An update for the company's Norton Antivirus software has yet again caused problems with its customers' computers.

Symantec is looking for beta testers for two of its newest products, Norton Internet Security 2008 and Norton AntiVirus 2008. Both are slated to ship later this year, but the company has opened up the beta process to iron out the bugs before its final release. One of the major new features included in both applications is SONAR, which stands for Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response.

In other antivirus news, Symantec also released the second beta of Norton Antivirus 2001 for Windows. This latest version includes all of the features of Norton 2001 with added script blocking technologies to prevent your computer from executing arbitrary code that could be brought on by an e-mail worm. The first 50 users to submit undocumented bugs in the software will win free copies of the final release.

Security software vendor McAfee is seeking beta testers for its Total Protection suite, which combines 12 tools into one, much like Microsoft's Live OneCare and Symantec's Norton 360. Although the company doesn't specify, it's likely testing the 2009 edition of the product, which is version 3.0.

Symantec Corporation, maker of the popular suite of utilities to protect and repair computer systems, has announced open beta testing of its new program Norton Personal Firewall 2000.

Security software vendor Symantec is seeking beta testers for its 2007 line of products, including Norton AntiVirus, Internet Security and Norton Save & Restore. The company also has a number of new products in the pipeline, which will be provided to the Symantec Beta Testing Team.

Yahoo and Symantec announced a partnership on Tuesday that will promote the company's Internet security products to Yahoo's users. Several Yahoo services would be enhanced with online versions of Symantec products, including Yahoo Mail, Toolbar and HotJobs. Additionally a co-branded version of Norton Internet Security will be offered.

A faulty update sent to users of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security prevented them from signing into America Online for several hours Wednesday. According to Symantec, the problem was traced to a part of the software that prevents attackers from accessing a computer through open ports.

Symantec is cleaning up a feature in Norton SystemWorks that uses a rootkit-like technique to hide a system folder from Windows. The technology works similar to Sony BMG's controversial rootkit DRM in the way it masks files and makes them invisible to the operating system.

Symantec, creator of the popular antivirus software Norton, purchased security firm Sygate earlier this week in a deal that will add to the software maker's already impressive line of acquisitions in the past year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.