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Message: "Well, this is embarrassing" appears on Norton VPN

If you see the message “Well, this is embarrassing,” it means Norton VPN was unable to create a secure connection. This can happen because of a temporary issue with the VPN server, a VPN setting that does not work with the current network, interference from another VPN app, or a device or network configuration issue. Please follow the steps below to resolve the problem.

If you have multiple VPN products installed on your device, turn on the Enable multiple active VPNs option from the Settings menu of your VPN product. Please note that enabling this option may affect your connection stability or performance.

Change the VPN protocol.

Change VPN protocol settings

To change the VPN protocol, depending on the operating system, choose one of the following:

Windows

Depending on your product, choose one of the following:

Norton VPN

  • Open Norton VPN on your desktop.

  • Click Settings in the left pane.

  • On the right side, under the VPN Preferences tab, scroll down to the VPN Protocol Settings section, and choose one of the following.

    • Automatic (recommended)

    • WireGuard

    • Mimic

    • OpenVPN (UDP)

    • OpenVPN (TCP)

Norton 360

  • Open Norton 360 on your desktop.

  • Click Privacy in the left pane.

  • Click Open under the Secure VPN.

  • On the top, click the Settings tab, scroll down to the VPN Protocol Settings section, and choose one of the following.

    • Automatic (recommended)

    • WireGuard

    • Mimic

    • OpenVPN (UDP)

    • OpenVPN (TCP)

Mac

Depending on your product, choose one of the following:

Norton VPN

  • Open Norton VPN on your Mac.

  • Click Settings in the left pane.

  • On the right side, under the VPN Preferences tab, scroll down to the VPN Protocol Settings section, and choose one of the following.

    • Automatic (recommended)

    • IPSec

    • WireGuard

    • Mimic

Norton 360

  • Open Norton VPN on your Mac.

  • Click Privacy in the left pane.

  • Click Open under the Secure VPN.

  • Click the Settings tab, scroll down to the VPN Protocol Settings section, and choose one of the following.

    • Automatic (recommended)

    • IPSec

    • WireGuard

    • Mimic

If the issue persists, connect to a different VPN region.

Connect to a different VPN region

If your VPN is set to Fastest Location, manually choose a region and try again. If you are already connected to a specific region, choose a nearby different region.

Examples:

  • If you are in the United States and your VPN is set to Fastest Location, manually select the United States.
  • If you are in the United States and the VPN is already set to the United States, try Canada or Mexico.
  • If you are in Germany and the VPN is already set to Germany, try Switzerland or France.

To manually change the geographic region, depending on the operating system, choose one of the following:

Windows

Depending on your product, choose one of the following:

Norton VPN

  1. Open Norton VPN on your desktop.

  2. On the Norton dashboard,

    • Click the down arrow next to the current region (above the Connect button).

    • A list of available countries/regions will appear. From this list, select a different Country or City to connect.

Norton VPN also allows you to choose specific cities within a country to connect to. To choose a specific city, in the Change VPN location screen, click the drop-down list present next to the country.
You may also use the search box to search and find a country or city to connect.

Norton 360

  1. Open Norton 360.

  2. On the Norton dashboard, click Privacy on the left side of the window.

  3. Click Open under Secure VPN.

  4. In the Secure VPN window, under the Connection tab, click the down arrow next to Fastest Location or current location.

  5. In the Change VPN location window, a list of available countries will appear. From this list, select a different country to connect.

Secure VPN feature in Norton 360 also allows you to choose specific cities within a country to connect to. To choose a specific city, in the Change VPN location screen, click the drop-down list present next to the country.
You may also use the search box to search and find a country to connect.

Mac

Depending on your product, choose one of the following:

Norton VPN

  1. Open Norton VPN on your Mac.

  2. On the Norton dashboard,

    • Click the down arrow next to the current region (above the Connect button).

    • A list of available countries/regions will appear. From this list, select a different country or city to connect.

Norton VPN also allows you to choose specific cities within a country to connect to. To choose a specific city, in the Change VPN location screen, click the drop-down list present next to the country.
You may also use the search box to find a country or city to connect.

Norton 360

  1. Open Norton 360.

  2. On the Norton dashboard, click Privacy on the left side of the window.

  3. Click Open under Secure VPN.

  4. In the Secure VPN window, under the Connection tab, click the down arrow next to Fastest Location or current location.

  5. In the Change VPN location window, a list of available countries/regions will appear. From this list, select a different country or city to connect.

Secure VPN feature in Norton 360 on Mac also allows you to choose specific cities within a country to connect to. To choose a specific city, in the Change VPN location screen, click the drop-down list present next to the country.
You may also use the search box to find a country or city to connect.

If the issue persists, Uninstall and Reinstall Norton VPN or Norton 360.

Uninstall and Reinstall Norton VPN or Norton 360

  1. To Uninstall Norton 360 on a Windows device, please visit this article: Uninstall your Norton device security product on Windows.
  2. To Uninstall Norton 360 on a Mac device, please visit this article: Uninstall your Norton device security product on Mac.
  3. To Reinstall Norton 360 on Windows or macOS, please visit this article: Download and install your Norton device security
  4. To Uninstall Norton VPN on Windows, macOS, please visit this article: Learn how to uninstall Norton VPN.
  5. To Reinstall Norton VPN on Windows, macOS, please visit this article: Download and install Norton VPN.

If you are still having issues, please share your feedback via our Feedback option in the Norton product. You may also contact us by visiting Member Services and Support.

DocID: v20240610115340880
Last modified: 06/26/2026

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