We all know that we can't erase our digital footprint which includes all the activities that we do online. However, we can take precautions to safeguard it. To limit the potentially damaging effect of leaving your digital footprint, cybersecurity giant NortonLifeLock has unveiled what it calls the Norton AntiTrack solution in India for Windows PCs and Macs that identifies and blocks trackers in real time. A top company executive told ABP Live that the solution is "tuned" for India and it will be launched for smartphones soon.
"The solution is coming fairly soon (for smartphones). We are focused on cyber safety platforms, trying to make sure that you as an individual have seamless, robust security offering from Nortonavailable across all your platforms, regardless of what operating systems or what form factors you are on," Ritesh Chopra, Norton Director India and SAARC Countries, NortonLifeLock, told ABP Live in an interview.
"...Like I said, it could be next 30 days, 60 days, maybe that timeframe. It is definitely in the pipeline to be launched," Chopra added.
Norton's new app and browser extension for Mac and Windows PCs is called Norton AntiTrack and it essentially lets people take control of their online privacy and keep their data private. The user’s digital identity is kept private from tracking and fingerprinting attempts, with anti-fingerprinting technology returning untraceable data back to the sites visited, and also without sacrificing their Mac or PC’s speed.
Norton's biggest R&D unit is in India
Tempe, Arizona headquartered Norton LifeLock merged with Czech-based multinational cybersecurity software major Avast in September, almost a year after they announced their intent to merge. Norton Lifelock is currently selling its security solutions in about 150 countries globally. Notably, the company's biggest research and development (R&D) facility is in India.
"So we've got a development centre which is the biggest out of any other that we have. We have a few other in several countries but we have two in India, one is in Pune and one is in Chennai. So Pune has the smaller and Chennai is bigger. So in combination, I think in India, we have close about 700 people in R&D," Chopra informed.
What is Norton AntiTrack solution?
According to Norton's in-house Cyber Safety Insights Report, 4/5th of Indians surveyed (82 per cent) say they are more alarmed than ever about their online privacy and 86 per cent want to do more to protect their privacy. Nearly half (47 per cent) believe it’s impossible to protect their privacy. Norton Labs Research also shows that no matter how many trackers you encounter at the end of the week, almost all of them know about you in just a few browsing hours.
Norton AntiTrack has been launched for Windows PCs and Macs, with an aim to helps consumers view and track third party attempts to gather their data, which means they can remain in control and informed about the tracking attempts that have been blocked. The user-friendly dashboard also lets consumers to choose if they wish to be tracked by third parties on a particular site.
Norton's competitors such as Check Point and McAfee currently do not offer a tool that can be used as a browser extension for anti tracking purposes.