Windows 8 is coming soon. If you update to Microsoft’s new Windows 8, you will still need Norton’s powerful protection from dangerous and emerging threats.

Norton is designed from the ground up not just to work with your PC, but to be the best protection for you and all of your devices. It's what Norton does. In fact, keeping your stuff safe from online threats everywhere is the only thing Norton does. You can be sure that all of our PC protection, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security and Norton 360, will provide the robust security solution you expect from an industry leader.

You have almost certainly heard by now about the exciting changes from Microsoft planned for Windows 8. If you have followed the press or, better yet, played with the Windows 8 Developer Preview, then you know that this OS could change the way people think of the traditional PC. By incorporating a “touch-first” interface and introducing the Metro-UI to PC users, Microsoft is attempting to combine the rich functionality we have come to expect from our laptops and desktops with the convenience and simplicity provided by tablet, or “slate,” devices. Consumers currently have a lot of options when it comes to Android tablets, full functioning e-Readers, and, of course, iPads. Windows 8 provides an all-in-one option for people who do not want to learn how to use a new operating system just so that they can surf the web from their couch.

In addition to the new range of computing experiences that Windows 8 provides, Microsoft is hoping that Windows 8 will also change the game with regard to Windows security. The folks in Redmond have been getting more serious about security for some time now. The Vista operating system, while a failure in terms of sales, was an honest attempt to lock down the operating system. This effort was tuned in the Windows 7 release to wide acclaim. With Windows 8, Microsoft is raising the bar once again by updating the default security solution provided with the OS, enhancing its reputation-based security, and by adding functionality to watch for the deadliest threats.

As we’ve explained in our recent W32.Stuxnet blog series, Stuxnet infects Windows systems in its search for SCADA programming software. SCADA systems consist of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), which can be thought of as mini-computers that can be programmed from a Windows system. These PLCs contain special code that controls the automation of industrial processes—for instance, to control machinery in a plant or a factory. SCADA programmers use software (e.g., on a Windows PC) to create SCADA code and then upload their code to the PLCs.

Previously, we reported that Stuxnet can steal SCADA code and design projects and also hide itself using a classic Windows rootkit, but unfortunately it can also do much more. Stuxnet has the ability to take advantage of the programming software to also upload its own SCADA code to the PLC. In addition, Stuxnet then hides these code blocks, so when a programmer using an infected machine tries to view all of the code blocks on a PLC, they will not see the code injected by Stuxnet. Thus, Stuxnet isn’t just a rootkit that hides itself on Windows, but is the first publicly known SCADA rootkit that is able to hide injected SCADA code located on a PLC.

Identity Safe offers to automatically fill in your logins on those Web pages for which you have saved the logins. However, you can configure Identity Safe to not use logins and cards to automatically fill details in a Web page.

You must be logged in to Identity Safe to delete a URL from the Autofill Exclusions list.

The Autofill Exclusions feature lets you view the Web pages for which you asked Identity Safe to not save your logins or automatically fill forms. Identity Safe remembers your decision and does not prompt you to use the logins or cards that are available in Identity Safe.

When you do not want Identity Safe to automatically fill the details, you can use Do not Autofill this page option. This option is available in the Cards & Logins menu on the Norton Toolbar.

Identity Safe stores and manages your sensitive information. It becomes difficult to manage all of the identity numbers that you use when you browse the Web. Manage Notes stores all your sensitive IDs in a very secure way and lets you use them easily when you are online. Use Manage Notes to include information such as social security number, drivers license number, insurance policy number, and legal and financial information.

You can use Manage Notes to store your personal information, which you can retrieve and use when needed. You can use this information to fill out Web site registration forms. You can also view, edit, and delete the notes that you have saved.

Good security practice requires that you regularly change the password for a login. You can keep your login credentials in Identity Safe updated every time you change your password for a Web page. The updated information is automatically filled the next time you visit that login's associated Web page.

You can also update your new login information in Identity Safe when you are on the Web page. Identity Safe asks you if you want to update your logins.

Identity Safe lets you save your logins when you log in to a Web page for the first time. You can save multiple logins for the same Web page. You can also save the same login for different Web pages.

When you provide your login credentials on a Web site, Identity Safe displays the Save your Login dialog box. You can use the Organize this Login drop-down list to save your login in a general folder. The folders that you create appear in the Save your Login dialog box. You can choose from the folders that are available in the drop-down list.

After Identity Safe saves a login, it automatically fills the login details next time you visit the Web page.

When you create a portable profile, Norton Internet Security creates a folder, Norton Identity Safe Data, in the root directory. It also creates an index file, which is an invisible file that tracks the location of the Norton Identity Safe Data folder. The Missing Profile dialog appears when Norton Internet Security is unable to locate the Norton Identity Safe Data folder.

When you insert an external drive, after you set up a local profile, Identity Safe automatically detects the presence of the drive. It offers you the option to create a portable profile. In case you have already configured a portable profile in the drive, you have the option to switch to the portable profile.

If you do not want Norton Internet Security to display the Switch Profile window next time, you can check the Don't ask again option.

There may be instances when you may need to either restore your Identity Safe data or reset Identity Safe settings.

Identity Safe lets you import the logins that you have saved in Internet Explorer. Immediately after you create an Identity Safe profile and save a password for it, the Import Logins dialog box appears. You can use this dialog box to import your logins.

The imported logins appear in the Cards & Logins menu on the Norton Toolbar and in the Manage Logins window. You can use the imported logins the same way that you use the logins that you create.

Norton Internet Security provides the Identity Safe Setup option to create local profile and portable profile. The option disappears after you successfully create local profile a portable profile.

You can use the Set up Norton Identity Safe window to set a password for the profile that you create and also provide a name for the profile. By default, the Windows User Account name appears as the profile name. You can rename it if necessary.

You can create a local profile for each Windows User Account on your computer. The data that you save and the Identity Safe settings that you make are specific to that local profile. You cannot access the data that you save in one Windows User Account from another Windows User Account. This way Identity Safe protects your sensitive data from the misuse of multiple users of your computer.

In addition to the profile that you create on a Windows User Account, you can also save your Identity Safe data on an external drive. The profile that you create on a removable drive is called portable profile.

Norton Safe Search enhances your Web search experience. When you search the Internet using Norton Safe Search, it uses Ask.com to generate search results. Norton Safe Search provides site safety status and Norton rating for each of the search results generated.

By default, the Norton Safe Search box is disabled. After you install Norton Internet Security and open Internet Explorer or Firefox for the first time, an alert message is displayed. The alert message prompts you to enable Norton Safe Search. You can choose to enable or disable Norton Safe Search.

As you type a few letters in the search box, Norton Safe Search displays the search suggestions in the search box pop-up. You can see the search suggestions after you type three or more characters in the search box. It also provides you the intelligent search-as-you-type feature that displays search suggestions when you type a few letters of the search phrase.

You can view the status of your wireless network in the Network Security Map window. The Network Security Map displays the status of your wireless network as secure or not secure. A secure network requires a strong wireless encryption. If your wireless network is not secure, you can turn on encryption on your wireless router.

The trust level determines the default level of access that devices on your network have to your computer. Any device on your network that is not explicitly Trusted or Restricted uses the trust level of your network. The initial network trust level is set based on the configuration of your computer.

The trust level of a device also depends on the trust level of its network. When you change the trust level of a network, Norton Internet Security assigns the same trust level to all the devices that are connected to that network. However, Norton Internet Security does not change the trust level of the devices that you individually trust or restrict.

You can view the details and change the name of your network in the Edit Network Details window.

You can change the name and category of a device that is available on the Network Security Map. You can select the categories such as Generic Device, Laptop, Media Device, or Game Console.

You cannot change the category of the device that you added manually. By default, Norton Internet Security displays the category of the manually added device as USER DEFINED.

The Network Security Map window displays different icons, depending on the category that you select. Icons help you to identify the devices that are listed in the Network Map.

You can find a computer's IP address in various ways. On Windows 2000/XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 computers, you can use Ipconfig to find the IP address of a computer.

Ipconfig reports the IP address of its local computer only. You must run this program on the computer that you want to identify.