Product & version number: Norton 360 v26.6.11050
OS details: Windows 7 Home Premium
I noticed this afternoon that the Norton file nllToolsSvc.exe was taking more than 6GB of the 16GB on my Win7 PC. A couple of hours later, the RAM usage was approaching 7GB. Nothing in particular seems to be going on, in terms of scans, optimization, etc.
Based on previous experience with programs using ever more RAM, this seems like a memory leak. I tried to end nllToolsSvc.exe in Task Manager, but access was denied. Other than rebooting, is there some other way to stop and restart this process? Just as importantly, what can I do to prevent it from taking up increasing amounts of my PC’s memory?
@JorgeA Hello. Two things I must point out which you are already aware of. Windows 7 is not supported by Microsoft any longer and vulnerable while internet facing. Also the version of Norton you have is not the latest. Norton is up to 26.6.11052 (build 26.6.11052.986) as of this post. Does live update work for you?
The file nllToolsSvc.exe cannot be disabled from startup. On the current PC I am using, Windows 10 Pro 22H2 ESU that service doesn’t show as running in task manager. Is there the possibility that you suspect malware or infection?
This is what that service does:
AI Overview
nllToolsSvc.exe** is a legitimate background service for Norton security software (such as Norton 360 and Norton Utilities) developed by Gen Digital. It stands for **Norton Low Level Tools Service. [1]
It is not a virus or malware, but rather an essential component of your antivirus. [1, 2, 3]
Core Functions
*** Deep System Maintenance: Performs fundamental OS tasks that require deep-level access to your system, such as disk health monitoring, deep cleanup, and optimization**. [1]
- Security & Reliability: Works alongside your core protection suite to manage essential low-level security scans and software configurations. [1]
Location & Verification
A legitimate nllToolsSvc.exe file is safely housed inside your Norton installation directory. [1]
- Default Path:
C:\Program Files\Norton\... [1]
If you see this process utilizing an unusually high amount of CPU or memory, it is typically a sign of a corrupted installation or an ongoing system scan. For further troubleshooting or to repair your Norton installation, you can download the [Norton 360 Remover Tool](Redirect Notice) to perform a clean reinstallation. [1, 2]
- Download and run the Norton 360 Remover tool for Windows
Applicable for: Windows. The Norton 360 Remover tool is used to uninstall or remove and reinstall your latest version of the Norton
Something is definitely going on in the background causing this service to run. Hardware or software related it can be a pain determining which and the what. Have you seen large amounts of outbound traffic lately?
SA
Thanks SA.
That nllToolsSvc.exe is also running on my Windows 10 machine, though at a much lower level of RAM usage. (In Win10, it’s not visible from Task Manager, but it is shown in Resource Monitor.) It was running there this afternoon when I went to compare it with the Windows 7 system, and it’s running there now several hours later.
I doubt that it’s any sort of scan causing the high RAM usage; no kind of scan has ever taken that long on that PC. I suspect either a memory leak or some kind of incompatibility with Windows 7 that wasn’t present in earlier versions of N360.
I’m not concerned about possible infections on the Win7 PC, as it’s well defended by multiple layers of always-on defense. We don’t do email on it (one of the biggest attack vectors), we only visit well-known sites on it, the browsers are anyway protected with uBlock Origin and Norton Safe Web, and the PC is set to use Quad9 which does its own DNS filtering. On-demand scanners don’t show any problems.
I’m not at that computer currently and won’t be back on it for about twelve hours, but I’ll make sure to check the current version of N360. (This is the same PC where I had to install N360 last week because it was stuck on a version from last year.) I haven’t noticed any problems with Live Update but I’ll check that too.
If you also have a free moment, check your systems event viewer for hints. I’ve found information there on several occasions that pointed me in the right direction for issues. Also give repair Norton a go to see if it will find/repair anything.
SA
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OK, I did the Repair and afterward RAM usage went back down to a reasonable 39MB. I just checked now, a couple of hours later, and it’s at 47MB. Will keep monitoring for signs of “inflation.” If it balloons back up to multiple GBs’ worth, I’ll report it here. (So, not ready yet to claim victory and call it Resolved!)
Was glad to see that Repair didn’t require a reboot. Didn’t even take that long to complete. If this is the way that function works, then it’s pretty good.
Thanks @SoulAsylum for the suggestion!
Thanks for the post back and status. The Norton repair usually fixes any corruption on installs and restarts to apply that fix. Keep us posted.
SA
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