Over the next few weeks, Symantec will launch products aimed at new customers using the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, while still expanding the capabilities to support their software.

On Wednesday, Symantec announced Backup Exec 11d, the software that was tested earlier this year. Officially available on November 6, this latest upgrade will add data recovery support to Microsoft Exchange using the technology named Symantec's "crude recovery technology" ( granular recovery technology).

This feature can restore a personal e-mail, not just an e-mail mailbox. It can also be used for data containing SharePoint Portal Server or Active Directory, Microsoft software for management identification, such as in the case of recovering a deleted user account.

Backup Exec 11d software, also supports SQL Server, continuously backs up data as soon as it has been created. Users can choose 128-bit or 256-bit encryption. The software also works with 64-bit Windows environments, Symantec said.

Antivirus for Vista

Symantec claims to be ready for Vista images 1 Symantec also announced the launch of a new test version of Antivirus Corporate and Antivirus Enterprise software in early December. Antivirus 10.2 is now available for free download for customers who are testing Symantec's Vista version. Both software support 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista.

The Enterprise Edition version has an antispyware tool with an integrated interface for antivirus, firewall and intrusion prevention functions. Both antivirus versions will be released within 30 days of Windows Vista's official launch, scheduled to be sold to customers this month.

Early next month, Symantec will release Ghost Solution Suite 2.0, a management and provisioning tool for Windows computers on a network. Version 2.0 supports Vista and 64-bit Windows computers.

This version is also very new to editing NTFS file system images. Ghost Solution supports the GUID partition table to capture larger image files, explained by Symantec, making it easier to switch to Vista. The GUID partition table is currently used in some hardware systems, such as Intel's Itanium processor.

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