I can see a VPN is on my iPhone, but I don’t know where it came from and there is no way to remove it. I deleted/uninstalled all my apps & it’s still there, now what do I do?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 13, iOS 16
To remove the VPN go to Settings/General/VPN & Device Management, tap on VPN and then tap on and remove the VPN profile. And also delete Norton 360 before it does any real damage.
For all practical purposes your iPhone cannot be hacked. Your Apple ID can be hacked by someone who knows your Apple ID password, so keep it secret and make it a strong password (at least 12 characters, preferably 20). Also enable 2 factor authentication for your Apple ID if you haven’t already.
To remove the VPN go to Settings/General/VPN & Device Management, tap on VPN and then tap on and remove the VPN profile. And also delete Norton 360 before it does any real damage.
For all practical purposes your iPhone cannot be hacked. Your Apple ID can be hacked by someone who knows your Apple ID password, so keep it secret and make it a strong password (at least 12 characters, preferably 20). Also enable 2 factor authentication for your Apple ID if you haven’t already.
In order for a VPN to be installed, you (or someone with your Apple ID credentials) would have to install a VPN profile on your phone. They cannot be automatically installed.
What VPN service do you believe is installed on this phone?
To find out, tap on Settings > General > VPN & Device Management
You may need to ask a specialist or factory reset the phone.
The orange dot just means your microphone is active, as it will be when you’re on a call. You’ll also see it when you invoke Siri, or use dictation, or use the mic for anything else. There is no hacker. Norton 360 is doing absolutely nothing to enhance your security on a iPhone. Deleting that may be the start to solving your issue.
Norton 360 is about as close to malware as you can get and still be legal. And it includes VPN. It doesn’t provide additional security; it actually compromises your security.
The orange dot means your microphone is on, which it would certainly have to be if you were making a phone call.
The better option would be to remove Norton from your phone.
iOS has built in support for VPN, that’s why there’s a switch for it. If it says Not Connected then it isn’t enabled and you can ignore it.
for security & because I was hacked in 2021 on an android phone/tablet/laptop, I switched to apple devices & installed Norton 360 for additional security. Just recently my iphone locked up & told me I needed a new SIM card & I did that thru my carrier t-mobile. I’m not sure if the vpn was there before this or not, all I know is that it doesn’t appear connected on my device, but I also cannot remove it. This morning when talking in my iPhones I noticed a little orange dot next to the status bars. I think the hacker got me again!
for security & because I was hacked in 2021 on an android phone/tablet/laptop, I switched to apple devices & installed Norton 360 for additional security. Just recently my iphone locked up & told me I needed a new SIM card & I did that thru my carrier t-mobile. I’m not sure if the vpn was there before this or not, all I know is that it doesn’t appear connected on my device, but I also cannot remove it. This morning when talking in my iPhones I noticed a little orange dot next to the status bars. I think the hacker got me again!
silk176 wrote:
This morning when talking in my iPhones I noticed a little orange dot next to the status bars. I think the hacker got me again!
An orange dot would indicate that the iPhone's microphone was being used by an app on the phone. To see which apps are enabled to use the phone's microphone, tap on Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. Any apps listed AND are enabled could potentially use the microphone.
Thank you for your response. Is there anything I should do, like reset my iPhone, would that remove the VPN even if it’s not connected or is it still connected anyway?
I did remove Norton, but the vpn still shows up as “Not Connected” but I don’t trust that either.
I appreciate your help very much. I removed Norton, but I can still see VPN (Not connected) and ”Sign in to work or school account”
What would you do?
silk176 wrote:
”Sign in to work or school account”
What would you do?
I would ignore it, as it is on millions of Apple iDevices, including my iPhone and iPad.
There is an unknown VPN on my iPhone
