Hello @DorisI_Meyer
Google Takeout online tool? … https://takeout.google.com/ ?
Do you run Norton Safe Web extension?
What Norton 360 engine/extension blocks files?
Google Takeout is a free online tool provided by Google’s “Data Liberation Front” that allows users to export, download, and archive a copy of their data from various Google services. This service helps you gain control over your personal data, create a backup, or transfer your information to another account or service.
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fwiw ~ AI Mode
Norton is likely blocking your Google archived data (via Google Takeout) because its security features, such as Safe Web or Download Intelligence, are misidentifying the archive files (which contain sensitive personal data in a structured format) as potential security threats (a false positive). This can happen with legitimate software/downloads, especially when dealing with data that could potentially be misused in phishing or calendar spam attacks.
Steps to resolve the issue
To download your files, you need to adjust Norton’s settings to allow the specific download, and then revert the settings after the download is complete.
- Temporarily Disable Relevant Norton Features
You may need to temporarily turn off the specific Norton features that are interfering with the download.
- Turn off Download Intelligence: This feature checks the reputation of the file you are downloading.
- Turn off Safe Web extensions: The browser extensions can sometimes block legitimate websites or downloads even if the main application settings are adjusted.
- Turn off Auto-Protect and Smart Firewall: In some cases, these core protections might need to be temporarily disabled, but only do so if the other steps fail and you are confident the source (Google Takeout) is safe.
Steps to adjust settings:
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Open your Norton device security application.
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Navigate to Settings > Security > Advanced Security (or similar path depending on your version).
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Find the relevant settings like Safe Web, Download Intelligence, Auto-Protect, or Smart Firewall.
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Disable the specific feature(s) temporarily. You will be prompted to select a duration (e.g., “for 15 minutes” or “until system restart”). Select the shortest necessary duration to complete the download safely.
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Try downloading the Google archive file again using the Google Takeout service.
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Add an Exception (Advanced)
If you have frequent need for this, you can add an exception for the specific file or the Google Takeout URL within Norton’s settings, but this is a security risk and generally not recommended.
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Re-Enable Norton Protection
Crucially, once your download is complete and the file is saved locally, immediately re-enable all the Norton features you turned off to restore your computer’s full protection.
Alternative Approach
If disabling features in the main application doesn’t work, the issue might be with the Norton browser extension itself.
- Open your browser (Firefox or Chrome).
- Go to the browser’s Extensions or Add-ons settings.
- Find the Norton Safe Web extension (or similar) and disable it temporarily.
- Download your archive file.
- Re-enable the extension immediately afterward.
If the problem persists, ensure your Norton product and browsers are up to date, and consider contacting Norton Support directly, as this might be a known false positive issue they can resolve in their definition updates.
AI Mode may make mistakes
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fwiw ~ AI Mode
Norton might incorrectly flag Google Takeout files as malicious due to several security mechanisms that generate false positives. These mechanisms are designed to be proactive in detecting potential threats, but they can sometimes misinterpret the nature of legitimate data archives.
Key reasons for the false positive:
- Heuristics and Behavioral Analysis: Modern antivirus software like Norton uses heuristic analysis to identify new or unknown malware by looking for suspicious behaviors or code patterns, rather than relying solely on known virus signatures. A large archive file being downloaded via a browser, especially one containing a variety of data types (contacts, calendar entries, emails), can mimic the behavior of a program attempting to access or exfiltrate sensitive data, triggering the security alert.
- Archive File Compression: The files from Google Takeout are compressed into
.zip or .tgz formats. Malware authors often use compression, encryption, or packing techniques to hide malicious code from scanners. Norton’s scanner might flag the compressed file because its contents are obscured, or because the compression method resembles those used by some malware.
- Presence of Sensitive Data: The files contain highly personal and structured data (contacts in CSV/vCard, calendars in ICS, emails in MBOX). While legitimate, this is exactly the kind of data that malware targets for theft. The security software might flag the file based on the type of data it contains, especially if the file’s structure seems unusual or large to the scanner.
- Download Intelligence/Reputation: Norton’s Download Intelligence feature checks the reputation of files and websites. While
takeout.google.com is a legitimate domain, the specific archive file generated for you is unique and newly created, so it lacks a known “safe” reputation in Norton’s database. This lack of reputation can lead to it being flagged as suspicious.
- Overly Aggressive Signatures: Antivirus engines use broad detection signatures to catch a wide range of threats. Sometimes, these rules are too inclusive, catching benign files that share incidental code snippets or characteristics with actual malware.
In short, Norton is prioritizing caution. The security software is doing its job by alerting you to a file that could be a threat based on its characteristics, even though in this specific case, it’s a legitimate file from a trusted source.
AI Mode may make mistakes
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Respond to incorrect Norton alerts that a file is infected or a program or website is suspicious
https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/kb20100222230832EN