SAFARI Why is my block pop-up windows function not working?

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STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

SAFARI Why is my block pop-up windows function not working?

I have it on all the time, yet I still get windows popping up occasionally.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on May 18, 2008 8:55 AM

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Answer 1

geoffco85

Level 3

620 points

May 18, 2008 8:59 AM in response to STU9000

When do you find these windows popping up? We could use a little more info to help

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Answer 2

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 9:18 AM in response to geoffco85

I don't know. Every now and then I get a pop up for this party poker site, but I can't recall which site directs me to it. I am trying to find out.

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Answer 3

geoffco85

Level 3

620 points

May 18, 2008 9:20 AM in response to STU9000

Well if you go through your history you should be able to find out.

Try resetting safari and see if that changes anything

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Answer 4

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 9:49 AM in response to geoffco85

Tried that already. I'll let you know if it happens again or I find what web site it is coming from.

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Answer 5

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

May 18, 2008 10:10 AM in response to STU9000

Considering the number of sites hit by a SQL-injection this year, they may be rogue ads serving up malware and not legit. Ad servers and cached searches on sites are one of the places that are being hit, along with an unpatched vulnerability in how SQL is setup, and even Linux Appache is a recent target.

Try Firefox w/ NoScript and see what happens in the meantime which offers more security and control. 3.0 RC1 Firefox was just posted.

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Answer 6

Rachel R

Level 6

18,705 points

May 18, 2008 10:13 AM in response to STU9000

Pop-up blocking isn't a simple thing because there are many different ways to write code that makes a new window pop up (or "pop under" your current window). Pop-up blocking can't always catch all of the new methods. So it's a constant race in which pop-up coding is changed to get around pop-up blockers, and pop-up blocking is updated to try to catch the new pop-up coding.

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Answer 7

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 10:49 AM in response to Rachel R

OK. I didn't know that. It's good to know it is no my system them.

I got a couple of worrying ones last night actually, some windows popped up saying I was at risk of a virus or something. I immediately forced down safari and restarted. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about there because I am using a mac OS right?

I'm not saying what site that was, I turned on private browsing. (I was looking at pictures of naked ladies 😉 Don't tell anyone)

Anyway, is there a way to report these things to apple so they can send out a software update to block it in the future?

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Answer 8

Rachel R

Level 6

18,705 points

May 18, 2008 12:45 PM in response to STU9000

STU9000 wrote:
I got a couple of worrying ones last night actually, some windows popped up saying I was at risk of a virus or something.

To my knowledge, all such pop-ups are scams and are mostly attempts to sell you some kind of malware-blocking software (and maybe even other nefarious purposes). From what I've seen and heard, none of these popups represent genuine virus- or spyware-detection.

Anyway, is there a way to report these things to apple so they can send out a software update to block it in the future?

You could use Safari's bug report, which you can find in the Safari menu. That is, click on "Safari" in the menubar and select "Report Bugs to Apple." If you do this while on the page that caused the popup, the bug report dialog box will automatically fill in the correct page's address; then you can type in more details describing the problem.

Message was edited by: Rachel R

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Answer 9

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 12:49 PM in response to Rachel R

Thanks for the help guys.

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Answer 10

Rachel R

Level 6

18,705 points

May 18, 2008 1:12 PM in response to STU9000

You're welcome.

Oh, and I won't tell anyone. 😉

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Answer 11

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

May 18, 2008 1:13 PM in response to Rachel R

Those pop-up alerts "your computer seems to have an infection" ARE the malware, and there is one variant seen in the wild that is OS X aware.

This started last December mostly with infected adware and using cached searches (which don't get cleaned out as often), and even normal small businesses, universities and others have been hit (half a million recently) servers. Started with "just" 50-100K.

Web bots are only going to increase and are getting smarter, altering their signature constantly.

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Answer 12

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 2:03 PM in response to The hatter

Does that mean my computer is infected with this malware?

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Answer 13

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 2:15 PM in response to STU9000

Anyone got a link for MacScan or ClamXav? I have tried doing a search but the page keeps hanging? I hope this is not the fault of any malware I might be infected with.

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Answer 14

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

May 18, 2008 2:26 PM in response to STU9000

Nothing was run, and nothing installed.

Most times, easiest way is to go to

http://www.macupdate.com

Also, Leopard Cache Cleaner includes ClamXav.

Ah, all I did was type "clamxav" into url location.
http://www.clamxav.com

Apple could take one step: ask before downloading any file. the only file I ever saw was ".exe" so it won't run unless run in Windows.

The ad wants you to click to download a small package, and then needs to pull in the rest of its "bag of tricks" usually. If you read tech news sites daily most have articles when any new thread appears. Techreport, Computerworld, TechWorld, ZDNET and others.

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Answer 15

STU9000 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 18, 2008 2:46 PM in response to The hatter

{quote:title=The hatter wrote:}
Nothing was run, and nothing installed.
Most times, easiest way is to go to
http://www.macupdate.com {quote}

I googled MacScan and found it, currently running a full scan. Thus far no spyware detected, but I have 13 tracking cookies. Not sure if they are harmful or not(?)

{quote:title=The hatter wrote:}Also, Leopard Cache Cleaner includes ClamXav. {quote}

You mean I already have this?

{quote:title=The hatter wrote:}Apple could take one step: ask before downloading any file. the only file I ever saw was ".exe" so it won't run unless run in Windows. {quote}

I am always very wary about downloading files. As a general rule I never download anything unless it is from apples own site. I have a limited knowledge of how computers work these days, so I don't know what the risks of inadvertently downloading malware but running embedded applications such as quicktime are.

{quote:title=The hatter wrote:}The ad wants you to click to download a small package, and then needs to pull in the rest of its "bag of tricks" usually. If you read tech news sites daily most have >articles when any new thread appears. Techreport, Computerworld, TechWorld, ZDNET and others.

Nothing was run, and nothing installed. {quote}

What it was was a small window, I can't really remember what it said, but when I tried to close it another one the same popped up. As I said I immediately forced safari to quit and restarted.

I am thinking about paying for this MacScan to be on the safe side, do you think I need to or is ClamXav enough? I feel that I trust free virus checkers and the likes less.

Message was edited by: STU9000

Message was edited by: STU9000

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