Norton Safe Search Enhanced

Name: Norton Safe Search Enhanced
Rating: 3.347368421052632 (95 reviews)
Author: https://searchsafe.norton.com/

Search safely online by enabling Norton Safe Search Enhanced as your default search provider for maximum protection on Chrome.

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Norton Safe Search Enhanced is a Chrome extension designed to safeguard your online activities by setting Norton Safe Search as your default search engine, homepage, and new tab page. It helps protect you from phishing attacks, malware distribution, and other online threats by providing safety ratings on search results, blocking malicious websites, and indicating which shopping sites are safe. This extension runs efficiently in the background to ensure you're continuously protected as you search, shop, and browse.

The extension requires permissions to monitor website activities and manage downloads to block harmful content effectively. It also uses Google Analytics with IP obfuscation to enhance performance and error tracking while respecting your privacy. By installing Norton Safe Search Enhanced, you agree to NortonLifeLock's licensing and privacy terms, ensuring a trustworthy and reliable browsing experience.

Extension Privacy & Security Productivity Utilities

By:

https://searchsafe.norton.com/

Users:

100,000

Rating:

3.35

(95)

Version:

3.20.0.21 Last updated: 2023-06-16

Creation date:

2020-06-27

Risk:

Permissions:

tabs
background
webNavigation
storage
scripting
alarms
webRequest
declarativeNetRequest
downloads
notifications

Host permissions:

<all_urls>

Size:

5.87MB

Email:

DL*****@nortonlifelock.com

URLs:

Website ,Privacy policy

Full description:

Source:

Chrome Web Store

Updated:

a day ago

Ranking

# 1,986 ▲ 82

Other rankings

#15137 in Tools ▼ 246

#3 in safe keyword 61 ▼ 1

#27 in default search keyword 40 ▲ 4

#34 in permissions keyword 8

#42 in malware keyword 42

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User reviews

Users appreciate Norton Safe Search Enhanced for its added security and protection against unsafe websites, supported by Norton's reliable customer service. However, many users criticize it for forcibly changing the default search engine and homepage without option to revert, causing significant frustration. False positives and intrusive ads or sponsored links severely hamper usability. Additionally, the extension slows browsing, opens links in new tabs unexpectedly, and sometimes becomes inactive or buggy. Overall, while it boosts security, its aggressive and restrictive behaviors make it unpopular among many users.

Pros

Provides additional security by warning about suspicious or unsafe websites.
Helps protect users from potentially dangerous sites, enhancing browsing safety.
Supported by Norton with 24/7 customer service and support options.
Trusted by some users familiar with Norton products.
Compatible with certain browsers beyond Chrome, such as Opera GX.

Cons

Causes inability to change or revert the default search engine and home page, often forcing Norton Safe Search or Yahoo.
Generates many false positives by incorrectly marking safe sites as dangerous, leading to frustration.
Feeds users with excessive ads, sponsored links, and pop-ups, reducing usability and search quality.
Slows down searching and browsing experience, sometimes resulting in performance issues.
Opens links in new tabs without user control, leading to inconvenience and disruption of browsing habits.

Recent reviews

Awful. False positive detection.

On*****, 2025-03-24

I can't search anything! DON'T GET THIS

As*****, 2024-10-30

Norton provides 24/7 help via several phone numbers and live chat at +1-810-210-9490. Norton will only contact you via email regarding open tickets from the domain support@norton.com or via phone at +1-810-210-9490. You can also reach Norton support by clicking the Contact Support option on their website. You may also engage in a conversation by clicking the button in the bottom right corner of any Knowledge Base article.

so*****, 2024-10-19

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Extension safety

Risk impact

Risk impact measures the level of extra permissions an extension has access to. A low risk impact extension cannot do much harms, whereas a high risk impact extension can do a lot of damage like stealing your password, bypassing your security settings, and accessing your personal data. High risk impact extensions are not necessarily malicious. However, if they do turn malicious, they can be very harmful.

Norton Safe Search Enhanced requires a lot of sensitive permissions. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details

Critical Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.
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Risk likelihood

Risk likelihood measures the probability that a Chrome extension may turn malicious. This is determined by the publisher and the Chrome extension reputation on Chrome Web Store, the amount of time the Chrome extension has been around, and other signals about the Chrome extension. Our algorithms are not perfect, and are subject to change as we discover new ways to detect malicious extensions. We recommend that you always exercise caution when installing a Chrome extension.

Norton Safe Search Enhanced has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

Risk likelihood analysis details

High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
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