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The Norton Core Home Router Covers All Facets of Internet Security

07.05.17 | By
The Norton Core Home Router Covers All Facets of Internet Security

Don’t let the Buckminster Fuller evocative design fool you, the Norton Core is a serious piece of home networking hardware – a wi-fi router designed for the homes of today increasingly populated with a variety Internet of Things devices, each hungry for signal and bandwidth, yet increasingly susceptible to malware infections.

Engineered as an all-in-one, home wireless router, the Core’s geodesic design is quite tastefully sculptural – a device intended to hide plainly in sight in a home office or even living room setting. It’s easy to imagine the faceted sphere mistaken for a decorative knick-knack in either Titanium Gold or Granite Gray exterior finish.

Inside, the Norton Core is outfitted to broadcast an ultrafast 802.11ac wi-fi signal using a phased-array, omnidirectional antenna design, its range and coverage bolstered with beamforming technology to focus the wi-fi signal efficiently to devices and accessories into every corner of an average sized home.

Underneath the 6″ x 6″ Core reveals connections for one Gigabit WAN port, three Gigabit LAN ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. The brains of the operation is a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, paired with 1GB RAM and 4GB eMMC Flash

Every device connected to the Core is in turn monitored and analyzed for suspicious activity. If any device on the network is compromised, the Core quarantines it to keep malware, viral, or hacking malfeasance to a minimum – an extra bit of insurance against uninvited “guests” gaining access to private information or home monitoring devices like web-enabled cameras.

Norton Core includes a one-year complimentary subscription to Norton Core Security Plus, but then defaults to an auto-renewal of $9.99/month; the subscription is required to enable the majority of network security measures that set the Core apart from most consumer-grade wireless routers. For the average consumer ill-versed in network security, the additional peace of mind an active and autonomous wi-fi monitoring system may justify the monthly costs.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.