Norton VPN Consuming Mac Resources While Inactive

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1

I am using Norton 360 for Mac.  I have Norton VPN turned off.  Nevertheless, it shows up on activity monitor as consuming resources.  Mostly it is low level.  But frequently, it starts using a lot of energy and CPU and is listed as "not responding."  I have to kill it in activity monitor.  I have no need or use for Norton VPN but there seems to be no way to keep it completely off.  This is occurring on multiple MacBooks that I have, all running the latest versions of Mac OS.  If nobody has a solution, this will be enough to drive me to a competing product.  

Thank you.

2

Hi @KomeiF,

I have sent you a private message requesting additional information. Could you please check your inbox when you get a chance? Thanks. 

-Gayathri

3

I have noticed today that the similar behavior of the CPU usage by com.symantec.mes.systemextension

was observed.  This process consumed 400% of CPU, and has a large memory stamp of 2GB.  What is this

process doing?

komeis-macbook-pro-3:Pictures fukudak$ ps uax
USER               PID  %CPU %MEM      VSZ    RSS   TT  STAT STARTED      TIME COMMAND
root               335 400.7  6.9  7562104 2311220   ??  Rs   31May21 28085:18.61 com.symantec.mes.systemextension
_hidd              218   1.7  0.0  5431788  12220   ??  Ss   31May21 259:42.84 /usr/libexec/hidd
_driverkit       65911   1.3  0.0  4804944   1548   ??  Ss   12:24pm   0:07.07 /System/Library/DriverExtensions/AppleUserHIDDrivers.dext/AppleUserHIDDrivers com.apple.driverk
fukudak          65821   0.9  1.1  5629168 373572   ??  S    12:01pm   1:10.60 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AMPDevices.framework/Versions/A/Support/AMPDevicesAgent --lau
root               195   0.5  0.0  5449348  12028   ??  Ss   31May21  14:17.66 /usr/libexec/opendirectoryd
_windowserver      312   0.4  1.0  9429004 347932   ??  Ss   31May21 989:09.13 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Resources/WindowServer -daemon
fukudak            672   0.1  0.2  6224044  50400   ??  S    31May21 141:27.63 /Library/Application Support/Symantec/Silo/MES/SymUIAgent/Norton.app/Contents/MacOS/Norton
root               197   0.1  0.0  5298696  12420   ??  Ss   31May21  16:08.31 /System/Library/CoreServices/launchservicesd
fukudak          65823   0.0  0.2  5428092  52272   ??  S    12:01pm   0:00.61 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileDevice.framework/Versions/Current/AppleMobileDeviceHelp
fukudak          65822   0.0  0.7  5600632 232740   ??  Ss   12:01pm   0:48.11 /System/Library/Frameworks/MediaLibrary.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.MediaLibrary
fukudak          65794   0.0  0.0  4334048   3464   ??  Ss   11:56am   0:00.01 /System/Library/Frameworks/AudioToolbox.framework/XPCServices/com.apple.audio.SandboxHelper.xpc
fukudak          65321   0.0  0.0  4903392   7480   ??  Ss   10:14am   0:00.06 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/XprotectFramework.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/XprotectSe
fukudak          65307   0.0  0.0  5031936  13100   ??  Ss   10:13am   0:00.14 /System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/QuickLookUI.framework/Version
fukudak          65306   0.0  0.2  6169032  61000   ??  Ss   10:13am   0:06.01 /System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework/Versions/C/XPCServices/com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAnd
fukudak          65298   0.0  0.2 107467560  53084   ??  Ss   10:11am   0:00.76 /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.
fukudak          65297   0.0  0.2 107515360  64740   ??  Ss   10:11am   0:00.98 /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.

I need a clean answer from the Norton team.

Komei

4

Hi Gayathri, thanks for showing up.
Above, my first post here, there is a detailed step-by-step on how I did reproduce the issue at any time. With my system specs which are also mentioned, just entering "hibernation" mode was sufficient.

Thanks,

5

Hi,

If this issue is reproducible, could you please provide more information? Please check your inbox when you get a chance. Thanks. 

-Gayathri

6

Suddenly and with no OS updates in between, Norton 360 ceased to open...

I Just removed the software for the 2nd time but this time permanently, Technical Support is .... just unavailable.

I feel very disappointed, really, I won't renew my subscription by any means.

7

Looks like it happens almost every day or after a day or two. Even if you are not idle, it just happened. Norton fix your software.

8

Just saw this issue on my MacBook Pro. I was idle for a while and heard fan spinning. So I decided to check Activity Monitor to find out that Norton Secure VPN is causing CPU spike. I have attached a screenshot. Norton please fix your buggy software. I have posted other issues in my thread.

Screen Shot 2021-05-17 at 21.07.18.pngThanks

9

The result of the ps command I used above has a long list of the processes that were running.

Just to show how heavy the Norton VPN process was, let me show few top processes

that were running that time.  (fukudak is my formal user name which I replaced with "komeif" in the original posting.)

komeis-macbook-pro:Pictures fukudak$ ps uax
USER               PID  %CPU %MEM      VSZ    RSS   TT  STAT STARTED      TIME COMMAND
fukudak            698 400.0  0.3  6030140 102528   ??  R    Fri12am 306:12.63 /Library/Application Support/Symantec/Norton Secure VPN.app/Contents/MacOS/Norton Secure VPN
fukudak           9658   1.3  1.2  5669604 410936   ??  S     8:58am   1:46.68 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AMPDevices.framework/Versions/A/Support/AMPDevicesAgent --lau
_windowserver      306   1.1  0.5  8388660 182168   ??  Ss   Fri12am  42:03.07 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Resources/WindowServer -daemon
_hidd              216   0.9  0.0  5169644  11056   ??  Ss   Fri12am  14:12.87 /usr/libexec/hidd
_driverkit        9622   0.5  0.0  4803920   2216   ??  Ss    8:55am   0:19.77 /System/Library/DriverExtensions/AppleUserHIDDrivers.dext/AppleUserHIDDrivers com.apple.driverk
fukudak            507   0.3  0.7  6273480 244492   ??  S    Fri12am   4:11.26 /System/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/MacOS/Terminal -psn_0_106522
fukudak            510   0.1  0.2  5986708  61612   ??  S    Fri12am   3:30.43 /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemUIServer.app/Contents/MacOS/SystemUIServer
fukudak            615   0.1  0.0  4448260   1592 s004  S    Fri12am   0:00.03 -bash
_driverkit        9619   0.0  0.0  4803396   2172   ??  Ss    8:55am   0:00.01 /System/Library/DriverExtensions/AppleUserHIDDrivers.dext/AppleUserHIDDrivers com.apple.driverk
root              8725   0.0  0.0  4287732    648   ??  Ss    3:34am   0:00.01 /usr/sbin/aslmanager -s /var/log/eventmonitor
root              8699   0.0  0.1  5506888  35600   ??  Ss    2:32am   0:09.55 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BridgeOSInstallReporting.framework/Resources/bosreporter

The second heaviest process uses only 1.3% of CPU, while Norton VPN uses 400% of CPU.

This is ridiculous and not acceptable.  Norton basically high-jacked my computer. 

So, I simply killed the process by

komeis-macbook-pro:Pictures fukudak$ kill -9 698

where 698 is the process number of Norton VPN.  Why does any Norton 360 user needs

to kill the high-jacking process that takes over the user's computer?

Sigh, KomeiF

 

10

Hi,

I am experiencing the same issue, Norton Secure VPN is an embedded feature which I don't use/need never ever.

My device:

Device: MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

SO: macOs Big Sur 11.3.1 (latest available)

CPU Arch: ARM

Symantec product: Norton 360 8.6.3 (latest available)

 

So, I've Spent 30 min with a tech support guy that remotely connected to my computer, he just made nothing technical. I required to tell them how to actually reproduce it and for the record here are the steps:
1- Fresh install Norton 360 (this is actually not required, just to clarify that the issue is present since installation).

2- Reboot as requested by installer.

3- Everything will be OK until resuming from Safe Sleep mode (MAC's hibernation). To force this condition issue the following command on a Terminal Promt:

pmset sleepnow

4- Go to System Monitor and check CPU usage.

* I noticed that closing the lid was not enough, that the issue appeared once I left the MAC alone for a while...

 

Norton Support offered me as a solution to downgrade my license to Norton Security which is a legacy product which might eventually disappear in the near future, I told them that this is unacceptable for me.

They also offered me to uninstall and reinstall the product, I told them that this will only be a waste of time as I've already done that. Uninstalled and used Norton remover for MAC and after a month tried again hoping the issue was solved.

I Told them that if the issue is present when license needs a renewal, I won't be choosing again their product: Having a piece of software which occupies space, runs in background not matter you use it or not, I don't even need it, and last but not least also drains battery/stress CPU is completely unacceptable for a paid product.

 

My "WorkArround":

Remove Norton Secure VPN's binary (kill process previously) by issuing the following command on a Terminal Prompt:

sudo rm -f "/Library/Application Support/Symantec/Norton Secure VPN.app/Contents/MacOS/Norton Secure VPN"

This binary might came back after a product update, hopefully fixed. You will also notice that in Norton 360 main screen Secure VPN will show "No internet" and buttons will be grayed out.

IMPORTANT: This will render Norton Secure VPN completely useless, but....previous condition ain't much better right?

After 2 days of testing: battery drain never happened again; no errors pop up; Norton 360 Antivirus functionality is not affected at all; No CPU high usage. So far, so good.

 

Hope to help, and I also hope that Symantec Mac Team reads this and urgently takes the proper path to remediate this ASAP. Steps to reproduce are above and are pretty much easy to perform.

Similar threads here:
https://community.norton.com/en/forums/secure-vpn-high-cpu-not-responding-never-used

https://community.norton.com/en/forums/mac-osxbigsur-norton-secure-vpn-unresponsive-high-cpu-utilization

https://community.norton.com/en/forums/systemextension-855-runs-cpu-100-causes-fans-running-mac-book-pro

11

It seems to me that the Norton team is not explaining the very serious question.

Perhaps, I should move my question to a different forum.  I saw a similar discussion on Reddit.

KomeiF

12

Just to report my macbook pro environment:

MacOS Catalina

2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, 32GB memory

KomeiF

13

I have exactly the same problem.  Norton's VPN is off, but there is a process running with huge CPU footprint.

Here is what I see in Terminal.

komeis-macbook-pro:Pictures komeif$ ps uax
USER               PID  %CPU %MEM      VSZ    RSS   TT  STAT STARTED      TIME COMMAND
komeif               698 400.0  0.3  6030140 102528   ??  R    Fri12am 306:12.63 /Library/Application Support/Symantec/Norton Secure VPN.app/Contents/MacOS/Norton Secure VPN


400% CPU for Norton VPN?   What is this process doing, while VPN is off?

I would like the Norton team to answer this question.

KomeiF

 

14

I have been noticing this issue too but only when internet connection is not stable. I have created a different thread for it. Hopefully they will look into it