Symantec has updated its DeepSight Threat Management System, making the online security service less expensive and, the company says, easier to use.

DeepSight's revised interface means users will have an easier time getting access to security information, according to Dee Liebenstein, group product manager with Symantec. The company also has simplified the DeepSight search process, she says. "We looked at some of the more common queries, and we added quick look-ups for our customers," she says.

Customers also will receive comprehensive threat-analysis information about spyware and adware, Liebenstein says.

The DeepSight service provides security data that is gathered from Symantec's network of more than 150 million desktop anti-virus users and intrusion-detection sensors, as well as information stored in the company's large vulnerability database.

For Symantec, the challenge has been to winnow down this overwhelming amount of information and provide users with data that is relevant to their particular situation, says Andrew Jaquith, senior analyst with The Yankee Group. "DeepSight has always been a little challenged, because the service tends to feel like a 'fun security facts of the day' [service]," he says.

With the new version, however, things have improved, Jaquith says. "They're getting closer to answering the 'so what?' question, which is really the problem that has bedeviled this and other services like it," he says.

One feature that makes DeepSight's information more immediately relevant is domain alert, which notifies customers when their own Internet domain is named within the payload of malicious code - something that, for example, could help customers know when their identity is being misrepresented in a phishing attack. "This lets them know, 'This is something that's a bigger risk to you than it is to the guy next door,'" Liebenstein says.

DeepSight Version 7.0 is available. Pricing is being lowered to make the service available to a broader range of users. DeepSight starts at $14,995 per year, but with Version 7.0, that fee will drop to $9,995 per year, Liebenstein says.