How do I get rid of Norton Popups

Archive
1

I am about to unsubscribe and uninstall Norton. They protect us from unwanted stuff except when it comes from Norton. I am so sick of getting "Norton is working in the background while your computer is idle" (when it is not). Also, the "new products' adds. Some of them actually say something like "No Thanks. Don't show this message again" but it seems like they change one thing in the add and re-pop it. I cannot find anywhere to turn them off. If I can't get help, why should I pay to have 6 hour of work destroyed by a Norton notification? 

[Edit: Clarified Subject]

2

Here's some interesting observations of the Norton pop-up behavior. These annoying pop-up notifications are not necessarily sent from Norton, but are actually built into the software and present based on a schedule. Here's the proof. Note these two images, which are the same notification that pop-up 1 day apart. The first time (11-29-21) we had a network outage, and I was not connected to the internet. Therefore, the notification must reside in the software. Two days later (12-01-21), I received the exact same pop-up again, then again today (12-26-21).  You can look at my long history of posts to see I've dismissed this notification over and over, only for it to return, whether I'm connected to the internet or not.

 

3

Can anyone suggest a spam filter to replace the one in Norton? That's the only reason I'm reluctant to toss it.

It traps 4 to 10 spam emails a day for me. I use an obsolete email program and don't want to switch, so I need a filter not built into other software.

4

I moved from AVG eight months ago after a few years of use as I got sick of the occational advert from them. I have just unsubscribed from Norton as I truely beleive this is the only solution to the nightmare which is Norton. I have 4 PCs at home using this SW and whichever one I'm on has popups every time I use it. Some pop up in windows that can't be 100% seen so I can't close them and have to use ctrl F4. It's a complete joke. One PC I use for live music and had to de install since this behavior interupted a performance, I was so angry with Norton and their idiot marketing department. I have tried all the suggested fixes to no avail. Norton won;t be happy until they have ONE user left who have a full subscription to everything they do. What a terrible company.

I would never use or recommend Norton to anyone after this terrible experience.

5

I posted to the same concern and now its based on the reports. See my image-how is this possible to get reports I did not want? Report card if off but does not matter. Been with Norton since 2000, it really is time to leave and I truly was behind them all the way and a very hard move to make for 2022. Perhaps they need people to click outside of the actual app at some point more often..if that is the case Norton, please just mention. This is not good.

6

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7

There is no reason that a paying customer should have to go through these efforts to stop Norton's spam notifications.  The only valid solution is for Norton to stop, but it's clear that they will not. In fact, in recent years they've added the "Additional Apps and Services" to the "My Norton" dashboard and populated it with an increasing number of services.  Right now I see seven additional Norton products that I can "Buy Now".  Seven?  This is now the culture at Norton and the very reason I'm leaving once my subscription runs out, after 25 years of being a loyal customer.

8
co-op:
I successfully turned off unwanted Norton Antivirus notifications (Category 2 and 3 defined by bjm above) by using Administrative Settings as others have pointed to AND by turning Internet Security OFF. That said, I now have a new problem. Norton no longer recognizes my browser and thus many help features and any other Norton functions that require internet connection do not work. By this I mean, after running LiveUpdate I get the message that one process product update NGC Product Update failed to complete. When I select View Summary to confirm this is the module that did not update the "More Information" link does not work and instead a Help pop-up says, "Unable to open a browser." I can open my browser. Does anyone know how to fix this so that Norton can open one too (that is when I want to know why Norton is doing or not doing something)? For the record, I selected Norton for their AntiVirus product only as it had high ratings over other products mentioned in this blog. However, it appears some of you have found that has changed over the years and perhaps my perspective is now out of date. If Defender is consider better these days by experts like PC World or other techie analytical types who test these products for consumer info I am interested. And I say that only because I'm frustrated with the lengths that I have had to go to in order to shut Norton up.

Before you look much deeper, restart your computer and keep trying the LiveUpdate.  Sometimes that is all that is required to get balky updates to complete. 

When you look at the classic browser in your Norton product, what browser is shown as the default? Try changing it to another browser on your system and test.

IE default browser in norton.jpg

9
co-op:
I successfully turned off unwanted Norton Antivirus notifications (Category 2 and 3 defined by bjm above) by using Administrative Settings as others have pointed to AND by turning Internet Security OFF. 

Category 2 and 3 defined by @Froederick above [here]
I only turn off Special Offer Notifications. 

co-op:
Norton no longer recognizes my browser and thus many help features and any other Norton functions that require internet connection do not work. By this I mean, after running LiveUpdate I get the message that one process product update NGC Product Update failed to complete. 

Norton wants net access.  

 

 

off-topic:
Norton Community places message author to the right of the message which confuses me ... since, all other Communities that I frequent place message author to the left of the message. 

10

I successfully turned off unwanted Norton Antivirus notifications (Category 2 and 3 defined by bjm above) by using Administrative Settings as others have pointed to AND by turning Internet Security OFF.

That said, I now have a new problem. Norton no longer recognizes my browser and thus many help features and any other Norton functions that require internet connection do not work. By this I mean, after running LiveUpdate I get the message that one process product update NGC Product Update failed to complete. When I select View Summary to confirm this is the module that did not update the “More Information” link does not work and instead a Help pop-up says, “Unable to open a browser.”

I can open my browser. Does anyone know how to fix this so that Norton can open one too (that is when I want to know why Norton is doing or not doing something)?

For the record, I selected Norton for their AntiVirus product only as it had high ratings over other products mentioned in this blog. However, it appears some of you have found that has changed over the years and perhaps my perspective is now out of date. If Defender is consider better these days by experts like PC World or other techie analytical types who test these products for consumer info I am interested. And I say that only because I’m frustrated with the lengths that I have had to go to in order to shut Norton up.

11

Okay...I'll think of Service & Important Notifications as Catagory 3.

and may I think of Norton product offers as Category 2.  
for example: with Special Offer Notifications Off

and with Special Offer Notifications On

@Widowmaker, @Froederick, @et al
Thanks for helping me categorize Norton popups. 

With Special Offer Notifications Off.  I think I see fewer Norton popups. 

12

bjm_:
Okay...I thought OP was asking about Category 2. 
I thought users are annoyed by Category 2. 

I think it's pretty clear, at least from my attachments, that users such as me are annoyed by what Froederick has defined as "Category 3".  These are non-stop spam messages with information often neither helpful nor relevant, and are frankly scare tactics aimed and trying to upsell existing customers on additional products. There is no way to stop them. Even if you click "No Thanks", the message will spawn again in the near future. 

Here are two more that came in just the past few days alone. Note that these are just after the two other ones I posted just about a week ago.  Note that I was not on a website that allows for remote connection to computers in the traditional sense (no FTP/SFTP, Telnet/SSH, XWindows, etc.). By Norton's definition, anything that the user initiates over a network is a "remote connection". There seems to be no end in sight to this BS, apart from the expiration of my subscription.

Screenshot 2021-11-19 142215.pngScreenshot 2021-11-20 165117.png

13

 Froederick:
What do YOU mean?

my meaning goes back to the opening post 

Norton is working in the background while your computer is idle" (when it is not). Also, the "new products' ads. 
I cannot find anywhere to turn them off. If I can't get help, why should I pay to have 6 hours of work destroyed by a Norton notification? 

https://community.norton.com/en/forums/norton-popups-3 

 Froederick:
The solution I have proposed is for Category 3 notifications.  The others are not relevant to this thread as it now stands.

Okay...I thought OP was asking about Category 2. 
I thought users are annoyed by Category 2. 

14

bjm_

There are several different kinds of popups which can be grouped because they share common features.

Category 1 are essential and the functional purpose of NAV.  They include notifications such as:

  • The program failed.
  • Your subscription has expired.
  • You have a virus.

Category 2 are optional.  Norton calls and defines them as:

  • Background Tasks Notifications 
    <ul>
	<li>"Norton Task Notification lets you show or hide the notifications that appear when your Norton product runs an automatic background task. When your computer is idle, your Norton product runs Norton-specific automatic background tasks such as Full System Scan, Automatic LiveUpdate, and Insight Optimizer."</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Special Offers</strong>&nbsp;
<ul>
	<li>"When&nbsp;<strong>On</strong>, your Norton product notifies you about promotions, discounts, or special deals."</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Control these items with the appropriate entries under&nbsp;<em>Administrative Tools.&nbsp;&nbsp;</em>But remember, Norton has narrowly defined these items.&nbsp; So while I would like to assume that <em>Special Offers&nbsp;</em>includes ALL Marketing, <u>it does not</u>.&nbsp; Your reference links don't change anything more than what is stated above:&nbsp; just direct sales pitches.</li>

Category 3:  Everything Else

  • For the Consumer there are no obvious opt outs for these.  And none of these qualify as an essential function.
  • This is where this thread is now focused.  I refer to them as Windows Taskbar Notifications because that is where they primarily appear.  They have titles such as:
    • Data Breach Notifications, Data Security Notification, and similar
      • These always end with a solicitation to upgrade your security.  (I call that marketing.)
    • Service Notifications
      • They are inane nags such as:
        • This is our new logo.
        • Why don't you use our backup program so we can rent you more cloud storage space?
        • Our password vault program is only available in a bundled package.  
        • A green circle with a white check symbol means we are working for you 24/7.
      • To me these are one very small step above "Like Me on Facebook".  And again, I call this marketing.

In direct answer to your questions:

  1. Does "this works" for Norton marketing popups 
    <ol>
	<li>Marketing?&nbsp; What do YOU mean? If you mean:
	<ol>
		<li>Special Offers (Category 2, item 2), then No.&nbsp; Use&nbsp;<em>Administrative Tools </em>for that.</li>
		<li>Other marketing like&nbsp;<em>Use this feature, Be afraid because a large company was hacked, etc,&nbsp;</em>then Yes.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>or "this works" for Norton background tasks popups?&nbsp;&nbsp;
<ol>
	<li>I assume you mean Category 2, item 1, so No.&nbsp;Use&nbsp;<em>Administrative Tools </em>for that.</li>
</ol>
</li>

The solution I have proposed is for Category 3 notifications.  The others are not relevant to this thread as it now stands.

15
Froederick:

This works for blocking those popups that Norton exclusively controls.

for clarity: your "This works" is for Norton background tasks popups?
  
Special Offer Notifications switch off is supposed to turn of marketing popups.

16

This works for blocking those popups that Norton exclusively controls.

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Select Administrative Settings
  3. Under Silent Mode Settings choose User-Specified Programs
    1. See SMSettings.pdf
  4. Click Configure [+] and enter the path to a program that you have running all/most times.
    1. See UserSpecifiedProgram.pdf

In my case, I run Thunderbird in the background almost continuously.  So that is my entry at step 4.  So as long as I have Thunderbird is running, Norton leaves me alone.  A decent explanation of how this works is available if your click on the "?" at the end of the row labeled Silent Mode Settings.

Norton's explanation states that all Norton background tasks will be placed on hold while your selected program is running, but I have found that that statement is not entirely true.  Antivirus protection is NOT disabled.  I have tested this by running a program that will trigger a false positive virus warning and NAV still identified it and warned me in spite of being in ​​​​​​​Silent Mode.

I am not certain if Live Update will run automatically, so I just scheduled it with Windows Task Manager to be safe.  You can do the same for running scans.  Task manager events are not affected by Norton's Silent Mode Settings.

17

@Froederick,

Absolutely a brilliant summary of the situation.  It's so well stated and so important that I feel you should try and have it published elsewhere, perhaps a technology blog that allows users to contribute op-eds articles or letters.  More people need to be warned about how terrible this company has become.

18

This appears to be a dead end.

If you review this Forum's documented history for this issue, you will find that it has been discussed for over 5 years, and all of the older threads end with the following: 

  1. THIS FORUM THREAD NEEDS A SOLUTION.  And most significantly:

  2. This thread is closed from further comment.

  3. And finally,  the issue has not gone away.

Even short term fixes, such as my earlier one, fail to stop ALL the various unwanted messages.  They are constantly trying to grab your attention, whether it is:

  • the announcement of a new logo and/or corporate name
    • Does that mean a new corporate attitude?  NO.
  • breaking public news that some large company has been hacked,
    • So maybe you want to upgrade your account?  You know they would never tattle on someone who they have a relationship with.
  • a program message that nags you just for the attention,
  • a program notification that suggests you should try all these other features so you become more dependent on them,
    • Their Password Manager failed as a commercial product, so let's bundle it with something and get users hooked not by its performance and value, but rather by its in your face presence.
  • The fact that Promotions now appear on my desktop entitles me to a refund, in my opinion, but that hasn't succeeded either.

 

Norton, et al, has no intention of stopping this practice.  The record shows they have done it for years. 

  • The former complaints are consistent with our current ones. 
  • They have done it to both enterprise and consumer users. 
  • Our concerns have been reported by forum monitors as well as through their Product Suggestions and Norton Feedback portals. 
  • They have surely lost customers, but not enough to care. They have grown to be a Fortune 500 company, for now.

What they want you to do is feel you need and recognize them, so much so that you will autorenew and pay them more than what they receive from their distributers.

 

Norton Lifelock, in its present state, is no longer a company that innovates much.  (Read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NortonLifeLock)  Instead it buys companies with the intent to integrate them, resell them as they decline, or simply remove them from the competitive environment.  They have nothing in common with Peter Norton's company that they purchased in 1990, beyond the rights to use his name.  He didn't even have an antivirus product when purchased.

And this is the company that wants you to trust your internet security to by selling you, in essence, a Lifelock insurance policy.  Not that I will ever experience this, but can you imagine what it would take to submit a claim on that policy, much less a monetary reward?  We can't even get popups removed!

Read the Security Concerns and Controversies in the above cited Wikipedia article. The company has a history of product failures, scareware tactics, and mistrust issues.  More than should be considered acceptable for a company who is dependent on having integrity to accomplish their business model.

They can be replaced, and should be.

 

 

19

Turning off Special Offer Notifications seemed to help, but now the Service Notifications are piling on.

@Froederick said "Also, do not get yourself trapped into relying on their ancillary products such as Cloud Backup, AntiSpam & Password Manager. " Unfortunately, AntiSpam does catch a bunch of junk that gets by my ISP's filter.

Does anyone have a suggestion for an alternate spam filter that will work with a non-standard email program? I still use the obsolete Forte Agent because it has 25 years of my emails.

20

Agreed. See you all on the other side. Norton is dead to me.