Symantec Launches Norton Core Wi-Fi Router; Said to Protect Your Smart Home Devices

Symantec, a company well known for its Norton Antivirus software, has ahead of CES 2017 launched its Norton Core Wi-Fi router to provide protection for homes with smart appliances. The newly launched Wi-Fi router is already available for pre-order at $200 (roughly Rs. 13,600), against a regular price of $280 (roughly Rs. 19,000), and will start shipping this summer in the US. It will be available in Titanium Gold and Granite Grey colour options.

The Norton Core Wi-Fi router is specifically meant for connected homes, which have devices such as Amazon Echo, Google Home etc., and provides security to protect against malware and viruses working their way into IoT (Internet of Things) devices, as per the company's release. The company pointed out that smart appliances need protection against malware and that it itself uncovered vulnerabilities in more than 50 different categories of IoT devices.

Despite this, 65 percent of consumers from US were found believing that connected devices are made with security in mind, Symantec said referring to a Norton Cyber Security Insights report.

"We've all seen the high-profile attacks in recent months and know that hackers are now exploiting an array of connected devices as a new means to access personal and financial information," Fran Rosch, executive vice president of Symantec's consumer business unit, was quoted as saying in the release.

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The Norton Core router provides security through data encryption, secure DNS, and automatic security updates to ensure that the smart appliances are not vulnerable to hackers. Norton Core has support for Wave 2 Wi-Fi and is powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor.

"Norton Core will also support speeds up to 2.5Gbps, for fast 4K streaming and lag-free gaming. Using MU-MIMO technology, Norton Core can simultaneously stream to multiple devices, providing maximum bandwidth," the company said.

Users will be able to control Norton Core with a mobile app, which will keep them informed about the threats that are blocked, suspicious activities, as well as the devices that are connected to the network. In order to help users keep a track of their home security, the company has introduced a feature called Security Score that allows them to understand how well their home appliances are protected, that too in real-time.