Browsers suddenly crash when connecting to most sites

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Level 1

12 points

Browsers suddenly crash when connecting to most sites

The browsers I use (Safari and Chrome) have both started crashing when they try to connect to most (but not all) web sites. I can connect to Amazon and log in with no problem. There are a couple of other sites I can connect to. But for most sites, the minute I try to connect to them, the browser crashes. (Both Safari and Chrome.) I have tried booting in Safe Mode, but the same thing happens. I have Norton products that have run with no problems, but I fully unloaded them (using a command line script in Terminal). That did not eliminate the problem. I have tried disabling the system firewall, again to no avail. I am stuck.

Here is part of the crash report that gets generated after Safari shuts down:

Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)

Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000

Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 6 Abort trap: 6

Terminating Process: Safari [1419]

I have seen other posts to this community about similar issues, but have not found a solution that works. Again, everything was fine until this morning. I don't think I did anything today that would have caused this. I have tried deleting the caches in both browsers, but nothing seems to work.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.5

Posted on Jun 14, 2024 7:04 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Community+ 2026

Level 10

91,504 points

Jun 14, 2024 8:44 PM in response to baldner

It is very possible all files have not been removed when uninstalling Norton and Symantec. Post the free EtreCheck report using the Additional Text option when posting. This will not provide any personal information, but will show any files that are running on startup along with other crash logs that may point to a clue.

Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

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Answer 2

CT

Level 7

24,371 points

Jun 15, 2024 8:28 AM in response to baldner

Have you tried this one yet?

Accessibility settings crash browsers - Apple Community

In short, delete ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.SpeakSelection.plist .

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Answer 3

MrHoffman

Level 10

160,203 points

Jun 15, 2024 8:45 AM in response to baldner

Add-on security tools and cleaners and such can unfortunately tend to leave chunks around at removal, and can also corrupt things. Too many of those add-on tools are seemingly centrally designed to allow the vendors to collect and resell your activities, too. You may need to re-install macOS.

EtreCheck data can provide some clues about what is happening here.

PS: Brave has had what I’d consider sketchy behavior, too. At one point, they were collecting money for website maintainers, and had never let the website maintainers know that, and had never required the websites to opt in.

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Answer 4

baldner Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 14, 2024 8:26 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks for the suggestion.

I have removed all Norton files using their instructions. When I run activity monitor, I find no Norton or Symantec processes running. I have removed all extensions from both Safari and Chrome, and rebooted. Nothing has changed. I can log into this site to see your comments, but cannot log into my bank, the NYTimes, or almost all of the sites I typically visit (and was able to visit this morning.)

One other bit of info. I installed the Brave browser, and I have no problems. I can log into whatever I want. I also downloaded and tried Opera. That crashes in the same way Safari and Chrome do. Likewise Firefox.

So, Brave seems to work (is it based on Tor?), but everything else crashes when I log into most (but not all) sites.

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Answer 5

MrHoffman

Level 10

160,203 points

Jun 14, 2024 7:19 PM in response to baldner

Remove Norton per vendor docs. Remove any other add-on security apps, add-on anti-malware, anynadd-on cleaner apps, any add-on VPNs, or similar. Restart. Try again.

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