End of Support Life for Endpoint Protection 12.1

Products

Endpoint Protection

Issue/Introduction

On April 3, 2017, Symantec announced the End of Life (EOL) for Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1.

Important Dates of Note

Milestone	Date	Impact
End of Life (EOL)	4/3/2017	Ceasing marketing or distributing of a product or a version release of Licensed Software. The End of Life date starts the timeline and process leading to End of Support for the Major Release and its related Minor Releases and Maintenance Packs.
End of New Sale Availability (EONSA)	4/3/2017	Following this date, new customers are no longer able to order licenses, or initial support services through the price list for the EOL product and version. Existing customers may continue to renew until End of Extended Support Life date, and to add quantity until the End of Access Date. The final year's support renewal is prorated and automatically end on the End of Extended Support (End of Support Life) date. After End of New Sale Availability, Symantec may continue to sell Education and Consulting services for the EOL product and version.
End of Access (EOA)	4/3/2018	Following this date, existing customers may no longer obtain additional licenses of an EOL product and version. All customer requests for new or renewed licenses of an EOL product and version shall be referred to their Sales representative or Partner for a discussion on how to migrate to the current version.
End of Standard Support Life (EOSSL)	4/3/2019	Standard Support for EOL products can be renewed by existing customers for up to 2 years after the EOL announcement date at a 20% uplift on the previous year's purchase price. Renewals are prorated to end at the End of Extended Support Life date. After the End of Standard Support date, existing customers may continue to renew but are required to pay full list price for Extended Support for up to 2 additional years. Other components of maintenance (e.g., content) remain the same This end date is the point we stop doing bug fixes for the product.
End of Extended Support Life (EOESL)	4/3/2021	Extended Support will be available to existing customers in years 3 and 4 after the EOL Announcement date at full list price. No discounting is approved. Renewals are prorated to end at the End of Extended Support Life date. After End of Extended Support, Technical Support is not offered for the EOL product and version. However, Symantec may continue to grant customers access to the knowledge base or continue to provide assistance through a fee-based service. After End of Extended Support, customers are no longer able to renew the EOL product and version. This date is the point when the product is no longer available on MySymantec and we stop publishing content updates (definitions).

For more information regarding the services provided in Standard Support, Extended Support, and Content Updates, please refer to the Technical Support Policy.

FAQ

Does this mean Symantec is no longer providing content or signature updates for SEP 12.1?
- SEP 12.1 definitions will no longer be available as of May 19th 2021. Further 12.1 content information here.
Will Symantec still fix bugs in SEP 12.1?
- We will continue to provide bug fixes until the End of Standard Support Life date on April 3, 2019.
Is a migration required?
- To continue receiving product updates, content/signature updates, or technical support a migration will be required after April 3, 2021.
What is the suggested migration path?
- Upgrade or migrate to Endpoint Protection 14
What happens for customers who do nothing?
- On April 3, 2021 the customer will no longer be able to access technical support services. On May 19th 2021 the 12.1 clients will no longer update.

Resolution

With the end of support life of Endpoint Protection 12.x quickly approaching, Symantec recommends that you upgrade all Endpoint Protection 12.x environments to Endpoint Protection 14.

What this means to you

Endpoint Protection 12.x clients no longer download updates from Symantec LiveUpdate, any SEPM (12.x or 14.x), or an internal LiveUpdate Administrator as of May 19th 2021.
- There will be no new 12.x definitions after May 19th 2021 and these clients will no longer update after this date via any means. These clients must be updated to a supported version to continue receiving updates.
- Intrusion Prevention, Proactive Threat Protection, and all other content are not available for download through any means.
Endpoint Protection 12.x is no longer supported by Technical Support.
- If a problem does occur, your only course of action with Technical Support is to upgrade to Endpoint Protection 14. All other requests for support are denied.

What's new in Endpoint Protection 14?

Endpoint Protection 14 has implemented new features and technologies to more fully protect your environment. The following is a new feature comparison list between 12.x and 14:

Feature	Endpoint Protection 12.x	Endpoint Protection 14	Description
Improved Protection and Performance
IPS and Browser Intrusion Prevention	✔	✔	Scans network traffic for indications of or attempted intrusions, or attacks that are directed at browser vulnerabilities
Symantec Insight reputation analysis	✔	✔	Separates files with risky reputation from those that are safe, for faster and more accurate malware detection.
Behavioral monitoring (SONAR)	✔	✔	SONAR examines programs as they run, identifying and stopping malicious behavior
Signature Detection	✔	✔	Traditional reactive malware detection technologies.
Advanced Machine Learning		✔	Advanced Machine Learning (AML) on the endpoint for improved static detections of unknown threats.
Intelligent Threat Cloud – helps reduce definition files sizes by 70%		✔	Rapid cloud lookup of virus definitions using patented techniques. Helps reduce definition size updates.
Memory Exploit Mitigation		✔	Hardening to protect against zero-day exploits of vulnerabilities in common applications.
New Emulator scans 15% faster		✔	Static Data Scanning detects custom packed malware. Improves scan performance and effectiveness.
LiveUpdate Enhancements		✔	New content: Security patches for Windows clients and Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) definitions
SONAR Enable Suspicious Behavior Detection		✔	Keep behavior policy enforcement protection of applications ON when SONAR scoring is off.
SONAR scan files on remote computers		✔	Recommend: enable the Only when files are executed option for protection and performance
Application Hash Value Report		✔	Reports the hash value - use instead of an application's name to add to policies that block applications
Orchestration, Usability, and Scale
User Interface for SEPM		✔	New look and feel, in addition to new icons and fonts
In-Product Notifications		✔	The latest news regarding SEP within SEPM UI and an informational alert when the “Endpoint Protection Notification” page is Updated
Group Update Provider (GUP) Supernet		✔	The super subnet mask lets you add a subnet which encompasses multiple subnets, reducing the number of explicit entries from thousands to a few.
Custom Replication Schedule		✔	Run replication multiple times a day across multiple locations, improving effective reporting while preventing deadlocks on SEPM.
REST APIs		✔	For integration with other security infrastructure like Edge Secure Web Gateway (formerly ProxySG).
Mac Enhancements		✔	Configure a Device Control policy for Mac clients to manage removable devices, such as USBs and FireWire. AutoUpgrade from SEPM added for Mac.

Read What’s New in Symantec Endpoint Protection 14 for more details about these and other enhancements

Conclusion

The benefits of upgrading to Endpoint Protection 14 go well beyond the end of virus definition updates, security updates, and technical support for version 12.x. Endpoint Protection 14 provides overall improved security and better protects your environment today, as well as tomorrow.

Additional Information

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