I just purchased a refurbished MacBook Pro running Ventura 13.2.1. When searching with any browser I get security warnings for even the most mundane sites. How can I turn off this level of security?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.2
First thing to do is update the computer.
" Ventura 13.2.1. " was released Feb 13, 2023
Information on the current version is available in below links
Second, then read from the links regarding Scams and relate Bad Actors on the Internet
Stop unwanted Notifications - Apple Community
Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popup… - Apple Community
Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community
First thing to do is update the computer.
" Ventura 13.2.1. " was released Feb 13, 2023
Information on the current version is available in below links
Second, then read from the links regarding Scams and relate Bad Actors on the Internet
Stop unwanted Notifications - Apple Community
Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popup… - Apple Community
Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community
If this was just purchased and not set up as new, then I would recommend starting over and resetting to factory settings.
Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support
I assume you did not install the Parental Control monitoring app Qustodio. Taking over a computer that has monitoring software set up on it already is extremely dangerous. It also sounds like it has the Search Marquis Malware and more information on that can be found here:
Removing "Search Marquis" / "Search Baron… - Apple Community
As I said, I recommend eliminating all of the troubleshooting steps and use the first link to erase your Mac and start fresh, especially if you did not install Qustodio.
Q - Description: Search results always trigger a safety warning, even for the most mundane sites.
A - The computer maybe experience the Benefits of the two Third Party Softwares installed and used on this machine
A - One or the Other seems to hijacking your search of the internet
Launch Daemons:
Q - [Loaded] 6H4HRTU5E3.com.avast.passwords.AgentXPC.plist (AVAST Software a.s. - installed 2018-07-20)
Executable: /Library/Application Support/Avast Passwords/components/AppLifecycleAgent.bundle/Contents/XPCServices/AppLifecycleAgentXPC.xpc/Contents/MacOS/AppLifecycleAgentXPC
A - The maker of Avast AntiVirus
Q - /Library/Application Support/Qustodio/bin/qproxy
[Not Loaded] qnke.kext - com.qustodio.qnke (Qustodio Technologies SL, 1.0 - SDK 13)
Q - [Running] com.qustodio.engine.plist ( - installed 2023-11-02)
Command: /bin/bash '/Library/Application Support/Qustodio/bin/qproxy/proxy-selector.sh'
Q - [Running] com.qustodio.updater.plist (Qustodio Technologies SL - installed 2023-11-14)
Executable: /Library/Application Support/Qustodio/bin/qapp/QUpdateService
Q - [Running] com.qustodio.apptray.plist (Qustodio Technologies SL - installed 2023-09-15)
Executable: /Library/Application Support/Qustodio/bin/qapp/QAppTray.app/Contents/MacOS/QAppTray
Does this occur for a different user, e.g., Guest ?
Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support
Does this occur after starting up in Safe Mode?
Consider the possibility of a third party software conflict. EtreCheck can be used to investigate what is installed. You can post the report here. Someone might spot something.
I upgraded to the latest version of the operating system, Sonoma 14.1
I started up in Safe Mode. Same results.
This is the result of clicking on link after a DuckDuckGo search for VODKA on Brave. Similar results from Safari using its standard search.
Your connection is not private
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NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID
Back to safety
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This server could not prove that it is www.tasteofhome.com; its security certificate is not trusted by your computer's operating system. This may be caused by a misconfiguration or an attacker intercepting your connection.
Proceed to www.tasteofhome.com (unsafe)
security warnings when searching in any browser.
