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Norton screwed my Mac

L

Logo123

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2013
26
2
Hi Folks
I installed Norton Security Deluxe on my MBP.
It started making things wonky so I uninstalled it.
However my VPN stopped working since then.
I also am unable to access most VPN Provider websites since then.
Safari does not even load those websites (ExpressVPN, NordVPN, VyprVPN).
I am a bit lost as how I can fix this now especially as I have uninstalled Norton.
Are these some settings I should look at?
Appreciate your help. Thank you in advance.
 
Installing any security package on mac is asking for troubles. Not sure why anyone is willing to do so or even pay for these packages. These packages modify lots of settings in name of security, making everything vonky and non standard. As result you have typically no more secure system which now has lots of unique weird settings and behavior.
Try following instructions how to uninstall norton linked above. If it works, great.
If it still does not work right, reinstall same version of macOS over the existing one, in place. It should retain your files, Applications, and settings while fixing system settings to default state. While this installation should be non destructive, having proper tested backup before you even try is critical.
 
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OP,

I know it will be a pain in the butt but, I would do a clean install of Big Sur and then restore from a Time Machine / Carbon Copy Cloner / Arq / Super Duper backup that was made prior to Norton.

Norton deeply embeds itself into the OS and it can be a real pain to get rid of manually. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration and take the easier route.

In the future, don't put any anti-virus on your Mac. It isn't needed and as you found, it can be more trouble than anything else. If you want to guard against Malware, installing Malwarebytes and using the free version will be fine. It is also easy to uninstall with no junk left over.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
OP,

I know it will be a pain in the butt but, I would do a clean install of Big Sur and then restore from a Time Machine / Carbon Copy Cloner / Arq / Super Duper backup that was made prior to Norton.

Norton deeply embeds itself into the OS and it can be a real pain to get rid of manually. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration and take the easier route.

In the future, don't put any anti-virus on your Mac. It isn't needed and as you found, it can be more trouble than anything else. If you want to guard against Malware, installing Malwarebytes and using the free version will be fine. It is also easy to uninstall with no junk left over.
Click to expand...
before you do all that, download an app like 'find any file'... look for norton on your hard drive; proceed with care, but delete ANYTHING norton. i've done this with apps or plugins i uninstall often. simpler, anyway, than a reinstall...
 
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Apple_Robert said:
OP,

I know it will be a pain in the butt but, I would do a clean install of Big Sur and then restore from a Time Machine / Carbon Copy Cloner / Arq / Super Duper backup that was made prior to Norton.

Norton deeply embeds itself into the OS and it can be a real pain to get rid of manually. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration and take the easier route.

In the future, don't put any anti-virus on your Mac. It isn't needed and as you found, it can be more trouble than anything else. If you want to guard against Malware, installing Malwarebytes and using the free version will be fine. It is also easy to uninstall with no junk left over.
Click to expand...
Agree. This may be the best option. And I am happy to do that.
All my files are in iCloud so I guess I don't need to back those up.
Do I need to back up anything else especially as I don't know which settings were screwed up by Norton. So I would rather do a clean install and then re-install everything.
 
Logo123 said:
Agree. This may be the best option. And I am happy to do that.
All my files are in iCloud so I guess I don't need to back those up.
Do I need to back up anything else especially as I don't know which settings were screwed up by Norton. So I would rather do a clean install and then re-install everything.
Click to expand...
I would copy your user folder and store it somewhere so if you do need something from it later on, you can fish it out of there. Almost everything important is in there

Then clean install the OS
 
Thank you folks. Did a clean install of Big Sur. Hopefully that fixes the issues.
Interesting. Removed all AntiVirus. Liked the suggestion of Malware Free Version.
Maybe will do that.
 
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I used Windows starting with Windows 95 up until last year when I dove head first into the Apple ecosystem. I tried Norton and other antivirus software a few different times over the years. I learned the samething each time. They are the quickest way to screw up your OS. I stopped using them year's ago after Norton completely cut my laptop off from the internet. I uninstalled it but still had the same issues. Just to be safe I reformatted my hard drive and reloaded the OS and all of my back up data. I still don't know what Norton did but after that I was much more selective about antivirus software. Norton and a few others tend to have minds of their own no matter what you tell them to do.
 
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Before 2008 or so, the saying was “1 core for Norton, and one core for everything else”. I still see clients installing Norton + LifeLock. Antivirus companies know how to scare people.
 
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Logo123 said:
Hi Folks
I installed Norton Security Deluxe on my MBP.
It started making things wonky so I uninstalled it.
However my VPN stopped working since then.
I also am unable to access most VPN Provider websites since then.
Safari does not even load those websites (ExpressVPN, NordVPN, VyprVPN).
I am a bit lost as how I can fix this now especially as I have uninstalled Norton.
Are these some settings I should look at?
Appreciate your help. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Norton/Symantec is pure garbage, 110% pure garbage and any IT person worth their salt will tell you that. I won't even give you the countless horror stories I can give you regarding that garbage ware including the hours I spent on the phone with one of their idiot reps who couldn't tell me why Symantec could identify malware on our network shares, but couldn't remove it. He had me sit and open random system files for I kid you not, three hours until I hung up on him. Thankfully that phone call was the reason IT was able to sway our stupid management who wanted Symantec to an actual real malware removal software that could do the job.

Ditch that ********. It's essentially worse than having malware on your machine and it requires a special uninstaller.
 
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Logo123 said:
Hi Folks
I installed Norton Security Deluxe on my MBP.
It started making things wonky so I uninstalled it.
However my VPN stopped working since then.
I also am unable to access most VPN Provider websites since then.
Safari does not even load those websites (ExpressVPN, NordVPN, VyprVPN).
I am a bit lost as how I can fix this now especially as I have uninstalled Norton.
Are these some settings I should look at?
Appreciate your help. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
appcleaner is the go. https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
 
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