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Virus on Safari

I think I may have some sort of virus on my safari as whenever i visit a page there are some words that are underlined and when you hover over them an add pops up. Also on the facebook pages of users with timelines there are ads that can't be removed that pop up saying things like "find singles near you" and such, but most of the time the ad doesn't load. Also whenever there's a search box on a website, as i type in my search a search engine appears that remembers all the searches i've made on every website.

I've tried every Mac trojan detecting device including MacScan and nothing resolved the problem. I updated safari to the newest version and the problem went away, however after a couple of days it returned.

Does anyone have any idea on how to fix this problem?


The following is an example of some of the ads i see.

User uploaded file

MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 25, 2012 1:03 PM

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24 replies

Jul 2, 2014 7:22 AM in response to Usherwood

Like most annoyances "Codec-M" or "M-Codec" has been a moving target, but you should definitely uninstall both the "Spigot" and "Conduit" extensions that appear in your screenshot. Those are intrusive adware products that most people find annoying.


Because adware is constantly changing, you may not find an answered question containing timely information by searching old discussions such as this one.


Merely removing those extensions may not suffice. You may need more assistance, and if simply removing them through Safari's Preferences does not solve the problems you're describing, please post a new question such as this: How can I remove Spigot and Conduit from Safari?


Post it in the Safari forum.


I use google as a search engine.


I recommend you don't. Google is probably more responsible for users downloading Mac malware by following Google's advertisements than through other source. Google doesn't care that their revenue is derived from garbage product advertisements, and they certainly won't care if you mess up your Mac by installing garbage products.

Jul 2, 2014 10:45 AM in response to Usherwood

As you can see form the image inserted, I can't find the M-Codec.


You're responding to a post from 2012, and things have changed a lot since then. Adware was rare back then, but not anymore.


Your screenshot shows that you have the Spigot and Conduit adware installed. You may have other adware installed as well, as not all adware installs browser extensions. See my Adware Removal Guide for help finding and removing it.


(Fair disclosure: The Safe Mac is my site, and contains a Donate button, so I may receive compensation for providing links to The Safe Mac. Donations are not required.)

Virus on Safari

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