Suddenly, I can't access various foreign web channels via Express VPN on Chrome or Safari. I'm being told that I have an ad blocker, but I haven't installed one, so it must be Norton Antivirus (for macOS - Sonoma 14.5) that's causing this. Does anyone have a solution for this? I've tried everything, including completely disabling Norton, but that doesn't help either. Using Incognito webbrowser doesn't help either ;)
Hello @LA2024
Welcome to Norton Community
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Our ad blocker filters out most display ads and stops them from loading and appearing on your browser. Included with every ExpressVPN subscription.
How to turn ExpressVPN’s ad blocker on and off
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https://www.expressvpn.com/features/ad-blocker
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Safari does not have a built-in ad blocker feature to block ads, unlike some other browsers such as Chrome.
Chrome removes ads from websites that violate the Better Ads Standards. The standards discourage the types of ads that are particularly annoying to people.
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/7632919
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Note:
Norton Secure VPN includes an ad tracker blocking feature.
Norton 360 does not include an ad blocker feature.
Features of Norton 360
https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v70057459
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Websites often block VPN access for legal or copyright reasons. There is nothing a VPN provider can do to get around these blocks.
Contact the individual sites to see if they block VPN access. Many sites do this for legal/copyright reasons.
A VPN service does not block access to any sites. There is no white/black lists for sites.
Websites have the right to protect their content. And sometimes there are legal reasons for blocking access to users from a different geographic location.
Some VPN providers may have found ways to circumvent these legal protections. But Norton is not here to bypass legal protection. If you are one that wants to access this kind of legally protected content, then maybe you would be better served with another product. (credit peterweb)
Why Do Some Websites Block VPNs?
One of the only ways to protect your right to privacy and information online is to use a VPN. Some websites infringe on those rights by blocking VPNs, but they do it for a good reason.
The big names that are notorious for blacklisting VPNs are Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and the BBC. It’s hard to figure out exactly how many websites block VPN access, but the number could be in the thousands. Most of these sites aren’t actively at war with VPNs, but they manage to blacklist a lot of VPN IP addresses over time passively.
https://www.howtogeek.com/403771/why-do-some-websites-block-vpns/
Some streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Showtime, offer geo-restricted content that makes it unavailable in certain regions. These services also block the content if they detect a VPN, a proxy, or an unblocker service as a method to bypass the geo-restrictions.
If the content is available in your region, make sure that you disconnect Norton Secure VPN before you access the streaming services or apps.
https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v121513457