Lion 10.7.1:
When my MBP boots or wakes up, if its in range of a wireless network, I'll get a pop up browser window asking if I want to join it - even if my browser's not running. Being a pop-up, this isn't a full browser window and so doesn't contain my 1Password extension button, so its pretty annoying.
Is there a way to turn this pop-up window off?
Thx
MacBook Pro 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.7), 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Just so you know, here's what's happening.
This is being done to deal with an "open" WiFi which is not actually open; because it wants you to agree to its ToS (Target, Panera, McDonalds etc.) or wants you to pay (airport or hotel) or authenticate as a customer (cablewifi). It does this by waiting until you browse any insecure website (on http or port 80), then gives you its authentication page instead of the website you asked for. It blocks all other traffic, which makes the Internet seem broken if your first activity is email, https:, apps, or anything other than browsing an insecure web site.
- OS X is detecting a WiFi network that you have already logged into in the past. Under normal circumstances, it would just auto-join this network in the background, as it does on your home network.
- As a routine test, OS X tests whether the network is actually working. It sends traffic to captive.apple.com and sees if it receives the expected response. If it does not, that means the network is not working.
- In that case, OS X assumes one of those "open, not open" WiFi's. So it opens a browser window to help you hit "agree", authenticate, whatever the WiFi is looking for. The window has a "cancel" button.
- Meanwhile, OS X knocks on captive.apple.com periodicially to see if the WiFi has granted you access. Once that works, it changes the "cancel" button to "done", so you can keep interacting with it if you really want to.
- I suspect if you don't interact with the browser window, OS X just closes it. This might be the case on a network whose connectivity is poor, where its first ping failed due to network issues.
IOS does the same thing, more or less.
Mind you, it will only do this on networks you've already used in the past. including very generically named ones like GUEST or NETGEAR. On a genuinely new network, you'd need to pick it out of the WiFi dropdown.
Having lived in the age where you would bang your head against the wall trying to undertand why the VPN would not connect... I can tell you, this way is better.
Has nothing to do with your browser. It's just looking for your network. System Preferences>Network>Advanced>WiFi. Make sure you have the box checked, "Remember networks this computer has joined' and your network's name is at the top of the box.
Thanks Sig. I checked this and its set up as it should be (as you said). Indeed, its always been set up this way, but I never got the pop-up box in SL (and still don't, as I'm also booting into SL on an external disk from time to time).
As I said, the pop-up window is a browser window, not an Apple app dialogue box. Regardless of what's causing it to happen, I'd like to know if there's a way of stopping it from happening, just as it doesn't happen in SL.
Any ideas?
Thx
Sw
Can you post a picture of it?
it should look something likethis if it's trying to connect to WiFi:
If you aren't running a browser, there's no way that's a browser window. If it is, then simply go up to the menu bar and under the View Menu choose "Show Toolbar" Check the url to make sure it is a legitimate site you know.
Once you can see the toolbar, you'll be able to access your 1Password button. You can also open 1Password, filter the listings for your router name, and copy the password to paste into the window. However, if it is a web page, you shouldn't be giving anyone your passwords to your computer or wifi network.
Thanks for your reply Michael. No, it isn't the airport/wifi dialogue box as I said. It's a browser pop-up window that contains the web sign in page for a wifi network.
I can't post a picture of it right now because I'm not on one of the networks that cause it to happen, but I will tomorrow (my work network is one of them, coffee-shop and other 'sign in' wifi sites produce it also).
I'm surprised no one knows what I'm referring to. I thought it was a 'feature' of OSX Lion, as it happens as soon as you log in and pretty much before anything else is up and running on the boot up.
Anyway, I'll post more the next time it happens.
Thx to all for their responses so far. More later.
The screen is a Safari pop-up (i.e., a Safari window with no toolbars showing; however, I can't chooes 'View > Toolbars' as that menu is greyed out when the pop up appears.
The pop-up floats on top of everything, and in every Lion desktop, but has a timed life. It disappears after (at a guess) 30 - 60 seconds or so. I tried to capture it with SnagIt on a delayed capture, but it seemed to cancel the shot.
Is no else really seeing this? I'm sure it is a 'feature', not a bug. I'd just like to know how to turn it off (tried 'block pop-ups' in Safari but that doesn't work in this case).
Okay, assuming it is a safari popup that comes up when you join certain networks, then you should be able to make a screen shot: command-shift-4 by default. Check your system preferences>keyboard>keyboard shortcuts for exact key stroke. If not, if you can take a picture of the monitor it would help.
To my knowledge there is no mechanism in lion or any other OS X release that uses safari to log in to a wifi network.
there are third party products that might use safari, but it strikes me as odd, and suspicious. I don't want to cry "virus" or "phishing attempt" yet, but that's my gut reaction.
Thanks again Michael, but no, it's not a phfishing attempt because its not from one site or even one network or one router. It happens everywhere, all over town.
I will capture it, but really there's nothing to capture â it's just a safari window without the toolbars.
However, I think you have hit the nail on the head with this:
To my knowledge there is no mechanism in lion or any other OS X release that uses safari to log in to a wifi network.
That seems to be exactly what it is. I will try to see if the Activity window in Safari is available when the pop-up occurs next time.
NB:
BTW, sometimes there's an error message when it can't find ...something...I'll try to capture that too.
Note added.
softwater wrote:
Thanks again Michael, but no, it's not a phfishing attempt because its not from one site or even one network or one router. It happens everywhere, all over town.
I will capture it, but really there's nothing to capture â it's just a safari window without the toolbars.
However, I think you have hit the nail on the head with this:
To my knowledge there is no mechanism in lion or any other OS X release that uses safari to log in to a wifi network.
That seems to be exactly what it is.
I know exactly what you're talking about. You don't use the browser to connect to the wifi network but you use it to authenticate. You see these commonly on public wi-fi services such as at airports or hotels.
Thanks Adam, that's precisely it.
Now, does anyone know how to stop this happening? It never happened under SL (And still doesn't when I use SL on my external disk), so it must be something enabled in Lion.
Ah! I just got that window for the first time at a starbucks. I decided to try to find out where it came from. It's not safari, nor the finder. Luckily Little Snitch clued me in: It is most likely the Captive Network Assistant App located in
/System/Library/CoreServices/
So, let's go on a google hunt...
ah ha! http://geekbits.tumblr.com/ (scroll down a bit) So, that establishes that yes this is the gremlin in question.
And in our own discussion forums (thank google!) we find the answer:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3196089?start=0&tstart=0 (The last answer tells you to go into activity monitor, find the CNA process and unmercilessly kill it...) Ya! I just hope Safari will step in and allow you access to that same window. That and I hope Apple fixes that bug/halfbaked app with an update to lion.
Well done for finding that Michael! Not knowing what the flipping thing was called was half the battle I was having describing it!
So 'captive network assistant' is now identified as the official culprit.
BTW, it lives here:
/Volumes/[...name of your HDD...]/System/Library/CoreServices/Captive Network Assistant.app
Now, for ten points đ can anyone tell me how to disable it from running in the first place? The previous discussion only mentioned how to kill it once its up and running. I want to know how to stop it running in the first place. I guess the app could be just deleted, but it'll surely come back with every update, and I'm not sure if deleting it will have any knock-on effects.
BTW, it lives here:
/Volumes/[...name of your HDD...]/System/Library/CoreServices/Captive Network Assistant.app
Oops, sorry for the repetitions...editing rights have timed out. đ
I'm kind of tired right now (it's about 2:30AM), but from ewhat I recall (and I haven't had to recall this info for a long time) there's a file accessed in the boot process (like all Unix systems) that tell the system which apps to launch. I'm not sure if the Captive Network Assistant is fired off on boot or not, but if it is I'd would be in there. I remeber that in the /Library/ there is a Startup items folder which has apps fired off from it
search time!
I found this. It's all in one place now -- wish I had that years ago! -- http://osxbook.com/book/bonus/ancient/whatismacosx/arch_startup.html
But I looked around and that was fruitless. So, I suggest the following: navigate to the Captive Network Assistant app, move it to someplace safe (in case this breaks your ability to connect), Zip it up to make a copy of the app the OS can't get to directly, then toss the app in the trash and erase it.
Then head to a local starbucks (or any wifi network that requires you to log in or agree to a TOS) and see if (a) captive netowrk assistant pops up (whichit shouldn't) and that (b) you can connect the old fashioned way: by trying to navigate to apple.com or google.com or some other reliable site, and then getting the login/tos acceptance screen in Safari where you cna access 1Password.
If you suddenly find that you can't connect and no screen comes up in Safari, unzip the CNA and put it back where you found it. Then let me know and I'll look for other work-arounds. (I really hope Apple implements a full Webkit stack that is extensible to 1Password and other password managers -- either that or "rolls" CNA into Safari as a float-over page that can still be seen by 1Password.)
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
I was starting to loose the will to carry on. It works so well on iOS but not in lion. I deleted CNA and now I'm able to logon to my networks first time, everytime - No hangs any more.
I like lion but it still has these niggles. Come on apple and sort it out!!!
How to stop the wifi pop-up window?
