What Is Silent Mode in Norton?

The silent mode of Norton Anti-Virus temporarily stops background processes and suppresses notifications or security alerts. The anti-virus software will still protect your computer from malware while it is in silent mode, but you won't receive any popups, and the software won't conduct any background scans.

Norton Anti-Virus software goes into silent mode when you computer is carrying out important tasks that require a high level of processing power. These might include using full screen applications, such as video games or movies. The software will also go into another type of silent mode, called quiet mode, when you are burning disks or recording a video from your computer. This prevents the pop-up notifications interrupting your movie or game and frees up processing power for these tasks.

You can activate silent mode in one of two ways. If you want to turn on silent mode for a specified amount of time, you can activate it manually through the Norton Anti-Virus software window. The software will automatically switch to silent mode when you activate the full screen function on a video or game. When Norton activates silent mode automatically, it will automatically turn off silent mode when you leave full screen mode and any processes that were postponed will resume.

You can activate silent mode manually by opening the Norton Anti-Virus software window and clicking on "Settings." Select "Administrative Settings," then find the "Silent Mode" row. Move the switch under "Silent Mode Settings" to the left so it's "On." In the silent mode dialog box, use the drop-down menu to specify how long you want Norton to operate in silent mode. Once this time expires, Norton will automatically turn off silent mode and its normal functions will resume.

Quiet mode is the silent mode that Norton activates when your computer is carrying out certain processes, including burning CDs and recording videos using Windows Media Center. Norton Anti-Virus also contains a "Quiet Mode List." When programs on this list are opened, Norton automatically activates quiet mode and automatically deactivates quiet mode when you close these programs. Quiet mode has the same effect as silent mode; it suppresses popups and stops extra background processes from running, while still protecting your computer from security threats.