------------------------------------------------------- Web Site Blocking and Browser History -------------------------------------------------------- Most web browsers keep pages in a hard drive cache to improve performance, and some browsers support "offline browsing", where they download entire web pages to your hard disk. If these pages are viewed or downloaded by one account, they may be viewable by another account who would normally have these pages blocked with Parental Control. Empty your web browser's cache to solve this problem. -------------------------------------------------------- Hiding your computer name from the Internet -------------------------------------------------------- In its default configuration, Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall 2001 hides your computer name and share information from being seen over the Internet if you have Microsoft File & Print Sharing enabled. This is a change from version 2000. The ability to share the computer name is required for some cable modem implementations, but is not necessary for most systems. If you need to share this information in order to connect to your internet service provider, please review the "Compatibility with Cable Modems" document on the Start Menu / Programs / Norton Internet Security (or Norton Personal Firewall) / Product Support for information on how to add this. -------------------------------------------------------- Attacks and Auto Block -------------------------------------------------------- When Norton Personal Firewall or Norton Internet Security detect an intrusion attempt or port scan, it will place the suspected attacker's computer address in the Auto Block list (in the Personal Firewall section under Intrusion Protection), and block all further attempts at communication from that computer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the restriction will be lifted. If you have an attacker who repeatedly targets your system, you can add the attacker's IP address (as shown in the logs or the Auto Block screen) to the Restricted Zone (under the Personal Firewall tab). This will permanently lock out all communication from - and to - the attacker's computer. -------------------------------------------------------- Running the Security Assistant with Norton SystemWorks -------------------------------------------------------- If Norton Personal Firewall or Norton Internet Security are integrated with Norton SystemWorks 2000 or 2001, the Security Assistant cannot be launched directly from the integrator. To run the Security Assistant, select it from the Start Menu / Programs / Norton Internet Security / Security Assistant menu item. -------------------------------------------------------- Auto Block and Legitimate Connection Attempts -------------------------------------------------------- Auto Block is designed to block remote computers which attempt to find holes in your security, but may sometimes be triggered by a legitimate computer, such as one run by your internet service provider, or a security check like Symantec Security Check (http://security.norton.com). If you have problems with Auto Block blocking a computer that has a legitimate reason for probing your system, you can click on the "Exclusions" button on the Intrusion Protection page and add the IP address of the machine there. If the computer is currently Auto Blocked, it may be added to the Exclusion List by pressing a button on the Exclusion List dialog. NOTE: Adding a computer to the Exclusion List does not permit any access by that computer! It only prevents that computer from being Auto Blocked. All other firewall security remains in place. -------------------------------------------------------- Alerting while using DirectX and OpenGL -------------------------------------------------------- If you are playing a game or using a program that takes full control of your screen and uses DirectX or OpenGL to display 3D accelerated graphics, an alert for network access may not appear properly or may appear to lock up your machine. To avoid this, be sure to run the Application Scan as part of the Security Assistant and create the appropriate rules for all your games. -------------------------------------------------------- Windows XP Delayed Startup on a network -------------------------------------------------------- Windows XP may delay the startup of the Workstation service (and thus delay the start of other applications) for up to a minute when Norton Personal Firewall or Norton Internet Security are running when in certain types of networked environments. This is because this service is trying to access the Bootps port before the firewall rule permitting this access has finished loading. A workaround is to set NIS/NPF to manual start. -------------------------------------------------------- Delays in logging into a Windows Domain -------------------------------------------------------- With Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall installed in its default configuration, logins to a Windows NT / 2K / XP domain may take a long time, or fail altogether. This may be caused by the firewall blocking fragmented packets. Review the firewall log after such a failed attempt to see if there are a lot of fragmented packets blocked. If this is the case, it can be remedied by turning off the "Block Fragmented IP Packets" in the Options / Advanced Options / Other tab. -------------------------------------------------------- Limited accounts in Windows XP or Windows 2000 -------------------------------------------------------- Windows XP "limited" accounts or Windows 2000 "Guest" accounts usually have very restricted access to the file system and registry. For this reason, they will usually not be able to make settings changes in the product. For this reason, it is not recommended that restricted or guest users be given "Supervisor" type access in Norton Internet Security, or be used to make changes to the product's settings. -------------------------------------------------------- Interaction with the Windows XP Firewall -------------------------------------------------------- Windows XP has a primitive built in firewall which is superseded by Norton Personal Firewall and Norton Internet Security. Although it is possible to run both firewalls simultaneously, there will be problems with some protocols (including FTP) running through both, and running both is not supported by Symantec. It is recommended that you disable the Windows XP firewall if you are using Norton Personal Firewall or Norton Internet Security. -------------------------------------------------------- Supported Instant Messenger Clients for filtering -------------------------------------------------------- Norton Personal Firewall and Norton Internet Security can apply confidential info filtering to the following instant messenger clients: - MSN Messenger 3.6 - AOL Instant Messenger 4.7 We may also be able to filter other clients that use http to communicate. To see if NIS or NPF can monitor your instant messenger client for confidential info, enter a test string into the Confidential Info list and transmit it with the instant messenger client. -------------------------------------------------------- Earthlink Setup and NetBIOS -------------------------------------------------------- Some versions of the Earthlink setup require access to NetBIOS ports. If the setup program for Earthlink freezes with NIS/NPF installed, either disable NIS temporarily during the Earthlink install or deactivate the default block rules for NetBIOS and Windows File Sharing. -------------------------------------------------------- Use of GNU Public Libraries -------------------------------------------------------- The symiconv.dll library utilizes source code licensed under provisions of the GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2.1, February 1999. A full copy of this license is included on your CD as "GNU License.txt." Full source code for symiconv.dll may be obtained as stipulated by this license from the Symantec website at http://service.symantec.com. Please query the Norton Internet Security 2002 Knowledge Base with keyword "GNU" for details.