just2wheels

Q: My opening page has been taken over by Yahoo, and they want me to provide personal information to them! HELP

My opening page has been taken over by Yahoo, and they want me to provide personal information to them! HELP!!!

I have a MacBook Pro with Safari, and Yahoo wants me to use their system with BING.

I had no advance warning that this would happen, so I believe this is a scam, or hacker trying to get information from me. How can I avoid this attempt to take over my computer?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Oct 17, 2015 9:39 AM

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Q: My opening page has been taken over by Yahoo, and they want me to provide personal information to them! HELP

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  • Helpful answers

  • by dominic23,Helpful

    dominic23 dominic23 Oct 17, 2015 9:58 AM in response to just2wheels
    Level 8 (41,783 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 17, 2015 9:58 AM in response to just2wheels

    1. Force Quit Safari.

      

        Force Quit .

     

        Press command + option + esc keys together at the same time. Wait.

        When Force Quit window appears, select  Safari if not already.

        Press Force Quit button at the bottom of the window.   Wait.

        Safari will quit.

     

    2. Relaunch Safari holding the shift key down.

     

         This will launch Safari in Safe Mode.

         The scam page that crashed Safari will not return.

     

     

    3. Turn off wifi and turn it back on.

     

        Turn off Wifi. Click Wifi icon in the menu bar and select “Turn Wifi off”.

        Visit another website.

        You won’t have internet connection.

        Turn on Wifi. Click Wifi icon in the menu bar and select “Turn Wifi on”.

        Select your Network.

  • by just2wheels,

    just2wheels just2wheels Oct 17, 2015 9:59 AM in response to dominic23
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 17, 2015 9:59 AM in response to dominic23

    I followed your list, and it didn't do as you said it would.

  • by dominic23,

    dominic23 dominic23 Oct 17, 2015 10:06 AM in response to just2wheels
    Level 8 (41,783 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 17, 2015 10:06 AM in response to just2wheels

    Can you post a screenshot of the message please?

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201361

  • by just2wheels,

    just2wheels just2wheels Oct 17, 2015 10:16 AM in response to dominic23
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 17, 2015 10:16 AM in response to dominic23

    I'll try to post the screen shot below:

    The first time this appeared, there was a Yahoo logo on the screen with this BING sign in.

    Screen Shot 2015-10-17 at 1.11.14 PM.png

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Oct 17, 2015 11:28 AM in response to just2wheels
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    Oct 17, 2015 11:28 AM in response to just2wheels

    You may have installed ad-injection malware ("adware").

    Don't use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product on a Mac. There is never a need for it, and relying on it for protection makes you more vulnerable to attack, not less.

    Some of the most common types of adware can be removed by following Apple's instructions. If those instructions don't work for you, or if you have trouble following them, see below.

    This easy procedure will detect any kind of adware that I know of. Deactivating it is a separate, and even easier, procedure that doesn't involve downloading anything.

    Some legitimate software is ad-supported and may display ads in its own windows or in a web browser while it's running. That's not malware and it may not show up. Also, some websites carry intrusive popup ads that may be mistaken for adware.

    If none of your web browsers is working well enough to carry out these instructions, restart the computer in safe mode. That will disable the malware temporarily.

    Step 1

    Please triple-click the line below on this page to select it, then copy the text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:

    ~/Library/LaunchAgents

    In the Finder, select

              Go Go to Folder...

    from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. Press return. Either a folder named "LaunchAgents" will open, or you'll get a notice that the folder can't be found. If the folder isn't found, go to the next step.

    If the folder does open, press the key combination command-2 to select list view, if it's not already selected. Please don't skip this step.

    There should be a column in the Finder window headed Date Modified. Click that heading twice to sort the contents by date with the newest at the top. If necessary, enlarge the window so that all of the contents are showing.

    Follow the instructions in this support article under the heading "Take a screenshot of a window." An image file with a name beginning in "Screen Shot" should be saved to the Desktop. Open the screenshot and make sure it's readable. If not, capture a smaller part of the screen showing only what needs to be shown.

    Start a reply to this message. Drag the image file into the editing window to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.

    Leave the folder open for now.

    Step 2

    Do as in Step 1 with this line:

    /Library/LaunchAgents

    The folder that may open will have the same name, but is not the same, as the one in Step 1. As in that step, the folder may not exist.

    Step 3

    Repeat with this line:

    /Library/LaunchDaemons

    This time the folder will be named "LaunchDaemons."

    Step 4

    Open the Safari preferences window and select the Extensions tab. If any extensions are listed, post a screenshot. If there are no extensions, or if you can't launch Safari, skip this step.

    Step 5

    If you use the Firefox or Chrome browser, open its extension list and do as in Step 4.

  • by just2wheels,

    just2wheels just2wheels Oct 22, 2015 2:41 PM in response to just2wheels
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 22, 2015 2:41 PM in response to just2wheels

    Thanks for all the replies. Using these suggestions, and several others, I found a solution.

    I clicked on 'Safari', in the upper tool bar; then clicked 'Preferences'. In that drop down box, I clicked the 'General' tab. I saw that 'BING' was in the Search engine box. I made sure that Safari was in the Default web browser box, I selected Google in the Default Search Engine box, New Windows and New Tabs was Homepage; and in the 'Homepage:' box was empty.

    When all these settings were in place my problem went away. I then, went into Bookmarks Menu and deleted any links that had Yahoo, and any Yahoo cohort sites (so they were no longer linked on my computer.

    That allows me to open Safari to a blank page, and I can use Safari, Google, or any other Bookmarked site, without interference from the Yayhoos at Yahoo.

    Ed