Norton Hotspot Privacy Protects Your Info on Public Networks
Symantec offers a new service that protects your private data on public Wi-Fi networks.
On Tuesday, Symantec introduced Norton Hotspot Privacy, a new service in North America and the UK that helps protect consumers and their private info as they connect to public Wi-Fi networks.
Symantec's new service arrives as consumers increasingly take their laptops, tablets and smartphones to McDonald's, Starbucks, airports, and even the local park to access the Internet through an open public access point or guest access. The firm says that while 53-percent of online adults who use free or unsecured Wi-Fi have concerns about the security of those services, many are still putting sensitive or financial information at risk.
"Two-thirds of online adults use free or unsecured Wi-Fi networks, from coffee shops to airports and public parks," Symantec said. "But along with the convenience come risks of exposing sensitive information to cybercriminals. Norton Hotspot Privacy enables users to become ‘invisible’ on the network and also encrypts their username, password and other confidential information they may be entering online."
Symantec's new service creates a secure, private connection that cannot be seen by eavesdropping software. It makes the user "invisible" on public networks so that no one can track or monitor their online activities. The new service protects the user’s entire Wi-Fi session when surfing the Web, encrypting the connection, so usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and other confidential information remain safe.
Symantec said users can can sign into the Norton Hotspot Privacy Web portal, download the client, and the VPN will automatically configure to create a private connection. It provides unlimited bandwidth on up to five devices, including Mac and Microsoft Windows PCs.
"Increasingly, public Wi-Fi is a part of everyday life, providing people with a convenient way to connect on the go," said Dave Cole, vice president, product management, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec Corporation. "With Norton Hotspot Privacy, consumers are able to take advantage of the convenience of public Wi-Fi, with the confidence of knowing their information is secure and their online activities remain private."
Naturally Symantec isn't offering this kind of protection for free: a 1-year pass is $49.99 USD, a 1-month pass is $19.99 USD, and a 1-day pass is $2.99 USD. For more information about Norton Hotspot Privacy, head here.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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digiex In the beginning, the Norton Utilities is synonymous to optimized fast PC, but now it became a bloatware that will slow down your PC to a halt.Reply -
jhansonxi ReplySymantec's new service creates a secure, private connection that cannot be seen by eavesdropping software.
Other than Symantec. -
infernocy otacon72Yeah if you want webpages to take 5 mins to load.Reply
nah it dosnt take that long
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acecombat bim27142how about tor? it's free...Also the connection between the originator and the entry node is not encrypted and the exit node can sniff your traffic. There's bad exit nodes setup that do just that. So now you've opened yourself up to even more potential security issues.Reply -
del35 Not sure why it is needed since there are applications and addons that will allow web surfing and login into websites using the HTTPS standard.Reply
HTTPS provides authentication of the web site and associated web server that one is communicating with, which protects against Man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, it provides bidirectional encryption of communications between a client and server, which protects against eavesdropping and tampering with and/or forging the contents of the communication. -
del35 Replyhow about tor? it's free...
It is. The problem is that it is too too also and what you send through a hotspot can be potentially intercepted.