Possible security issue - message not recognised or trusted

[Paulc130]

I decided to try installing Norton 360 as an added security measure in my Mac. Since I have, I have the following notification box appear every minute or two:

The computer “Paul’s-iphone.attlocal.net” is attempting to access rapportd on your computer. Do you want to allow this connection.

I then have the option to with block or allow. As I’m unsure what it is I block it but the window just pops up again about a minute later.

Anyone know what it is? Is it safe to allow? Should I uninstall Norton?

Any advice appreciated.

 

[chscag]

Without hesitation, uninstall Norton 360. All it's doing is giving you false negatives and using valuable resources which will slow down your Mac.

How to uninstall Norton 360 Security

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I decided to try installing Norton 360 as an added security measure in my Mac. .

If you ask any long-time Macintosh users you will find that Norton products have a long history of being reviled by Macintosh users.

The vast majority of Macintosh users do just fine with no third party anti-virus or other security products at all. However, if you want one, here is an excellent free one:

VirusBarrier Free Edition (free)

Intego Launches VirusBarrier Scanner — Free Mac Antivirus | The Mac Security Blog

Intego VirusBarrier Scanner on the Mac App Store

This is a full version of Intego's anti-virus program VirusBarrier [usually $40/year] minus some [but not all] of the automated scanning features in the commercial version. Intego's VirusBarrier is the only anti-virus [AV] program that comes from a company that only creates software for the Macintosh. And that company is extremely effective at discovering new malware as it comes on the scene and updating their product to protect against it.

Have a look at this respected review site:
The Safe Mac » Mac anti-virus testing 2014
(Scroll down to the table listing various product’s efficacy. Note where Virus Barrier is, and where Norton is in that table.)

However, just for the record, I DO NOT think that you need anti-virus software on your Mac, and in fact I recommend against it. The Mac has built-in anti-virus software, there are extremely few threats in the wild for the Macintosh, and in general anti-virus software tends to be more trouble than it is worth.

I have the following notification box appear every minute or two:

The computer “Paul’s-iphone.attlocal.net” is attempting to access rapportd on your computer. Do you want to allow this connection.
.

Norton is set to notify you whenever there is outgoing or incoming data to/from your Macintosh. That will eventually drive you mad, because there is a lot of this sort of communication, and it is perfectly normal and benign. Also, it's really hard to determine what might not be acceptable communication and what is, as you have found.

I highly recommend that you uninstall Norton.
Uninstall Norton device security on Mac

 

[Paulc130]

Thankyou. I think I will do that. The only reason I tried Norton is my Mac is about 12 years old and getting slow. My wife has a Microsoft and has Norton installed which comes with an extra 4 computers. I just thought it might help clean my Mac up a little.

 

[Cr00zng]

Without hesitation, uninstall Norton 360. All it's doing is giving you false negatives and using valuable resources which will slow down your Mac.

How to uninstall Norton 360 Security

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Thankyou. I think I will do that. The only reason I tried Norton is my Mac is about 12 years old and getting slow. ... I just thought it might help clean my Mac up a little.

If your old Mac is getting slow, see:

Macintosh Slowdown Solutions
Macintosh OS X Slowdown Solutions

 

[Paulc130]

Thankyou, I will try this. Because of the age of my Mac it won't allow me to instal the most recent OS, only security updates. My storage is nowhere near full so do need to find something to speed it up. I always suspect companies do it on purpose to try and force you to buy new systems...who knows.

 

[Paulc130]

Thankyou all for your advice. I uninstalled Norton 360 and the original issue has been resolved. It's the first time I have done something like this in over 10 years and certainly won't be doing it again.