macOS Big Sur Network Protection hangs traffic

All: Run this command line in console : sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/smbfs.kext 

Let us know if that corrects the issue after a system restart.

Cheers

Is your network trust in Norton set to public or private? Norton firewall by default will block SMB on a public trust network. 

Cheers

sjordi. Hoping this article will assist you.

Cheers

I am having the same issue with an SMB connection to a Windows 2012 server. I can connect to the server through Finder, browse all folders on the connection and copy files from the server to my Macbook Pro, but when I try to copy files to the Network server with Norton 360 installed, it will hang and eventually disconnect me from the network. I lose internet access like the OP, and I usually end up rebooting to get back to having network access. Renewing the DHCP lease while Norton was still on was hit or miss, as to if it restored the internet connection. I usually could not restore the server connection without rebooting.

I am waiting to hear of a fix or if there is a workaround. I have had the application and connection blocking turned off at times throughout the last two weeks of trying to sort through this but I can not say positively that they were off when I tried to copy files to the server. If there are log files that can be looked at, I will provide them accordingly.

Thanks,

Dave

Hi @D Minney & @TGYSKW,

Thank you for posting on the Norton Community. I have sent you a private message requesting additional information. Could you please check your inbox? Thank you. 

-Gayathri

I got a similar issue. My MacBook Pro 15 2018 (Big Sur 11.1) will get network disconnection whenever I initiate a file copy to my Synology NAS through network share. I have to remote the Norton Security from the network interface to make it work. 

Would Norton prompts to ask you re-enable it back? Thanks!

Hi,

Thank you for posting on the Norton Community. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. We are actively looking into this issue, and is our top priority. One of the challenges we have been facing is that, we have not been able to readily replicate some of the issues you have reported in-house. However, the insights that you have been sharing, in terms of description of the experiences you are going through and the logs have been helpful. We sincerely appreciate your patience. We will further update this thread as developments unfold. Once again, thank you. 

-Gayathri

I really don't see how you can claim not to be able to repeat the issue. I have 4 Mac's, 2 of them running Catalina and 2 running Big Sur (11.1), the only Macs affected are the ones I upgraded to Big Sur. The problem appears when they try to connect to my NAS to backup to an SMB connected TimeMachine shared drive. Disabling Norton 360 Network Monitoring Service allows my Mac to connect to the internet and network resources. You are then constantly pestered to reenable the service by Norton 360. Not impressed at all with Norton's response to this. Not impressed one little bit. Just the latest in a long line of issues with the Mac version of Norton.

Big Sur has been released for more than a month. Users are still struggling and Norton can't even give a workaround. I regret so much to have signed up the subscription with my ISP...

It's hilarious when a level 2 support called me to follow up. They told me Big Sur is still in testing so things may be broken. Guess my call may have travelled the time machine and connected a person from the previous quarter.

Sjordi, NIS may be still under test on Big Sur but that it what developer version of the OS are for. These issues should never, NEVER, make it to paying customers. I'd be interested to hear what OS you use Norton on. I have Windows machines running Norton and the issues have been infrequent, but on Mac......its nothing short of a shambles. I wouldn't even have this software if it was freeware.

Having the same problem. Norton enabled. No internet. Connection to my networks servers lost and connection to my windows virtual machine lost as well. Keep having to reboot or turn Norton off. Need this fixed urgently!

It's a joke that they claimed they could not reproduce the problem on their side. Look like they are testing the software on a single Mac with no other settings, and that's all how they test it.

The level 2 support constantly approached me on the time greatly beyond the agreed time in my previous call. And the last call 2 days ago is even more hilarious that the remote support software can't even run on my Mac. They have no solution and could only end the call prematurely.

I have also noticed that file transfers are now painfully slow on machines I've upgraded to Big Sur. Removing Norton fixes the issue. Since my subscription runs out in 16 days, I've cancelled my automatic renewal and will be looking for a different AV subscription. Disgusting lack of customer service from Norton, and I advise everyone with the same issue to look elsewhere for your AV needs. Don't bother replying Norton, you've had your chance to retain my custom and you blew it!

An update.  Elevated to next level...supposed to call back by yesterday, however no call.  Will see if there's a call back in the coming days.

In the meantime, have delayed upgrading to Big Sur on our family's 2 other MBPs.  On my MBP, have stopped Norton's Firewall and turned on OS X firewall.  Should be okay since I'm not travelling so only using home network (where router has firewall also).

In the meantime will be looking for an alternative when our subscription ends in April...long time Norton user however this is ridiculous.

Thx @azdude for the suggestion on the alternative software suite...will look into them as well as others.

SoulAsylum,

Thank you for sharing the article...very helpful and provides context for the Norton "extensions" found under Privacy settings.  Very infuriating that Tech Support at Norton hasn't received this message, that Apple is presuming its apps and processes are more safe than others, and that Norton doesn't appear to be more proactive about addressing the situation (and at the very least, communicating to Mac users).

I just spent 90 minutes with Level 2 support who uninstalled and then tried to reinstall Norton several times.  I was left with a half-baked install that I uninstalled myself and then reinstalled after our support connection ended.  So after 90 minutes I'm back to where I was:  shut off Norton's firewall and use OS X firewall.

The article does raise a question as to whether Norton's anti-virus will work.  (It appears fine, however how would one know if it's actually on and scanning emails etc.?)

Finally, for what it's worth, the tech today elevated my case to Level 3.  Expecting a call in the next 2-3 days.  Based on the article, I'm not holding out any hope.

I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to Big Sur today, and I am regretting it… The upgrade seemed to go well, but soon I could tell there was a problem. After searching the Internet, I found this blog, and it is exactly the issue. When I had Norton 360 installed, doing pretty much anything with my NAS (WD EX4100) would cause all network connections to fail. Stopping and starting the network connections did not help – only a reboot. I tried disabling the Norton firewall, though maybe I didn't reboot after disabling it, I'm not sure now. In any case, it didn't seem to help. But after completely uninstalling Norton, my computer works fine.

This is disappointing… I was among the group of people affected by the Time Machine problem Norton had, which they finally fixed in the 8.5.10 release. I uninstalled and reinstalled Norton today, hoping that maybe that would help, but it didn't. The installation put version 8.6 on my machine. I tried several times to do a live update, but it never upgraded to 8.6.1. In any case, I'm not sure it would have helped anyway.

So this is strike two. Already my wife won't even consider using Norton on her machine due to all of the problems I have experienced, which makes the family plan I purchased quite a bit less valuable… I am back to not using it for now; and honestly, I'm not sure if I will again or not. In general I trust Norton, and trust is important when it comes to virus protection. I understand going through a rough patch, and I think clearly the development team has experienced some struggles this year. This really has to change, though. This sort of unreliability just doesn't cut it.

Here's hoping to a quick resolution to this problem.

It appears they are working on it.  Received a call from Norton Friday evening.  They removed previous version (8.6 build 175) of Norton installed new version (8.6.1 build 39).  That didn't work so they took logs from my MBP.  Said they they'll be in touch with 8.6.2 which he hoped would fix the problem.

Ditto to all the above. Upgraded to latest Norton 360 yesterday and it has made no difference. My NAS network connections crash when i try and copy or move files on the NAS. Have to remove the network monitoring, kill Norton 360, and reset my NAS connection.

This is really bad. It's been almost 2 months since this problem was first flagged.

Just adding wood to the fire.

I confirm that with MacOS Big Sur and Norton with Vulnerability Protection, I can't write into my NAS.

If I try all connections go down and I have to reboot the macbook pro.

Hope this is addressed soon.