A couple months ago I went from Win 7 to Win 8... no upgrade path... I always do a fresh installation on a new drive. When I first went to NSS v20 on the Win 7 setup, I had issues getting directories to stick for both "Items to Exclude from Scans" and "Items to Exclude from Auto-Protect, SONAR and Download Intelligence Detection". I would add the directories using the Add - Folders option and they would list properly, but the next time I went back in, everything I added was gone. At some point they began to stick but I had to constantly monitor them until I was satisfied they would stick permantly.
I didn't have that problem after upgrading to Win 8, but yesterday Auto-Protect began scanning my system while completely ignoring the excluded directories.I couldn't stop the scan or turn off Auto-Protect due to three Unresolved Security Risks but letting Norton restart the system, wouldn't clear them, so the situation ended up in a vicious circle. I was finally able to have Norton ignore the excluded directories again by removing them, then adding them back in. The scan eventually stopped but the Unresolved Security Risks were still there so Norton continued to ask me to restart my system.
I found a post in the Community Forums about deleting the most recent entry in the QBackup directory to clear the Unresolved Security Risks but it didn't work. So I ended up exporting all the information into text files, restoring all the deleted files, then deleting everything in the QBackup directory. I'm now at a point where the Unresolved Security Risks are no longer listed, but everytime I boot into Windows, Norton still wants me to restart my comuter.
My version of Comcast NSS 20.3.1.22.
This issue of Norton suddenly ignoring the folders I add in those two lists is aggrivating to say the least. In Win 7 I couldn't get the entries to stick, and now in Win 8 they are suddenly ignored. Are those entries stored in multiple locations? Is it possible for those entries to be deleted yet still show up in Settings? Can anyone tell me exactly where that information is stored?
How can I get Norton to stop asking me to reboot? The Security Request Popup says my computer must restart in order to continue the removal of Security Risks. And I'm still unable to make any changes in Auto-Protect since that page says the settings cannot be changed due to a pending remediation action, and wants me to restart.
When restoring the deleted files, I noticed one in particular Norton was restoring the Registry entries but there couldn't have been any Registry entries to begin with since the file was never executed. So does this mean I now have those entries in my Registry?
This area is not one I am extremely knowledgeable in, however just a few general questions/suggestions.
Are you using a windows User account with admin priveledges? A limited user account can not change any settings in NSS by default so that would casue the changes not to stick. There is a setting that can be changed if you desire a limited account to be able to change the settings.
Also you found the old post about clearing the entry in the Qback directory - did it suggest you disable Norton Tamper Protection (from main page of NSS > Settings > Administratcie Settings > scroll down to Product Security > Norton Product Tamper Protection) prior to attempting the removal?
Sorry I an not help more - hopefully someone has run into this situation before and can assist more.
A couple months ago I went from Win 7 to Win 8... no upgrade path... I always do a fresh installation on a new drive. When I first went to NSS v20 on the Win 7 setup, I had issues getting directories to stick for both "Items to Exclude from Scans" and "Items to Exclude from Auto-Protect, SONAR and Download Intelligence Detection". I would add the directories using the Add - Folders option and they would list properly, but the next time I went back in, everything I added was gone. At some point they began to stick but I had to constantly monitor them until I was satisfied they would stick permantly.
I didn't have that problem after upgrading to Win 8, but yesterday Auto-Protect began scanning my system while completely ignoring the excluded directories.I couldn't stop the scan or turn off Auto-Protect due to three Unresolved Security Risks but letting Norton restart the system, wouldn't clear them, so the situation ended up in a vicious circle. I was finally able to have Norton ignore the excluded directories again by removing them, then adding them back in. The scan eventually stopped but the Unresolved Security Risks were still there so Norton continued to ask me to restart my system.
I found a post in the Community Forums about deleting the most recent entry in the QBackup directory to clear the Unresolved Security Risks but it didn't work. So I ended up exporting all the information into text files, restoring all the deleted files, then deleting everything in the QBackup directory. I'm now at a point where the Unresolved Security Risks are no longer listed, but everytime I boot into Windows, Norton still wants me to restart my comuter.
My version of Comcast NSS 20.3.1.22.
This issue of Norton suddenly ignoring the folders I add in those two lists is aggrivating to say the least. In Win 7 I couldn't get the entries to stick, and now in Win 8 they are suddenly ignored. Are those entries stored in multiple locations? Is it possible for those entries to be deleted yet still show up in Settings? Can anyone tell me exactly where that information is stored?
How can I get Norton to stop asking me to reboot? The Security Request Popup says my computer must restart in order to continue the removal of Security Risks. And I'm still unable to make any changes in Auto-Protect since that page says the settings cannot be changed due to a pending remediation action, and wants me to restart.
When restoring the deleted files, I noticed one in particular Norton was restoring the Registry entries but there couldn't have been any Registry entries to begin with since the file was never executed. So does this mean I now have those entries in my Registry?
Whether the files are infected or not, Norton is not supposed to take any action on files within a folder that has been excluded under both "Items to exclude from Scans" and "Items to exclude from Auto-Protect, SONAR and Download Intelligence Detection". If you create a directory, exclude the directory in both categories, copy 5 known infected files into that directory, then right click on the directory and have Norton scan that directory, it will not find any threats, nor will it delete the files. That's the whole purpose of the exclusion options... to exclude files and/or directories. In fact if you run an infected file within an excluded directory, Norton will block the infection, but it still won't delete it from the directory.
But to answer your question, yes the files are infected, but they are there for development reasons and have never been run. They have also been there for years and Norton never touched them until now.
I forgot to mention, during the vicious circle, I did run LiveUpdate multiple times. You're correct about running more than once because it will perform updates as though it's finished, but running it again could perform more updates. It performed 3 updates the first time, 4 or 5 the second time, then said it was up to date. Rebooted but Norton continued on the same course.
Wasn't aware of Autofix, although I did click on Support and the window said Norton was checking the installation (which I now assume was Autofix) but it just kept running so I finally terminated the task. Any idea how long it takes to run? I waited quite a while but maybe that still wasn't long enough.
I am the only user and running as an administrator. I've been in Admistrative Settings and 'Non-Admins Access to Settings" is turned Off so if anyone... including me... logs in as a non-administrator, they can't make any changes. Not that this would ever happen but it was a precaution.
Yes, the old post said I would have to disable Norton Tamper Protection, which I did do. I tried to delete everything within the directory but I could not delete the index.qbs file. I did verify all the directories were gone and the Security History was empty but maybe the problem lies in the index.qbs file. I think I read somewhere if the QBackup directory was deleted, Norton would re-establish it. I need to give that a try, or try again to delete the index.qbs file, to see if that helps.
People should post even if they think what they say may not help. In this case, both you and peterweb gave me some good ideas so hopefully something will come out of those clues. I'll report back either way.
Whether the files are infected or not, Norton is not supposed to take any action on files within a folder that has been excluded under both "Items to exclude from Scans" and "Items to exclude from Auto-Protect, SONAR and Download Intelligence Detection". If you create a directory, exclude the directory in both categories, copy 5 known infected files into that directory, then right click on the directory and have Norton scan that directory, it will not find any threats, nor will it delete the files. That's the whole purpose of the exclusion options... to exclude files and/or directories. In fact if you run an infected file within an excluded directory, Norton will block the infection, but it still won't delete it from the directory.
But to answer your question, yes the files are infected, but they are there for development reasons and have never been run. They have also been there for years and Norton never touched them until now.
I forgot to mention, during the vicious circle, I did run LiveUpdate multiple times. You're correct about running more than once because it will perform updates as though it's finished, but running it again could perform more updates. It performed 3 updates the first time, 4 or 5 the second time, then said it was up to date. Rebooted but Norton continued on the same course.
Wasn't aware of Autofix, although I did click on Support and the window said Norton was checking the installation (which I now assume was Autofix) but it just kept running so I finally terminated the task. Any idea how long it takes to run? I waited quite a while but maybe that still wasn't long enough.
I stand to be corrected if I am wrong, but I believe the exclusions are for the regular manual and automatic scans of your system. If you specifically request a scan of a folder, Norton should scan regardless of automatic settings.
I understand your issue is the settings not seeming to stay set. Did you check Yank's suggestion that you are logged into an admin account when changing the settings.
To your Autofix question...If it was taking a long time, it could indicate that there was in fact come bits and bytes that are not necessarily in the right place with your installation. The length of time will depend on what Autofix is finding and trying to fix. Try restarting your computer and running Autofix again and letting it run as long as it takes.
I have specifically requrested a manual scan of an excluded folder which contained a known virus. I did it intentionally to see what Norton would do. You are correct that Norton will scan fhe folder like it would any other folder, BUT it will not remove or even acknowledge any virus files exist within that folder.
If a folder which has not been excluded contains three virus files, file (a) was excluded but not (b) or (c), then Norton will still scan the folder, acknowledge and quarantine (b) and (c) but make no mention of (a).
I think it would be more appropriate if Norton would acknowledge all the virus files but indicate which file(s) were quarantined and which file(s) were not, due to the user set exclusions.
Since I managed to fix the restart loop... see my next comment to yank... I no longer have to run Autofix, but I like the concept and plan on running it later this week just to make sure it does finish the process and to see the results.
I attempted to delete the "index.qbs" file again, but couldn't. However, this time I noticed it wasn't due to Administrative rights, but because the file was in use. So I went into Safe Mode... which I've never done in Windows 8 before, and what a pain it is... and deleted the file that way.
Returned to normal mode and verified the file was reconstructed by Norton. Also noticed Norton had already begun creating other files and directories within that folder which I thought was a good sign. Sure enough, the reboot issue is gone and I'm no longer locked in to some items within Norton Settings. So everything is back to normal.
I still need to find out why the exclusions I applied suddently stopped working but at this point I think it's best to stop here and bring those up in a new thread.
You are welcome and so glad you got it figured out - even though we are still not sure of the root cause.
I ran into something similar (file in use) when I was trying to make changes to a file that was related to ID safe. I had to close my Vault in order to be able to make the change. Not sure what would have to be shut down in order to permit "index.qbs" to be deleted - but why worry as we now know that safe Mode works.
Thanks for the feedback.
I went ahead and unmarked my post as the solution and remarked your last post as I feel the real solution was your post. Hope that's OK with you, as I feel folks looking for an answer will get more out of your response than mine!
I felt somewhat odd giving myself credit (ha) considering your post is what had me think of it, but the bottom line is at least that portion of the issue has been resolved.
You're correct that we don't know what actually caused the problem to begin with, especially considering the excluded entries were still listed within Norton Settings. If this was the only time I had that issue, I just might call it a fluke and forget it. But that's why I mentioned the similar problem I had on the Windows 7 system. I still plan to create another post to try and find out the answer... maybe I'll get lucky.
I agree, please do start a new thread and hopefully we can some input from Nortonemployees - as they do monitor these boards - of course the 4th of July weekend may slow down the responses!
