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Learn more about advanced protection features on Mac

The Advanced window lets you configure the advanced protection features for your Norton product. You can disable or enable these advanced protection features.

You must have a user account that has administrator privileges to change any feature settings.

The following are the different advanced protection features in the Advanced window:

Automatic Scans

Provides enhanced security and better protection by running all the necessary components from the time you start your Mac.

The Automatic Scans feature protects your Mac in the following ways:

  • Scans the files when they are created, copied, or modified.

  • Scans the disks and removable media when your Mac accesses them.

By default, Automatic Scans is turned on and your Norton product scans your entire Mac. However, you can use the settings icon and specify the files or folders that your Norton product needs to scan.

Scheduled Scans

Lets you run a scan automatically on a specific day and time.

If the scheduled scan begins when you use your computer, you can run the scan in the background instead of stopping your work.

By default, Scheduled Scans is turned off. You need to turn on the Scheduled Scans feature and use the settings icon to schedule the scan.

Idle Scans

Detects the time when you do not use your Mac and intelligently runs a scan.

The Idle Scans option is automatically turned on when you install your Norton product. Even though your Norton product automatically runs the scan, you can use the settings icon to customize the idle scans settings. Your Norton product decides when to run the idle scan depending on your settings and a few other predefined parameters.

Your Norton product discontinues any idle scan that it started during idle time if you begin to use your Mac again. However, it resumes the scan when your Mac is idle again.

We recommend that you keep the Idle Scans option turned on always.

Application Blocking

Lets you configure firewall rules for the applications that run on your Mac.

You can use the settings icon in the Application Blocking row to set the Application Blocking settings for applications on your Mac. The Application Blocking settings determine whether to allow or deny an application, such as a web browser or iTunes, from connecting to the Internet.

Application Blocking settings are not specific to a particular network location. The Application Blocking settings do not change when you change to a different network location.

Connection Blocking

Lets you allow or block the applications, ports, services, and IP addresses that connect to or from your Mac.

The Connection Blocking settings determine whether to allow or deny the incoming or the outgoing connections that use a specific service, application, or a port. You can also configure firewall to allow or block a specific IP address on the network.

You can use the settings option icon in the Connection Blocking row to set connections for applications and services on your Mac. Connection blocking settings apply only to a particular location.

Vulnerability Protection

Lets you configure your Norton product to scan all the network traffic that enters and exits your Mac and compare this information against a set of attack signatures.

The attack signatures contain the information that identifies an attacker's attempt to exploit a known operating system or program vulnerability.

Location Awareness

Lets you know whether the network location to which your Mac is currently connected is a trusted network or an untrusted network.

You can use the settings icon to access the Location Awareness window. The Location Awareness window lets you change the trust level of the network location to which your Mac is connected.

Safe Web

Lets you enable or disable the different Safe Web options that protect you from visiting unsafe websites.

Set Norton to detect fraudulent or phishing websites on Mac

Safari

Lets you add the Safe Web extension to the Safari browser that includes Norton Safe Web, Norton Safe Search, Norton Home Page, and Norton Antiphishing.

You can use the settings or view icon and then click OK to install the Safe Web extension in Safari.

Firefox

Lets you add the Safe Web extension to the Firefox browser that includes Norton Safe Web, Norton Safe Search, Norton Home Page, and Norton Antiphishing.

You can use the settings or view icon and then click OK to install the Safe Web extension in Firefox.

Chrome

Lets you add the Safe Web extensions to the Chrome browser that includes Norton Safe Web, Norton Safe Search, Norton Home Page, and Norton Antiphishing.

You can use the settings or view icon and then click OK to install the Safe Web extensions in Chrome.

Security History

Lets you monitor virus detections, virus scans, LiveUpdate, and other tasks that your Norton product performs.

In addition, you can view the statistics of the access attempts and the statuses of different features of your Norton product.

Network Activity

Lets you view the incoming and the outgoing network connection details in the Network Activity window.

The connections that are listed in the Network Activity window include the following:

  • Incoming connections to your Mac.

  • Outgoing connections from your Mac.

  • Applications that monitor ports for incoming network connections.

You can also search for a particular type of application, service, or port that runs on your Mac and view its network connection details.

Silent Mode

Lets you turn on Silent Mode.

When you turn on the Silent Mode option, you enable Silent Mode for a specified duration.

When Silent Mode is enabled, your Norton product suppresses all alerts and suspends the background activities. You can manually disable Silent Mode at any time. The activities that are suspended run after Silent Mode is disabled.

Error Management

Lets you turn on or turn off the Error Management feature.

The Error Management feature creates a detailed report of all errors your Norton product encounters and automatically submits the detailed report to Norton for further analysis for the purpose of improvement. By default, Error Management is turned on.

If you do not want to send the report to Norton, you can turn off the Error Management option.

Automatic Upgrades

You can upgrade your product to the latest version, if your subscription is active or expired. You can enable the Automatic Upgrades option to let your Norton product notify you when a new version is available. By default, the Automatic Upgrades option is enabled. If you disable the Automatic Upgrades option, you no longer receive an upgrade alert from Norton.

Norton Community Watch

Norton Community Watch collects information about potential security risks from your Mac and sends the information to Norton for analysis. This helps Norton identify new threats and where they originated more efficiently and provide solutions to block them.

If you do not want to send the information to Norton, you can turn off the Norton Community Watch option.

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DOCID: v89785784
Operating System: Mac
Last modified: 09/06/2023