How to temporarily disable Norton Protection?

Sometimes you may need to disable Norton temporarily—whether it’s Norton 360 or Norton AntiVirus. This can be necessary when the software interferes with another program or when you need to free up system resources for demanding tasks.

That’s why Norton allows you to temporarily turn off certain live protection features when needed.

Disable Norton in Windows

To temporarily turn off Norton Protection, you need to log on to your computer with an Administrator user account. For Standard user accounts, some of the settings may appear disabled (grayed out). They can also be greyed out after Norton detects and repairs a threat on your computer which requires a restart. If the grey out problem persists, you may need to use Norton Removal and Reinstall tool.

Note: For more precise control than the taskbar options offer, you can stop or resume protection through Norton’s Advanced Security settings. Details below.

Steps to disable Norton Protection in Windows (screenshot and video available below)

1. In the notification area on the taskbar, right-click the Norton icon, and then click the following:
   • Disable Auto-Protect
   • Disable Firewall
2. In the Security Request window, in the Select the duration drop-down list, select the duration for which you want to turn off Norton Protection.
3. Click OK.

Norton turns on the features automatically after the duration you specify in the Security Request window. To turn on Norton manually, in the notification area on the taskbar, right-click the Norton icon, and then click Enable Auto-Protect/Enable Firewall.

Turn off Norton Task Notifications on Windows

1. Start Norton.If you see the My Norton window, next to Device Security, click Open.
2. In the Norton main window, click Settings.
3. In the Settings window, click Administrative Settings.
4. In the Norton Task Notification row, move the On/Off switch to Off.
5. Click Apply, and then click Close.

Video

Here is the video showing all the steps on a Windows based computer:

Norton 360 Security Advanced Settings

To access more detailed controls, go to the Advanced Security settings in Norton 360.

1. Open Norton 360 and click Security from the left-hand menu.
2. Then select the Advanced Security tab.

This section is divided into three key categories:

• Computer – Manage system protection features.
• Network – Configure network and firewall settings.
• Web – Control browser protection and online security options.

You’ll find a wide range of toggles and options to fine-tune how Norton 360 protects your device and data.

Below are screenshots showing what the Advanced Security section looks like:

(Click images to enlarge)

Disable Norton in Mac

Steps to disable Norton Protection on a Mac based computer

1. Start Norton.If you see the My Norton window, next to Device Security, click Open.
2. In the Norton product main window, click Advanced or Settings.
3. On the left pane, click Protect My Mac.
4. In the Automatic Scans row, move the switch to off.
5. On the left pane, click Firewall.
6. In the Connection Blocking row, move the switch to off.
7. In the Vulnerability Protection row, move the switch to off.

You can use the Fix Now option in the main window turn on protection.

Learn more about the latest Norton for Mac.