Well, what a year 2014 has been and the next 12 months are likely to be just as transformational and exciting for Symantec, as we separate into two, independent publicly traded companies: one business focused on consumer and enterprise security, and the other on business focused on information management. Why is it happening? Because we believe it will help us all better serve our customer's needs now and well into the future. We are confident it will also make us much stronger and more successful.

There’s a lot of work to be done along the way, of course, as we gear up to that transformation. As our new CEO Mike Brown has stated: "until we complete the spinoff, which we expect to occur by the end of December 2015, Symantec will continue to operate as one company". With your support, we want to make sure that our commitment to customers and partners has not, and will not, change, so we are fully focused on customer satisfaction throughout this process. (You can find more information on our Symantec strategy site).

On which note, it’s been a hectic and trying time for those who rely on our technology – because the mantra for those intent on infiltrating their systems and organizations seems to have been: ‘Attack! Attack! Attack!’ We’ve seen wave after wave of malware and cyber espionage tools unleashed and we’ve had to respond rapidly to help keep our customers safe. Here are just a couple of the headline makers in 2014 :

• The highly destructive Backdoor.Destover, subject of an FBI Flash Warning. We identified this malware as having several links to earlier attacks directed at targets in South Korea, suggesting that the same group may be behind both attacks.
• Regin: an advanced spying tool, Regin displays a degree of technical competence rarely seen and has been used in spying operations against governments, infrastructure operators, businesses, researchers, and private individuals.
  To learn more about Regin and why this is another great example of Symantec's broad security intelligence capabilities, check out our blog and the Security Response Whitepaper.

As we all know mobile is how businesses everywhere now work—and live – delivering productivity anytime, anywhere. This is why we have made some significant enhancements to our product portfolio with Symantec Mobility: Suite.

We have also made some exciting announcements with regards to our Information Management business.  On November 19th, Symantec and HP announced a joint initiative to develop, sell, market, deliver, and support a cloud-based service called HP Helion and Symantec Continuity based on HP Helion OpenStack.

Also take a look at our video series where Drew Meyer, Sr. Director of Information Management for Symantec, discusses the way holistic data center solutions can help companies embrace agility without fear.

You can tune in to a blow-by-blow account of what else has been happening in 2014 here:

• Business updates and information on our partner program
• Latest product updates and news from our STAR team

So, that was the year to which we are about to say farewell. What's coming our way in 2015?

We will be telling you more on the separation of the business as we progress along that path. Meanwhile, here is a flavour of what we are most likely to see over the next 12 months, as we gaze into the (albeit slightly hazy!) crystal ball – courtesy of Symantec’s key security experts:

• Electronic-payment methods will come into the crosshairs. Also, there is a possibility of hackers exploiting individual NFC cards in one-off attacks, warns Candid Wüest, Threat Researcher, Symantec Security Response.
• Coordinated cyber-espionage and cyber-sabotage attacks will continue to pose a risk to national and critical infrastructure and intellectual property in 2015, says Orla Cox, Symantec Security Response.
• Finally, the much heralded ‘Internet of Things’ will still be the ‘Internet of Vulnerabilities’, although attacks will be limited and one-off, says Candid Wüest, With IoT being largely data-generated, we’ll continue to see examples of how cybercriminals can exploit software vulnerabilities in connected devices.

Undoubtedly, in the year ahead, customers will rely even more on our expertise and support, in the face of such challenges.

On which note, we would like to thank you the analyst community for making 2014 such a great year for Symantec. Season’s greetings to one and all and we look forward to working with you once more in 2015.

Caroline Dennington & Phil Nash

Supporting mobility across most organizations has long ceased to be a matter of ‘if’ and much more one of ‘how’ – because enterprises have come to recognize and acknowledge the huge contribution it can deliver to the business. Mobile is transforming how we work, and products and services are rapidly evolving. What remains to be negotiated, however, is management of the challenges that mobility brings with it.

For example, how many organizations have an official BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy, with proper controls in place? How many, by contrast, are allowing unsanctioned BYOD to take place, with employees accessing email or work documents from their personal devices? And how many more are simply locking down corporate devices and ignoring that any BYOD is happening at all? In other words, the response to BYOD is, at best, patchy.

It’s not only BYOD, but also BYOA (Bring Your Own Application). There are employees who are accessing company information on their devices, without any oversight; those with managed devices are bringing in their own apps. Meanwhile, the threat landscape for mobile continues to grow each year and thenumber of mobile threats that track the user has doubled.

This points to the need for companies to develop a strategy and set policies for securing corporate data on mobile devices, while balancing employee productivity. And, for those enterprises yet to formalize this, it has to happen now.

It is the phenomenal growth in smart phone and tablet numbers that is impacting how we now do business and the way IT must adjust their strategies to accommodate and remain in control of this irresistible wave of change. 

Is there a gap in threat protection for mobile devices? As people are adopting more tablets and smartphones, we at Symantec wanted to measure them on their security IQ – basic precautions, such as deleting suspicious emails from people they don’t know – based on the device they are using. While at least 70% of PC users are deleting suspicious emails, using antivirus solutions and avoiding storing sensitive files online, those numbers drop dramatically when we move to mobile users.

Even though many mobile devices can now do almost anything a PC can do, consumers aren’t treating them the same way when it comes to their security behaviors, creating the perfect storm for cybercriminals.

So, what should enterprises do to protect the business, while not discouraging the positive aspects and benefits that mobile delivers?

Step 1: Understand the use cases 

Often there is a hybrid of corporate owned and personally owned devices. If it is happening at the c-level, it is happening everywhere. If user experience is poor, employees will work around it. Find out what apps are they using, the uses cases, and which devices and operating systems they are using and for what. This will help you to gather requirements and understand the need of your employees. 

Step 2: Develop a comprehensive mobile strategy

• Assemble the right team
• Be deliberate about device access
• Build new policies for BYOD
• Allow mobile work/life balance
• Consider legal ramifications
• Research the latest EMM technology

Learn more on this step: Give Employees a Comprehensive Mobility Policy to Ensure Success

Step 3: Gather the essentials 

Here are the 5 "Must-Haves" for Enterprise Mobility Management that you should look for in a solution:

1. Device management

• Enable devices to access key corporate assets, such as email and documents
• Apply advanced security settings to ensure corporate compliance

2. App management

• Secure data in corporate apps, regardless of the device
• Wrap a layer of security and policy management around any app
• Distribute apps by user role from a customizable enterprise app store

3. Threat Protection

• Guard mobile devices against malware and prevent vulnerabilities
• Apply security policies for jailbroken/rooted devices or by OS
• App screening and reputation analysis with Norton Mobile Insight technology

4. Content Management

• Easily distribute and secure content to end-user mobile devices
• Access files stored on the network or cloud with Symantec Sealed apps

5. Identity & Access Control

• Provide strong authentication and authorization for access to enterprise applications and resources, using digital certificates or security credentials
• Leverage authentication methods, such as LDAP and SAML, for single sign-on

Ultimately, EMM provides the foundation to unlock the potential of mobility, so that the enterprise can transform its business processes, gain competitive advantage and empower employee productivity, against a backdrop of constant change.

Make sure to visit: http://www.symantec.com/mobility/ for more information.

I was able to listen to Rick Bryant's presentation today on why Symantec is the they way to go with Healthcare clients. Symantec is #1 and the fastest option for backup and recovery. When speaking with Healthcare Clients, it is important to remember that recovery and security is most important.

As the end of the year approaches and we look ahead to 2015, many start to think about New Year’s resolutions. While getting in shape or quitting smoking are popular options, have you considered making some data security resolutions for your business?

To to re-download and re-install Windows ADK for WinPE 4.0 please follow the steps below:

1 - access and open "PreBootOs.ini"

\Program Files\Altiris\Deployment\BDC\bootwiz\

2 - At "[WINPE40_X64]" modify line "INSTALLED=True" to "False"

This will cheat the system to think the ADK has not been installed yet

3 - Save "PreBootOs.ini" and re-start the SMP console (browser)

4 - Access the "create pre-boot configuration" window (Settings -> Deployment -> create pre-boot configuration)

5 - Follow the instructions on screen on how to download and install the Windows ADK

If you are running into difficulties with this, or you do not know what components to download and install please have a look at the article below (from step 3 onwards)

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/ds-75-download-and-install-windows-adk-winpe-40

NOTE:

If you found the above information useful, please give this article a thumbs-up(top right of the post) or add a comment below. Your feedback will help the Symantec tech community – Thank you, Mauro

What makes the real difference between today’s targeted attackers and those organisations that find themselves in their sights? The attackers have the persistence and patience to execute their plans over months and years. They have only to get their attack strategy right ONCE to breach someone’s defences. Their would-be victims have to be able to resist those assaults for every second of every day – time and time again.

It is for this reason that enterprises are repeatedly warned it is not a matter of if you will be breached, but when. This is no scaremongering or alarmist tactic to get people to buy more solutions. It is simply stating how things are now.

Of course, no one really wants to admit the attackers have all the advantage – they employ sophisticated social engineering tactics to trick their unsuspecting victims and are able to customise each attack campaign as needed to reach their targets –  but only by doing so will those under attack really be in a position to fight back.

True, with hundreds of available security products and new security start-ups popping up every day, you might think that enterprises would be able to keep the attackers out.  However, we’re fighting an asymmetric battle.  Attackers have the blueprints to the defences – they can buy security products just as easily as any of us – and learn their weaknesses. So right out of the gate, we’re at a disadvantage.

Naturally, companies need to continue to deploy solutions like endpoint protection, host intrusion prevention, email and web filtering, database monitoring, firewalls etc. The problem is each of those point security products is an ‘island’ unto itself. Each has its own console, each drives detections based on its specific view of the world and these products don’t interact with each other. 

Also, each product requires a separate administrator to manage the product, who won’t always have the time to examine all of the data generated by each of these products or to keep up with the newest capabilities and techniques of the attackers.

Collectively, the products ought to have a huge amount of visibility into what’s happening in your environment. And the truth is that, taken together, they do see a tremendous amount of information that could help better secure the enterprise – such as every network connection from every machine, every attempted login from each computer, detailed information about incoming emails and web pages, and so forth. 

So, what if we were to take every existing security agent in your enterprise and update it, so it not only alerts you to direct attacks on the systems it protects, but also keeps track of other events that could help us uncover new attacks and better protect critical company assets – just like putting a security camera on each product.

We could start to gain a much clearer, integrated picture of an enterprise’s security posture, and attack activity. And by driving this data back into each product, we can make that product better at doing its job. For example, if a particular endpoint had recently connected to a suspicious website, we could instruct our server security software to block that endpoint from logging into the financial database. Or, if we saw four consecutive failed logins to the ERP database from a particular computer, we could require that this computer provide a second factor of authentication before being allowed to access other enterprise systems for some period of time. 

We could identify that certain users tend to get infected frequently and could adjust their security policies appropriately – e.g., we could restrict access by these users to certain critical servers. And, if our endpoint security software determined that a particular piece of software looked suspicious, we could instruct our data loss prevention (DLP) product to block access by that software to any sensitive documents. 

These are just a few examples – actually, I’m barely touching the surface here as to what is possible – of how such data mining could make each of these point products better at their job.

So, let’s talk specifically about how Symantec is planning to deliver Unified Security. A cross-company effort is underway right now to gather a lot more telemetry from all of our products, turning all of those products into rich ‘security cameras’

Also, we know that our customers’ environments are changing dramatically.  Over time, more and more will be using cloud-based services like Salesforce.com. They will run their apps on Amazon AWS. They will start leveraging emerging new platforms, such as IoT. So, through organic development and acquisitions, as well as deep partnerships where appropriate, we will make sure that our ‘security cameras’ get installed in new customer environments – in the cloud, in virtualised environments, in IOT systems etc.

We’ll deliver a Unified Incident Security offering that provides customers with a prioritised list of suspicious incidents, based on correlating all available information from across the enterprise with Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network (GIN).  And each ‘incident’ won’t just be a single event – for example, a single malware detection event on a single machine – but will include all relevant intelligence from every deployed Symantec product to provide the customer with rich context about the attack. 

Next, we’ll deliver a unified incident investigation offering that allows customers to ‘drill down’ on security incidents so that they can discover all the artefacts associated with that incident.  We will also deliver a risk analysis offering, helping customers understand how their security posture compares with industry peers and how this security posture is changing over time. Is the customer getting fewer or more infections over time?  Do they have fewer or more vulnerable systems?  What additional security capabilities and policies might the customer deploy to improve their security posture? And how would such a change quantitatively impact their number of incidents/day?

Such is our vision – a ‘Unified Security’ platform that leverages the combined visibility and intelligence of all of our offerings (augmented by third party data) to block, detect and remediate attacks, protect information and reduce risk. This, we believe, will be the future of security. At Symantec, we intend to use our vast assets and capabilities to deliver on that promise.

I was happy to have the opportunity recently to speak with Arti Sharma, Corporate Responsibilty Associate at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, about Symantec's Software Donation Program and philanthropy in general. Below is her blog, part of the How Tech Gives series on the Philanthropy Front and Center - San Francisco site.

While nonprofits are directly tackling social issues, the barriers to positive social change can be significant. Many corporations have found donating resources to be a strategic way to efficiently and effectively support more people in need. Product donation programs are not just available through technology companies; companies like Home Depot and Tide also have product donation opportunities. Regardless of sector, companies that have product donation programs believe that they can create shared value by meeting business objectives and goals while addressing social issues.

How can an organization find out if a company donates any products? A good first step is to check out a company’s website for information. If your organization is looking for a tech donation (e.g., software, hardware, etc.), one valuable resource is TechSoup. TechSoup is a nonprofit that works with over 50 technology companies in an effort to connect organizations with the tech products and know-how that they need to be successful. In creating a connected world, companies like Symantec and Microsoft (both are TechSoup partners) are providing product donations to organizations to support their efforts to help others.

Read more.

Jaime Barclay is Corporate Philanthropy Manager at Symantec.

Probably user would like to know all list of managed endpoints in a single report and filter them out by their NIC(s) properties and see all available installed NIC(s) per client PC.

1. This report provides ability to filter out all managed endpoints by their installed NIC(s) by their properties, such as:

• NIC is routable or non-routable
• NIC is physical or non-physical
• Endpoint has 2 or more NIC(s)

2. Via mouse double click on any available managed endpoint, you will see drill-down report with detailed information about client connectivity state for "Lan", "Wan", "Internet" or "None Connectivity"

3. Via mouse right-click menu you will be able to see all available actions per this managed endpoint, such as: Resource Manager, etc.

• Download this attached .xml report "Managed endpoints report for NIC(s) properties and client connectivity state.xml" and import it on your NS server.

How to import existing .xml report

• Open SMP Console -> go to "Reports" -> mouse right click menu on root "Reports" folder -> click "Import" -> choose required .xml -> click "OK".

• You can edit SQL Query via "Edit" mode for imported report.

Note:

Report was created in CMS 7.5 SP1 HF4 server, but wasn't checked for 7.1 SP2 MP1.1 vX versions.

I recently upgraded my DS to 6.9 SP6 on Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit) from DS 6.9 SP4 on 32 bit Windows Server 2003 and my ASDK job, to remove a PC from filters when rebuilt for a different user, stopped working.

As Deployment Server is a 32 bit program, when you use the "Run Script" task the 64 bit Windows Server 2008 R2 runs them in the "Windows on Windows" (WOW) environment. So it will run CMD.exe and cscript.exe from C:\Windows\SysWOW64, which are the 32 bit versions of those programs - you can see this in the "Process" tab of Task Manager where the Image name will have *32 at the end.

But the ASDK components are all 64 bit and just don't work when called from 32 bit cscript.

So I tried to explicitly call c:\windows\system32\cscript.exe (paradoxically the 64 bit version) from a Run Script task. But 64 bit Windows will see that it's being called from a 32 bit cmd.exe (which will always be called by the 32 bit Deployment Server program AFAIK) and assumes we want the 32 bit version of cscript.exe in C:\Windows\SysWOW64, which it then calls.

To get over this you have to call cscript.exe in a Run Script task by using c:\Windows\Sysnative\cscript.exe, this effectively tells 64 bit Windows "although I'm only a 32 bit program I understand I'm running on a 64 bit OS and would really like the 64 bit version of ..., please"

So my job first token replaces this script:

'Remove PC from filters
'vbscript

'---------------------------------------
' Setup management objects
'---------------------------------------

set collectionManagement = CreateObject("Altiris.ASDK.NS.CollectionManagement")
set itemManagement = CreateObject("Altiris.ASDK.NS.ItemManagement")
set resourceManagement = CreateObject("Altiris.ASDK.NS.ResourceManagement")

'Using the web service
    itemManagement.TargetServer = "ns.me.local"
    itemManagement.Authenticate()
    collectionManagement.TargetServer = "ns.me.local"
    collectionManagement.Authenticate()
    resourceManagement.TargetServer = "ns.me.local"
    resourceManagement.Authenticate()

machineName = "%NAME%"
machineDomain = "mydomain"
computerGuid = resourceManagement.GetComputerByNameAndDomain(machineName, machineDomain)

'---------------------------------------
' Setup other variables
'---------------------------------------
'This is the GUID for the top level folder
Const FILTERFOLDER = "{0ec5e832-85ab-47f5-b74d-b67d86214e6b}"' FolderGUID to start searching under 1. Managed Software Delivery filters

'---------------------------------------
' Remove Inclusions
'---------------------------------------

Function recurseCheck(GUID)
  for each NSItemDetails in ItemManagement.GetItemsInFolder(GUID)
    If NSItemDetails.TypeName = "PresentationFolder" Then
      recurseCheck(NSItemDetails.Guid)
    Else
        Call CollectionManagement.RemoveInclusions(NSItemDetails.Guid, computerGuid)
    Call CollectionManagement.UpdateCollections(NSItemDetails.Guid)
    End If
  next
End Function

recurseCheck(FILTERFOLDER)

set collectionManagement = Nothing
set itemManagement = Nothing
set resourceManagement = Nothing
set NSItemDetails.Guid = Nothing

WScript.Quit

[I had trouble putting a .vbs file into .\temp so Token Replaced to a txt file then renamed it to .vbs]

Then Run Script - Locally on the Deployment Server:

c:\Windows\Sysnative\cscript.exe "D:\Program Files (x86)\Altiris\eXpress\Deployment Server\Temp\%ID%.vbs"

Don't forget you need the ASDK components installed on the NS and DS. The Server components are installed automatically on NS in 7.5 and log to the main NS log file.

Cheers to the New Year! Wishing you a bright and successful 2015 from Symantec’s Corporate Responsibility team.

SYMANTEC OFFICIAL RULES FOR THE

SCI-FI APPRECIATION DAY FACEBOOK SWEEPSTAKES DRAWING

THE SCI-FI APPRECIATION DAY FACEBOOK SWEEPSTAKES DRAWING IS OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (EXCLUDING GUAM, PUERTO RICO, AND ALL OTHER U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS) AND CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC) WHO ARE THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN THEIR STATE OF RESIDENCE AND AT LEAST 18  YEARS OR OLDER.  THIS DRAWING SHALL BE CONSTRUCTED AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO CALIFORNIA LAW.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING.

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE DRAWING, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE “OFFICIAL RULES” AND THE DECISIONS OF THE JUDGES AND/OR SPONSOR RELATIVE TO THIS DRAWING.

1. SPONSOR

The Symantec Sci-Fi Appreciation Day Facebook Drawing (the "Drawing") is sponsored by Symantec Corporation (the "Sponsor"), 350 Ellis Street, Mountain View, California, 94043, U.S.A. The Drawing begins on January 2nd, 2015 at 12:00:00am Pacific Time (PT) and ends January 5th, 2015 at 11:59:59pm PT (the "Drawing Period").

THIS DRAWING IS IN NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED OR ADMINISTRATED BY, OR ASSOCIATED WITH FACEBOOK.

2. ELIGIBILITY – VOID WHERE PROHIBITED

This Drawing is open to legal residents of one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia and Canada (except Quebec), who have reached the age of majority in their state or of residence as of the starting date of the Drawing Period (“Participant”).  Each Participant must have an account on www.facebook.com.  Persons in any of the following categories are NOT eligible to enter, participate in, or win the Drawing: (a) persons who on or after the starting date of the Drawing Period were or are officers, directors or employees of Symantec Corporation, or any of its subsidiary, affiliated companies, service agencies, or independent contractors; and (b) persons who are immediate family members (defined as spouse or biological or step-mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, or son and each of their respective spouses) of any person in any of the preceding categories, regardless of where they live, and/or individuals who reside in the same household, whether related or not, as any person in any of the preceding categories. Any questions and/or issues concerning eligibility shall be determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.  This Drawing is void in Guam, Puerto Rico, and where prohibited by law.  Employees or representative of government agencies or organizations are not eligible to participate.

Participants understand that by participating in this Drawing, they are providing their information to Sponsor and not to Facebook. Further, Participants specifically release Facebook from any and all liability associated with this Drawing. The information you provide will be used as provided in Sponsor's privacy policy (provide link). Any questions, comments or complaints regarding this Drawing shall be directed to Sponsor and not to Facebook. Participation constitutes Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor's and/or Judges' decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Drawing.  Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

3. HOW TO ENTER.  NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING.

You must have a valid Facebook account in order to participate.  You can enter the Drawing by following these steps during the Drawing Period (“Entry”):

1. Visit www.facebook.com/SymantecWebsiteSecuritySolutions
2. Like the Symantec Website Security Solutions Facebook Page
3. Comment on the questions in the Post related to the Drawing

General Requirements

In addition to the above-listed required steps, all Participants must abide by these General Requirements:

• Your Entry must be in English.
• Your Entry must not:

a. violate applicable law;

b. depict hatred;

c. be in bad taste;

d. denigrate (or be derogatory toward) any person or group of persons or any race, ethnic group, or culture;

e. threaten a specific community in society, including any specific race, ethnic group, or culture;

f. incite violence or be likely to incite violence;

g. contain vulgar or obscene language or excessive violence;

h. contain pornography, obscenity, or sexual activity; or

i. disparage the Sponsor.

• Your Entry must be original, your sole property, and not previously published or submitted in any other Drawing.
• Your Entry must not violate any right of a third party including, but not limited to: copyright, trademark, any other intellectual property right, right of publicity, confidentiality, and privacy.  Please do not include the name or logo of any company or product produced by a manufacturer other than Symantec.

By submitting an Entry, you agree that Sponsor has the unrestricted right to use your Entry in whole or in part, commercially or non-commercially in any media known or unknown in perpetuity, worldwide, including the right to publish and display the Entry for advertising and publicity, and to edit and make derivative works, all without additional review or compensation. Additionally, you agree that Sponsor may post your Entry, including your name on its sponsored websites and/or third-party sites.

Limit one (1) entry per person, regardless of the number of Facebook accounts used, for the duration of the Drawing Period.  If you enter or attempt to enter more than once using multiple Facebook identities, all of your entries may be declared null and void, and you may be disqualified and ineligible to participate in this Drawing.  Duplicate entries and/or other mechanical reproductions of entries are not permitted.  Illegible or incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Your entry may be disqualified, at the sole discretion of Sponsor if you attempt to enter through any means other than by the online submission requirement herein, if you disrupt the Drawing or circumvent the terms and conditions of these Official Rules, or violate the Facebook Terms of Service or Facebook Rules (https://www.facebook.com/policies/?ref=pf), which govern the use of Facebook.  If any of the above occurs, Sponsor has the right to remedy any such action, disruption, or circumvention in a manner to be solely determined by Sponsor.

4. PRIZES

Symantec will award the following prize in the Drawing:

The total estimated retail value of all of the prizes to be awarded under the Drawing is US$35.00.  The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received during the Drawing Period.  Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable, or redeemable for cash.  No prize substitution is allowed, except Sponsor may substitute a comparable prize at Sponsor’s sole discretion.  Winner is solely responsible for any applicable federal, state, provincial, and local taxes.  Any other costs and expenses associated with prize acceptance and use not specified herein as being provided are winner’s sole responsibility.  All details and other restrictions of prizes not specified in these Official Rules will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.

5. SELECTION OF WINNER; NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN

A total of one (1) potential winner will be selected by random drawing on or around January 5th, 2015 at Symantec Corporation, 350 Ellis Street, Mountain View, CA.

Potential winner will be notified via his or her Facebook email account (e.g., “Congrats [Username!] You are a winner!  To claim your prize, email Symantec at brook_chelmo@symantec.com with your contact information”).  Potential winners must respond via Facebook within 7 business days of notification by sending an email message to brook_chelmo@symantec.com with your contact information.  There will be no additional media or channels utilized to announce winners.

If a potential winner is (i) found to be ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, (ii) declines to accept a prize, (iii) if Sponsor does not receive a timely response to a winner notification, or (iv) in the event that a prize notification or prize is returned undeliverable, then the corresponding prize will be forfeited, the potential winner disqualified, and at the Sponsor's sole discretion, the prize may be awarded to an alternate winner chosen by Sponsor’s judges.  Potential winners may be required to furnish proof of identification.  Before being declared a winner, potential winner must execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Waiver of Liability within seven (7) business days from the postmarked date as having been sent by the Sponsor's representative or otherwise the corresponding prize may be forfeited.

In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the affected entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the Facebook account used to enter the prize drawing.  A potential winner may be required to provide Sponsor with proof that the potential winner is the authorized holder of the associated Facebook account or email account.  An authorized account holder is defined as the natural person who is assigned to the Facebook account by Facebook, Inc.  If a dispute cannot be resolved to Sponsor's satisfaction, the affected entry will be deemed disqualified and ineligible to win a prize, but these Official Rules will otherwise continue to govern the affected entry.

6. CONDITIONS

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE DRAWING, YOU AGREE TO RELEASE AND HOLD SPONSOR, FACEBOOK, THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT COMPANIES, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, PRODUCTION AND ADVERTISING AGENCIES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) HARMLESS FROM ANY AND ALL LOSSES, DAMAGES, RIGHTS, AND CLAIMS OF ANY KIND IN CONNECTION WITH THE DRAWING, DRAWING-RELATED ACTIVITY,  OR YOUR ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, PERSONAL INJURIES, PROPERTY DAMAGE, INVASION OF PRIVACY, AND MERCHANDISE DELIVERY.

Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any damage to your computer device which is occasioned by participation in the Drawing, or for any computer device, phone line, hardware, website, software or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, delayed computer transmissions or network connections that are human or technical in nature.

All federal, state, provincial, and local laws apply.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Sponsor is not responsible for incomplete, illegible, typographical errors, misdirected, misprinted, late, lost, damaged, stolen, or intercepted Drawing entries or prize notifications; or for lost, interrupted, inaccessible or unavailable networks, servers, satellites, Internet Service Providers, websites, or other connections; or for miscommunications, failed, jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected tweets, or computer, telephone or cable transmissions; or for any technical malfunctions, failures, difficulties or other errors of any kind or nature; or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, or the failure to capture any information.  In the case of any of the aforementioned events occur, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Drawing in its sole discretion.  Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Drawing, or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Drawing, or to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person, and Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.  In the event Sponsor is prevented from awarding prize(s) or continuing with the Drawing as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including but not limited to fire, flood, natural or man-made epidemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite, equipment or software failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal state or local government law, order, or regulation, public health crisis (e.g. SARS), order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor’s control (each a “Force Majeure” event or occurrence), then subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Drawing in its sole discretion.

By entering the Drawing, you agree: (i) to be bound by these Official Rules and by all applicable laws and decisions of Sponsor which shall be binding and final; (ii) to waive any rights to claim ambiguity with respect to these Official Rules; (iii) to waive all of rights to bring any claim, action, or proceeding against the Released Parties in connection with the Drawing; and (iv) to forever and irrevocably agree to release, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Released Parties from any and all claims, lawsuits, judgments, causes of action, proceedings, demands, fines, penalties, liability costs and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable outside attorneys’ fees) that may arise in connection with your participation in this Drawing.

By posting to Facebook, you must (i) make no false or misleading representations or advertisements with regard to Sponsor; (ii) make no statements regarding Sponsor that you do not have a reasonable basis for or that are inconsistent with your honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences; (iii) comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to advertising and marketing laws such as the Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guidelines; (iv) comply with the Facebook terms of service and other policies; and (vi) comply with any other policies of Sponsor as may be communicated to you during the Drawing Period.

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of a Participant and/or Sponsor in connection with the Drawing, will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without regard to California conflicts of law principles.  All Participants consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue in Santa Clara County, California, U.S.A.

The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules will not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Official Rules will otherwise remain in effect and will be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein. In particular, Sponsor’s employees are not authorized to waive, modify, or amend any provision or provisions of these Official Rules in any manner whatsoever.

By entering the Drawing, Participants agree to the terms of Sponsor’s Privacy Policy (http://www.symantec.com/about/profile/privacypolicy/index.jsp). Unless Participants indicate otherwise at the time of entry, personal information collected from Participants may be used by Sponsor for the purpose of not only administering this Drawing but also contacting you regarding your interest in Sponsor’s products and services.  Winner’s name and identity will be publicly announced via Facebook.

AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY AND WAIVER OF LIABILITY

By signing below, the undersigned Participant in the Symantec Sci-Fi Appreciation Day Facebook Drawing (the "Drawing") sponsored by Symantec Corporation (“Symantec”) hereby attests that, prior to participating in the Drawing he/she read the Official Rules for the Drawing and has previously agreed that his/her participation in the Drawing is governed exclusively by those Official Rules.  In consideration for the prize awarded to Participant through his/her participation in the Drawing, Participant agrees and acknowledges as follows:

1.   Eligibility: Participant was at least 18 years old and had reached the age of majority in his/her state of residence as of the starting date of the Drawing Period, and is an individual eligible to participate in the Drawing in accordance with the Official Rules, and, accordingly, is eligible to receive any prize awarded to him/her through the Drawing.  Participant acknowledges that his/her right to receive a prize may not be transferred, substituted for another prize, or exchanged for cash, and that Participant is solely responsible for all taxes or governmental fees due for receiving, owning, or using the prize.  Should it thereafter be discovered or determined that Participant was not eligible to receive a prize, Participant agrees to return such prize within ten days of written notice by Symantec, or by a duly authorized agent of Symantec, and to pay all costs associated with the return of such prize.

2.   Waiver of Liability: As set forth in the Official Rules, Participant hereby releases Symantec and Facebook, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, agencies, and their respective officers, directors, employees and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from any and all liability, loss, or damage arising from Participant’s acceptance, possession, or use of a prize, including, but not limited to, claims for product liability, personal injury, breach of contract, and negligence.  Participant acknowledges and agrees that the Released Parties make no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy of any information relating to the prizes awarded, including pricing and product editorials, and Participant hereby waives and releases the Released Parties from any liability, loss, or damage caused directly or indirectly by any inaccuracy associated with such information.  Without in any way limiting the generality of the foregoing, Participant agrees that this waiver embraces, covers and includes each, every, and all matters, transactions, causes of action, claims, demands and obligations arising in favor of Participant as against the Released Parties relating to Participant's participation in the Drawing.  Participant hereby waives any and all rights under the provisions of California Civil Code Section 1542, which provides as follows:

A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release which if known by him must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.

3.   Governing Law: Participant agrees that any dispute that arises as a consequence of his/her participation in the Drawing will be governed by the laws of the State of California.

Participant:                                                                                                   

Signature:                                                                                                      

Date:                                                                                                              

Address:                                                                                                         

Email Address:                                                                                              

Sometimes when data has been archived and then restored, and it is to be re-archived you might encounter an issue where the items won't re-archive. Let's see why that might be:

When Enterprise Vault restore an item, it marks some additional MAPI attributes on each item:

When archiving happens again, these items won't be eligible because they are marked with these attributes. The attributes can be ignored, and there are actually three choices:

HKLM\Software\KVS\Enterprise Vault\Agents
[DWORD] IgnoreEVDates

0 = Off
1 = Ignore Archived date
2 = Ignore Restored date
3 = Ignore both Archived and Restored date

More information in this Connect Forum post: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/restored-mail-not-archive-after-re-enable-mailbox#comment-1437041

After a Service Pack, Hot fix or platform upgrade it is necessary all the SMA and all the SMA plug ins are up to date.

A quick bird-eye view of the environment SMA versions is possible following the steps below:

1 - Download the SSE reports XML file at link:

http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO52986

2 - Import "SSE_Reports.xml" into the Reports tree of the Symantec Management Platform (right-click on "reports" folder -> import)

3 - Find "Agent Version Detail" under: SSE Reports -> Agent:

4 - Filter by "Agent Name":

NOTE:

If you found the above information useful, please give this article a thumbs-up(top right of the post) or add a comment below. Your feedback will help the Symantec tech community – Thank you, Mauro

After the successful launch of Enterprise Vault 11, it is time for another exciting new release. Today, I’m pleased to announce the general availability of Symantec Enterprise Vault™ 11.0.1. You can download the kit from Symantec File Connect here (https://fileconnect.symantec.com).

Enterprise Vault 11.0.1 is packed with lots of new features to help you Archive Anything, Access Anywhere and Manage Efficiently.

As the title alludes to, Enterprise Vault 11.0.1 is no ordinary service pack… justifying an upgrade couldn’t be easier! How about reduced TCO for Exchange Journaling, Smartphone & Tablet optimized search solutions, reduced PST migration time, supervisory review for social and SMTP items, hooked? Here's some more details:

SMTP Archiving
Ingesting content into the archive couldn’t be easier with the introduction of a new high performance, highly flexible and robust SMTP agent. Utilizing the SMTP protocol, Enterprise Vault can now archive any content sent to it via any application or product that supports sending email.

Apart from other benefits, the new capability offers huge ROI and reduced infrastructure costs for journaling, with no dependency on MAPI for crawling large journal mailboxes. The journal feed can be sent directly to Enterprise Vault instead of maintaining multiple journal mailboxes on dedicated Exchange servers.

NetApp c-Mode Filer Archiving
Archive content from NetApp Data On-TAP Cluster Mode (cDOT) and replace with Placeholders to preserve seamless end-user experience.

EVS Tablet Support
The power of Enterprise Vault Search (EVS) now optimized for tablet screen sizes and touch devices.

EVS Mobile
Finding your email archived items on the go is now quick and easy with Enterprise Vault Search Mobile edition (EVS Mobile).  

EVS Mobile is a smartphone optimized, archive search solution for iOS, Android and Windows Mobile.

SMTP & Social Media Enhancements for Compliance & Discovery Accelerator
Accelerators are now able to search and sample utilizing two new categories, SMTP and Social Media.

Compliance Sampling in Storage
Compliance Sampling has been moved from being a per-archive task function to being a core capability.

PST Owner Identification
Allow Enterprise Vault to determine true PST ownership by intelligently sampling the contents of each PST. This technique greatly reduces the impact of admin intervention due to not knowing who owns a PST file.

SCOM Management Pack
Enterprise Vault’s SCOM (Microsoft System Center Operations Manager) management pack has been enhanced to include monitoring and alerting for SMTP Archiving as well as SQL database fragmentation checks against all Enterprise Vault databases.

Separately downloadable Enterprise Vault Client
The latest clients can be downloaded from FileConnect without having to download the full Enterprise Vault kit, allowing faster and more targeted package download.

Support for Outlook 2013 SP1 on the server
Enterprise Vault 11.0.1 supports the use of Microsoft Outlook 2013 SP1 to be installed on the Enterprise Vault server.

Support for SQL 2014
Enterprise Vault, Discovery Accelerator & Compliance Accelerator now support the use of Microsoft SQL Server 2014.

For more information of all the new capabilities the Enterprise Vault 11 releases offer, check out the benefits of Enterprise Vault 11 quick guide here: http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC7164

You can also visit the “Upgrade to Enterprise Vault 11” portal here:
http://go.symantec.com/upgrade-ev

Disruption is a big word in technology, and over the past year, the channel has continued to evolve around newer technologies like cloud, mobility and the Internet of Things. Just as the channel has changed, so has Symantec. In 2014, we launched our redesigned Partner Program and solidified our commitment to working collaboratively with our partners to meet changing channel demands and customer needs.

But our work isn’t done. We’ve taken stock of all that we’ve achieved with our partners this past year and are looking toward the future. Here are the biggest game changers we expect to see in 2015:

• Partners should embrace the new ways customers buy technology– Newer consumption models, like the cloud and mobile, may dictate how customers will want to purchase technology. Partners who have been selling products the same way for a long time may be in for a change. Next year, it will be very important for partners to evaluate how they’ll fit into this new world, ensure they’re ready for this type of integration and potentially adopt new selling strategies.

• The hybrid cloud will become a huge revenue opportunity for partners– Hybrid cloud solutions offer true integration opportunities that aren’t yet being fully realized. We’re already seeing a big need to help companies leverage cloud innovation and connect to their existing systems. Partners with the right skillsets are needed to take on custom, on-prem consulting-based initiatives and deploy hybrid cloud solutions. While these types of engagements can be more complicated, they’re generally more lucrative. VARs and resellers will be able to distinguish themselves with their knowledge of this market, and how to integrate these technologies and systems together. We’re bound to see big opportunities here in 2015.

• Clear partner strategy will be crucial with the changing nature of the channel– 2015 will be a transformational year for the channel, with an increasing need for automation, and products and services that support integrated verticals. Vendors will need to be transparent with their partners and create dynamic go-to-market strategies for all partner types: how the ecosystem of large partners can collaborate and where niche partners will fit in. When vendors maintain an open dialogue with their partners -- and partners can leverage new ways to engage -- it’s a win-win.

• Expect future growth in the Internet of Things– Many companies that are looking to leverage the Internet of Things lack the expertise to design devices, or the infrastructure to securely collect data and derive relevant insights. We anticipate significant industry growth here, particularly in managed services, security, analytics and vulnerability assessments. Few vendors offer a complete solution, so integration services will be a big opportunity.

  As you can see from our predictions above, we believe 2015 will be a year of opportunity for partners. While the channel continues to change, there will no doubt be challenges, but we’ll meet them by working closely with our partners. At Symantec, we’re excited for all that we’ll achieve with our partners in 2015. Cheers to a New Year of successful partnerships and growth!