Since the new UI for Norton 360 was installed on a number of my PCs I am experience Norton 360 considering files (executables, dlls and scripts) that I have created as suspicious and uploading them to its servers without asking me first.
As a software developer I create many executable files/scripts for systems on my home network and these contain private information such as authentication names/passwords, IDs as well as proprietary code.
Taking these files from my machines is not acceptable and as I cannot find any way to prevent this other than to exclude every file and folder on 9 PCs that I have such files is not practical. Currently I am excluding whole drives which renders Norton far less effective and hence whether its worth using at all.
The idea that Norton can just take files from my PCs without asking or a setting is incredible. Its theft of personal information in my case!
I don’t have any proof of files being uploaded but I posted my personal observation a while back about the significant increase in outbound (upload) traffic to Avast sites since v24 installed on my computers. This is based on my router’s traffic logs. I don’t know what’s going out but am not comfortable being in the dark. I turned off the email scanner but that didn’t make a difference. I never enabled the browser extensions (Norton’s web safe and safe search) so I know those aren’t involved. Anyone else notice an increase in outbound traffic to Avast servers after install of the newest N360 version? - #2 by bjm
You can disable Norton community watch. Norton community feature is responsible for doing so. I don’t use Windows but last time I did, Norton community feature did that.
Norton community watch has been disabled since install and still is. This only started (well informing me of this) with the product revamp with new UI.
Norton now considers unsigned exes, dlls and various scripts as suspicious because it hasn’t seen them before which is obvious because they’re mine. For all I know Norton could have been uploading my files for a while but in the past it never said so and just prompted for action and I could confirm they’re safe.
The problem is Norton runs with admin level privileges so can do what it likes. It has become way more invasive with this latest revamp and without options to stop it.
Thanks for the suggestion but that’s not the culprit in my case. I always have Norton community watch disabled. Been doing that forever since enabling it raises potential privacy issues.
Same problem here! Anyone knows howto set Norton to ASK before sending file it thinks to be suspicious? As it is now makes Norton a malware leaking personal data to their server without user permission just like kmp wrote in his initial message. I wonder what EU GDPR legislation may say about this kind of behaviour… Heads up You there in Gen Digital!
Everyone in the thread should read this Norton article. The article may be still related to the version 22.24.8.36 prior to version 24.xx . That version was and is more granular / user selective. Thus the main reason I have reverted back to it.
@SoulAsylum Good point. I hope everyone heeds your warning.
I always disabled Community Watch because of privacy concerns but when version 24 self installed, it changed that setting to enable. I disabled it but found it was re-enabled on one computer, likely when N360 updated. That never happened in version 22.
As I wrote in a different thread, I noticed a significant increase in uploaded data volume to an Avast site after conversion to ver 24 based on my router’s traffic log. That got my attention since I don’t use any of Norton’s browser extensions or send data (knowingly) to the “Mother Ship”. After reverting back to ver. 22 on two of my three computers, the volume came down closer to the pre-version 24 level. I’m installing ver 22 on the last computer in the next day or so since I came across another bug in ver 24’s program rule control.
If Norton doesn’t fix the multitude of bugs in ver 24 promptly, I’ll start looking at another product. I’ve been using Norton for a very long time (since the Symantec days) so had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.
I’ve reported the issue to Norton support, but I doubt dealing with Norton directly will resolve anything so I will try the UK data privacy route next and social media after that.
The latest 24.x versions are a mess and that’s not just with uploading files (exes, private MS Word files etc) without permission despite disabling community watch. I’ve also had so many issues with the newest release blocking legitimate websites, network traffic, local network RDP and all these have cost me considerable time in the last couple of weeks.
I will still keep publicizing the awful issue of taking files from user’s machines without permission wherever I can on social media sites, but I am now in the process of removing Norton from all my home PCs/laptops (9) and 6 mobile devices. Norton is the application we should be able to trust to protect our devices, not steal our files, cripple our machines like never before or waste cpu/ssd life scanning for disabled issues like cleanup issues in the hope of selling its other services. Now it does all that its become a form of malware itself then its game over for me.
Hello @kmp
You believe Norton is uploading & reading your personal files…without permission.
You believe Norton has the resources & the interest to upload Norton users personal files.
Your use of Norton…means you’ve agreed with Norton Privacy Policy.
fwiw ~
Maybe, I’m too trusting & naive to know different.
I do not believe Norton is reading my personal files.
I’ve always believed as AI offers:
Google has access to all my emails.
Maybe, I’m too trusting & naive to know different.
I do not believe Google policy is reading all my emails.
Maybe, Google AI can/does read all my emails.
It’s not guesswork or paranoia. Norton 360 on numerous occasions has popped up a warning stating some of my files were suspicious and stated it was uploading them for analysis even though community watch is disabled.
I created a test VM and some large home grown exes (to make traffic easier to spot) and tried executing them while monitoring traffic via my router for that specific VM. There was a spike in traffic to Norton sites and that would appear to confirm what the Norton warning stated.
Do you put passwords and personal details in emails which are inherently not secure? I don’t. I do keep such information protected by NTFS rights from snooping by other less secure users/applications but don’t expect Norton to take them at will!
I’ll chime in. I believe much comes down to transparency and trust. For example, the upload page at VirusTotal cautions:
By submitting data above, you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Notice, and to the sharing of your Sample submission with the security community. Please do not submit any personal information; we are not responsible for the contents of your submission. Learn more.
Norton’s privacy notice doesn’t provide any of the assurances that SECOPS does but that’s neither here nor there. More importantly, I came away with the impression that it’s not just meta data that Norton collects. (See screenshot.) Otherwise how can Norton help the “User detect misuse of Personal Data”? That indicates to me that the data aren’t anonymized, i.e. not meta data.
Uploaded data are stored somewhere and judging from Norton’s privacy notice for a considerable length of time. Even if Norton doesn’t abuse the information, we’re all painfully aware that information reservoirs are vulnerable to being hacked. If you’ll recall, Lifelock (part of Norton) itself suffered a breach a year or two ago involving Norton’s Password Manager.
As I posted on a different thread, I saw significant increases in data uploaded to an Avast site based on my router’s traffic report. This despite not enabling Community Watch, any browser extensions, safe web, email scanning etc. Just using Norton’s firewall and antivirus. That increase in uploaded data certainly got my attention.
I may reach out to the Attorney General in my state for guidance on getting more information from Norton on just what exactly it collects and why, how the data are stored, what measures are in place to safeguard the data and what options we have to control what Norton collects. Part of doing due diligence.
