Norton 360 VPN thinks my local network is compromised and continues to auto connect. Is there a way to get further information about WHY it thinks my local network is compromised? Suspicious IP Traffic, malicious DNS, IP address of suspicious actor?????
Thanks for the update.
Although it does sound strange that choices of IP you made would cause this issue. Keep an eye on things for a while to see if your 'fix' stays in place.
My final fix to the problem was to reduce the number of ip addresses the LAN on my network could hand out to my local devices. My router defaulted to 192.168.0.0 with a net mask of 255.255.0.0. This meant that my iphone had an ip address of 192.168.7.72 while many of my other devices on the network had 192.168.4.xxx. I think this caused Norton to think my network was compromised. I changed my local network to be 192.168.4.0 with a net mask of 255.255.255.0. This seemed to fix my problem.
A couple days ago I was having problems with my cable service and power cycling the modem/router was one of the steps I had to take before they would send someone to look at the equipment. So, that has been done. But thanks; I'm willing to try anything within reason (no burnt offerings to the internet gods, please.)
One suggestion I forgot to make earlier is to power cycle your modem/router to see if that might clear these messages.
Thanks, Peterweb. I tried your suggestion and deleted the Norton 360 app, powered off my iPhone SE, then restarted it. I examined the WiFi page in settings and there was no “compromised” message there. Then I reinstalled Norton 360. Almost immediately it told me that it had started the VPN because the network was compromised. It was certainly worth trying but there is no joy in Mudville on this one.
Old_GEM:Not to get too far off topic but, irrespective of what caused this message, what can be done about it? I have tried changing my WiFi password on the router and on all devices connecting to it. Then I "forgot" the network and re-joined it with the new password. That went well, but the message "identified by Norton 360 as suspicious" remains. After all this, I still received a message: "___(WiFi Name)___ is Suspicious. We recommend turning on VPN now." The problem with this is that the VPN blocks my access to my Email account. To get my Email I have to turn off the VPN, then get my Email, then turn on the VPN again or deal with the Norton nag.
Any suggestions on how to turn this "Suspicious" flag off
On turning the Suspicious Network flag off, try uninstalling the 360 app, restart your device, and reinstall 360. Then test.
As for your email issue with the VPN. Email providers usually block access from VPNs because they see an access attempt from a location they are not expecting for your account. So to protect your Account, they block access. If you are using an iOS device, there is currently nothing you can do except turn off the VPN. Android and Windows versions have a Split Tunnel feature that you can use to add the email app to bypass the VPN. Hopefully, Norton will add this feature to the iOS product.
I haven’t tried it yet, it I’m wondering if the LAN I picked (192.168.4.xxx) has something to do with the problem??? If some hacker hacked into this private network somewhere and Norton recorded it as a hacked network. Once marked, it is spread across the Norton community. Of course this would be a bad thing to do. Norton should never report a private network as being hacked. A private network hacked for one user does NOT make that private network hacked for someone else. A long winded way of saying, have you tried to save your LAN settings to a different network private address???
Not to get too far off topic but, irrespective of what caused this message, what can be done about it? I have tried changing my WiFi password on the router and on all devices connecting to it. Then I "forgot" the network and re-joined it with the new password. That went well, but the message "identified by Norton 360 as suspicious" remains. After all this, I still received a message: "___(WiFi Name)___ is Suspicious. We recommend turning on VPN now." The problem with this is that the VPN blocks my access to my Email account. To get my Email I have to turn off the VPN, then get my Email, then turn on the VPN again or deal with the Norton nag.
Any suggestions on how to turn this "Suspicious" flag off
If you follow the steps I outlined to delete the VPN, it DOES remove the VPN from the iOS.
I stand corrected. I was going from how it used to work, and had not tried again recently. I just followed your process and see that the Personal VPN can be removed from the iOS VPN settings page. Unlike your experience, when I went to start the VPN feature in 360, it just took a little time to initialise. I had no prompts to install the feature.
Well I have stopped receiving the undesirable message about my local network being suspicious. So the immediate problem is resolved. Thank-you!
If you follow the steps I outlined to delete the VPN, it DOES remove the VPN from the iOS. The VPN connection from the iOS disappears when you go to settings. The user interface in the Norton 360 app still shows the ABILITY to start it. If you try to start it from the Norton 360 app, it proceeds to ask you to install the VPN into the iOS again. It will NOT autostart by itself until you turn on VPN and follow the installation procedure. At least that is my experience.
I appreciate your patience and I realize you probably don't have any control over what Norton 360 does
True. I am just a user like you that volunteers my time to try to help users from my experience with the Norton Products.
You can uninstall the VPN part of Norton 360 by going to "iOS Settings", "VPN", under "Personal VPN" tapping "Norton 360", then clicking on "Delete VPN".
Actually, that does not delete the Norton VPN function from the 360 app. You can prove it by doing what you did, but stay on the settings page. Within about 30 seconds, you will see the setting gets reset again. Like I noted, you can only control the VPN function from within the 360 app.
Please let us know if you start seeing this issue after a few days, or a week.
You can uninstall the VPN part of Norton 360 by going to "iOS Settings", "VPN", under "Personal VPN" tapping "Norton 360", then clicking on "Delete VPN". I was not deleting an APP.. just the Norton 360 VPN...
OK, I relented. I uninstalled Norton 360, rebooted phone, and reinstalled. There doesn't appear to be any complaints, YET. I'll wait 24 hours before I see if the problem has resolved itself.
I appreciate your patience and I realize you probably don't have any control over what Norton 360 does... regardless it is totally unacceptable to notify a user that their home network is compromised without clearly identifying the reasons for this declaration. It's a scare tactic that should be above what some consider to be the Gold Standard of protection. If it were some random network I had connected to, that would be one thing... but my home network is totally another.
The only Norton Apps I have installed are... Norton 360, Norton Identity, and Norton Password Manager.
But earlier you mentioned...
Right now, I've uninstalled the VPN
So it sounds like you had the standalone app installed. How did you uninstall the app you mentioned.
If you did in fact remove a standalone VPN app, I still suggest reinstalling your 360 app and testing again. It could just be some part of your 360 installation might have gotten muddled.
I just want to know WHY it is telling me my network is suspicious.
I understand this. But there is no way for a user to know. All we can do is make suggestions as I noted above.
The only Norton Apps I have installed are... Norton 360, Norton Identity, and Norton Password Manager.
Yes it was suggesting to turn on the VPN... but when you click on that link... it knows it wasn't installed and prompts to allow an installation.. Same difference in my mind.
There were no other network changes when this occurred. Again... I just want to know WHY it is telling me my network is suspicious.
Thanks for your help.
So did you have both the standalone Norton Secure VPN and the Norton 360 apps installed on your device? If so, it is possible that the two apps are conflicting and causing the warnings you are seeing. To test this, I would suggest uninstalling your 360, restarting the phone, and reinstalling 360 and test.
BTW The warning you posted was not saying to install a VPN. It was suggesting you turn on the VPN in your 360 product.
Are there any other changes to your network around the time you started seeing this message? ie New router or modem?
How long has this been happening?: It has been happening for a few months, Prior to me installing iOS 16
I've tried turning VPN off and on both via the iOS and Norton 360. Right now, I've uninstalled the VPN... so I have to put up with Norton's NAG to install the VPN and my suspicious network INSTEAD OF JUST A NAG about my suspicious network.
Thanks for the link on how to post screen shots. I tried the "Add a new file" instead of the image.
I think you have basically answered my initial question... there is NO opportunity for Norton 360 to provide additional details. They say my network is suspicious and my only choice is to trust their judgement and agree to use a VPN. So what, if my network really is compromised, they don't care other than for me to turn on VPN. I understand my windows app is a different app... but it thinks my network is just fine. So who do I believe? One of them is WRONG. Sigh!!!
The code for mobile and Windows versions is totally different, so it is not unusual that a warning might only come from one or the other. It could also be differences in the OS's that has cause different behaviours on each. iOS may report networks differently than Windows, and that would get reported through Norton.
How long has this been happening? Did it start after upgrading to iOS 16.x?
The message you posted is not the VPN detecting a suspicious network. It is your 360 product. And it is suggesting you turn on the VPN. But you say in your last post that you did have to turn off the VPN. Are you turning it off in your Norton 360 app or are you trying to turn it off in the iOS settings? Many try to use the iOS VPN settings, but you can only control the 360 VPN from the 360 product.
Instructions to post screenshots can be found here
https://community.norton.com/forums/how-post-image-forums-0
Your image from link above. Most here will not open .pdf or .zip files from people they do not know for security reasons.
I forgot the network, restarted the phone, established a connection to the network. I forced turn off of VPN. Within an hour, same message and reason. Interesting enough... Norton 360 on my desktop computer connected to the same wireless network has NO complaints.
Try forgetting your network on the iPhone, restart the phone and establish the connection again to see if you still see the warning.
I understand your frustration in not getting detailed information. This might be a good suggestion for the Product Suggestions board https://community.norton.com/forums/product-suggestions