I have been having a problem Norton WIFI Privacy ever since it came out. I have submitted the problem to tech support many times over the past year now and the problem still exists. I have problems using Norton WIFI Privacy on XfinityWIFI, Stop & Shop WIFI, MacDonald's WIFI. Usually the web browser or application just hangs with no message. When there is a message it is usually something about a proxy server being not found. This occurred on Windows 7 & 10, several Android 5 phones.
Since Norton is marketing Norton WIFI Privacy as THE solution to the latest WIFI vulnerability issue, they better get their act together and make sure Norton WIFI Privacy reliably works on ALL types of public networks.
I wold say that the threat on wifi is more process-based, i mean that if you use a legacy protocol like FTP or Telnet, or a protocol like HTTP or SMTP or IMAP with no encryption.
I also have a problem with one of my Android 5 phones. It can't send text messages when Norton Privacy WIFI is up. When I disconnect the Privacy WIFI the message sends. I do not have this problem with another Android 5 phone.
Are you in Japan? I ask because I just learned of a new feature of NWP. See this Norton KB article.
ALL traffic to and from a device with this product installed is encrypted end-to-end.
Technically, the Norton Wifi Privacy, NWP, VPN only encrypts your data from your computer to the NWP server and back. If it were not decrypted at the virtual location server, the destination computers/website servers would not understand the data requests.
To have end to end encryption you need a dedicated VPN service between your computer and the organization you are contacting, such as your company.
Having said that, NWP serves its purpose by protecting your data from someone nearby trying to intercept and snoop on your wifi session.
BlueCrab88 Thanks for the feedback. I believe peterweb explained appropriately that ALL traffic to and from a device with this product installed is encrypted end-to-end. Thus the trade off for security vs speed vs the notion everything is safe. This article explains how it works in greater detail.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled Norton WIFI Privacy on all devices many times. The problem seems to be on the VPN end and not a device issue. It is not handling proxy servers correctly. It keeps loosing them on some networks - Xfininity WIFI is a good example. I have the same problem there with all my devices.
I also have a problem with one of my Android 5 phones. It can't send text messages when Norton Privacy WIFI is up. When I disconnect the Privacy WIFI the message sends. I do not have this problem with another Android 5 phone.
Norton Privacy WIFI needs to be solid before it can be a solution to anything.
There is always going to be some overhead, thus performance/speed degradation when using a VPN. This is because all of your data now has to be encrypted before it is sent from your computer, and decrypted as it comes back into your computer.
Only you can decide if the speed loss is worth the extra layer of security of your data and personal information.