I am using Windows 11 22H2 OS Build 22621.2715, on a 1 Gbps Cable Internet connection. I have Norton with LifeLock and I recently added Norton AntiTrack. When I activate Norton VPN, that halves my Internet speed. Is this normal? I can accept this if so. I am mainly just curious if others experience this with Norton VPN.
Also, within Norton Secure Browser, AccuWeather seems to not have an option to change the default location from the VPN location, which seems annoying.
Thanks for any response.
Once again. I appreciate your thoughts. The article on VPN and whether or not I actually need a VPN at home was very informative. Thank you.
I first used Norton products in the late 1980s. Back then I could understand everything regarding a computer far better and far easier than I can today. Computing was fun back then. Norton Utilities was fun back then. Today, not so much. Things have become far more serious, what with all the risks. So I am paying far more for the illusion of safety than ever before. And I still trust Norton Products.
Happy Holidays.
You are welcome. Glad I could help.
One last point. If you are only using the VPN on a properly secured home network, you may not need a VPN. Here is a Norton blog article on this. https://us.norton.com/blog/privacy/do-you-need-a-vpn-at-home So you may be able to use your full 1 Gb connection again.
Very valid point. I paid extra to go from 500Mbps to 1Gbps. And I wanted VPN, so I can accept having around 500Mbps. As you say, not ideal, but then, we don't live in an ideal world. Life is about compromises.
And thank you for reminding me about Cookies. I understand better now what the issue is. I appreciate your insight. Thank you.
At least it is half of a 1 Gb connection. Not ideal, but many would love to be able to have a 500Mbps connection.
If you are using the web page for AccuWeather, the default location probably gets stored in a cookie the first time you go to that page. I found that it showed my home city when I first looked at that page. Then turning on the VPN and accessing that page, it still showed my actual home city. Looking at the image I posted above, it shows that the site is displaying recent locations. So it is not detecting anything new when I visit the site again. So for my experience, there is no difference with or without the VPN.
What you are seeing is not related to the Norton Secure Browser. It is the AccuWeather web site coding that is not set up to allow you to pick a default location.
After trying other Countries, I now see that VPN is connecting to other Cities within the US, whereas before it was consistently connecting to only one City. And everything I have tried has not yielded any improvement in Internet Speed. Which I can accept the reduction by half. Not happy about it, but it is what it is, or so it seems.
Thank you for your response. I find it interesting that I can only select by Region, and there is only one Region in the United States. I will try other countries and see if I get a slightly faster connection. Thanks for the suggestion.
Unless I am missing something obvious, which has happened before, the AccuWeather location seems to be related to the VPN Region. All I am doing is opening a new Tab within Norton Secure Browser and it shows the City for the Region of the VPN location. And I haven't been able to find a setting for the default location for AccuWeather.
Anyway, thank you for your suggestion regarding the VPN. Happy Holidays.
VPN's by their nature will reduce your connection speeds because of the overhead involved in encrypting and decrypting your data as it leaves and returns to your computer. But a 50% drop is not the norm. There have been a number of Norton users reporting extreme connection speed drops, but have not been able to diagnose just what is causing them.
You could try changing your virtual location to a different country and test.
As for your AccuWeather question. Are you just viewing their website? If so, I just tested with Norton Secure Browser and even with VPN active, there is a search box where you could look for any location.
