Antivirus & Internet Security Blog

Yesterday, Symantec had a press release Norton Solves Password Pain with Identity Safe which announced the availability of Norton Identity Safe, free of charge. The service can be used on devices like PCs, Macs, iPhone and iPad, and Android devices.

Further, the press release mentioned that the features of this Norton service include:

• Multi-platform synchronization – Synchronizes information across platforms and devices, eliminating the hassle of remembering multiple user names, passwords, contact information and credit card numbers. Norton Identity Safe allows users to access their credentials anywhere they go.
• Safe Search & Norton Safe Web – Help consumers protect their identities and avoid potentially risky sites by letting them know whether a site is safe to visit directly from their search results.
• Share – Allows users to safely share online content by sending URLs through email and social networking plugins, directly from Norton Identity Safe.

To remind you, Norton Identity Safe has been around for a while as a part of Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security products (Norton AntiVirus software does not some with this feature). As a part of these security software packages, Norton Identity Safe is described as a service which helps you manage your identities and provide additional security while you perform online transactions. This Norton service lets you remotely access your personal information such as your address, login information, passwords, and credit card details stored in your online vault.

The following features in Norton Identity Safe let you view your sensitive information:

• Logins – Lets you manage your login information, such as your login credentials for your online bank account, email user ID, and password.
• Cards – Lets you view your personal information, such as addresses, date of birth, and credit card information.
• Notes – Lets you manage the personal details, such as passport numbers and social security numbers.

In addition to being a repository of sensitive information, Norton Identity Safe provides the following features:

• Protects you from identity theft when you perform online transactions.
• Manages the card information of all your credit cards.
• Lets you use your Identity Safe data when you are on the move.
• By saving your data using an online vault, you can access your sensitive Identity Safe data from any computer with Internet connection.
• Provides access to your Identity Safe data without depending on any additional hardware or software.

Norton Identity Safe lets you view and access some of the Identity Safe features even after the product expires. This way, you can still view your login details even after your Norton product expires.

Now, there are some facts that are worth of noting in regards of both Norton Identity Safe as a standalone service and of the one that is part of Norton software products, and they are:

• The Mac version will not include Safe Search, Norton Safe Web, or Share features explained more fully below.
• Norton Identity Safe: Mobile Edition application must be installed on mobile devices to access Norton Identity Safe. The mobile applications complement the PC client, which must be downloaded and installed prior to installing the mobile applications.
• Share feature initially available only in PC version of Norton Identity Safe. Share feature is not available for use with current versions of Norton Internet Security, Norton 360, or Norton One.

In any case, the idea of having passwords secured away in a cloud adds to their security in the case of the computer failure, plus the ability to access it from various places is not bad at all. Furthermore, automated credential entry without typing prevents those keyloggers from intercepting such valuable data. As long as Symantec keeps things secure and resistant to hackers and hardware failures.