Norton Safe Search returns DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
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Issue abstract: Norton Safe Search returns DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

Detailed description: Approximately 2 weeks ago, Norton Safe Search (NSS) search tool will not return results. Shortcuts work. Norton Home Page and Google Search each work fine. I tried to clear all data, verify NSS up to date, verify Chrome up to date, ran all Norton Utility diagnostic tools - NSS is suddenly broken

Product & version number: Norton Safe Search Version 3.20.0.21 on Chrome 147.0.7727.138 (Official Build) (64-bit)

OS details: Windows 11 Home 25H2

What is the error message you are seeing? DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

If you have any supporting screenshots, please add them:

PXL_20260505_125329665
PXL_20260505_1253296651920Ă—2560 391 KB

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@Jennifer_Barkenhagen Here are some suggestions for you to review:

AI Overview

The DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error means your browser cannot find the IP address for a domain, often caused by Norton security settings blocking the site, DNS misconfigurations, or network issues. Fix it by temporarily disabling Norton to test, flushing your DNS cache, clearing browser cache, or changing to public DNS. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Immediate Fixes for Norton Users

  • Disable Norton Temporarily: Turn off Norton Smart Firewall or Norton Safe Search to determine if it is blocking the site incorrectly.
  • Check Norton DNS Settings: Ensure Norton’s Secure DNS is not misconfigured. Try setting your computer to use Google DNS ((8.8.8.8) and (8.8.4.4)) to see if the issue persists. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

General Troubleshooting Steps

  • Flush DNS Cache (Windows): Open Command Prompt as Admin and type ipconfig /flushdns.
  • Renew IP Address (Windows): In Command Prompt, type ipconfig /release then ipconfig /renew.
  • Clear Browser Cache/DNS: In Chrome, visit chrome://net-internals/#dns and click “Clear host cache”.
  • Restart Network: Restart your modem and router to resolve potential ISP DNS issues.
  • Check Hosts File: Ensure the website is not incorrectly listed in your local hosts file. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

If the error only appears on specific sites, the issue may be with the website itself. If it appears on all sites, it is a local network or configuration issue. [1]

SA

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Norton Safe Search v3.25.0.4 – April 1, 2026 – Chrome store

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image1808Ă—467 51.1 KB

W11 Home 25H2
Chrome 147.0.7727.138

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The image displayed in the first post shows that Norton Safe Search is trying to reach nortonsafe.search.ask.com. This is an ask.com address.

Sadly, ask.com closed down this month: No more Jeeves: Ask.com officially shuttered | Mashable .

My wife was having problems using Norton Safe Search a couple of days ago and I looked around the Web for a solution until I ran into that news item (there are many similar reports on other sites).

Apparently, Norton had an arrangement to use ask.com for its search engine.

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Hello @JorgeA

~ the address that Norton Safe Search calls now is: search.nortonsafesearch.com/

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image1920Ă—601 84.6 KB

Because Ask.com has discontinued its search engine, any “Norton Safe Search” tool still functioning likely pulls from a different provider, frequently Bing, depending on your region.

In the United States, Bing has become the primary provider for search results when using the standard Norton Safe Search extension.

Default Provider: If you have the “Norton Safe Search” extension enabled in Chrome or Firefox, it currently redirects and processes queries through Bing.
Safety Features: Norton still applies its own “Safe Web” technology on top of these Bing results to flag malicious or phishing sites with its signature icons.
Norton Private Browser: If you use Norton’s standalone browser, you are given a choice to set your default search engine to Bing, Google, or DuckDuckGo.

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Thank you. I am one of those users that sets everything to automatically update and I’m surprised that this would start happening when Norton knew that that service was no longer available. I guess I’ll just wait for them to fix it. I won’t use Bing and if Norton uses Bing, I’ll find another search engine. I find that the Edge Bing (who comes up with these names) search engine just fills my screen with a lot of minutia that I would prefer not addle my wits. My daughter told me a quote from ready player one : “Once we can roll back some of Halliday’s ad restrictions, we estimate we can sell up to 80% of an individual’s visual field before inducing seizures” That’s what it feels like when I get on a Microsoft-based internet platform.

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I do like DuckDuckGo and I also like ChatGPT when I’m doing a deep dive. Thanks for helping out.

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Glad to help!

I, too, am very happy with DuckDuckGo and my wife uses it sometimes. She may start using it more often now. :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like