granzie
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Q: why does my system think it is using google chrome as well as safari  if I didnt download

A few utilities seem to think I am using google chrome as well as safari. (eg CCleaner & BitLocker Mechanic).

 

I have never downloaded or installed google chrome...

 

( Safaris behaviour is a bit wierd anyway)

 

Is it the apps or is Safari needing to be reinstalled & if so how can I do that please (as the download center only shows older Safaris)  I think I need 6.0.5

 

(&If by any chance Chrome has found its way into my machine how do I get rid of it?)

 

     Can anyone help, any info or ideas or advice please.. Thanks

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Sep 10, 2013 1:42 PM

by Carolyn Samit,Solvedanswer
Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit
Level 10 (122,600 points)
Apple Music
A:

There's a good free utiity available for uninstalling apps. It not only uninstalls the app itself, but all the associated files. Just dragging an app to the Trash doesn't do the job.

 

Download AppCleaner for Mac

Posted on Sep 10, 2013 2:40 PM

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granzie

Q: why does my system think it is using google chrome as well as safari  if I didnt download

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Carolyn Samit,Helpful

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 10, 2013 2:10 PM in response to granzie
    Level 10 (122,600 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 10, 2013 2:10 PM in response to granzie

    CCleaner, BitLocker, and Mechanic ....  all three can cause issues on a Mac, ie; Safari

     

    Third party cleaning utilities are not necessary on a Mac. You Mac runs maintenance in the background for you  > Mac OS X: About background maintenance tasks

     

    Browsers can only be installed by the user. They are not automatically downloaded.

     

    Try a Spotlight search just in case. Click the magnifying glass icon top right in your screen.

     

    Mac Basics: Spotlight

     

    In what way is Safari's behavior weird ??

     

    On a Mac running v10.8, the only way to reinstall Safari is to boot into OS X Recovery

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 2:17 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 2:17 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Thanks for replying Carolyn. Yes I know ( but I made a conscious decision to use them anyway because of security issues ).   Re the browser...

     

    The layout changes. I have just had to redo all the browser customisations.The https lock doesn't work on all sites. Currently I cannot clicK page back. The reader sometimes is blue sometimes grey and sometimes not there at all.  The developer option changes re choice of browser. Sometimes I choose Yahoo as default & find I'm using Google etc and so forth. Resetting Safari does nothing but clear history.

     

    The Mac seems OK (I have not been heavy duty with the bitlocker privacy tool or the ccleaner) but the browser is definately not right. I would like to get a redownload of Safari but all the support pages only show old ones 

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 2:20 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 2:20 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    PS yes I've tried searching with spotlight....nothing.. OSX recovery disc no longer works. I assumed it was because I'd upgraded to mountain lion

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 2:23 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 2:23 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Ah yes Ive just read your link re recovery....thankyou for your help. If it sorts it out I'll let you know.

  • by Carolyn Samit,Helpful

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 10, 2013 2:27 PM in response to granzie
    Level 10 (122,600 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 10, 2013 2:27 PM in response to granzie

    As far as security, goes make sure Gatekeeper is enabled to prevent malware.

     

    Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy then select the General tab.

     

    Make sure either Mac App Store or Mac App Store and identified developers is selected. If that area is grayed out, click the padlock icon to proceed.

     

     

     

    For Safari. That sounds like corrupted Safari preferences. Most likely caused by third party software.

     

    Open a Finder window. From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder

     

    Type or copy paste the following:

     

    ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

     

    Quit and relaunch Safari to test.

     

     

     

     

    You can't boot using Command + R ??

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 2:28 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 2:28 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Thank you so much for the help...I'll report back when I've worked through your advice

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 2:38 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 2:38 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    gatekeeper was already okay.

     

    no such file when pasted into spotlight...went in and looked and indeed no such file

     

    will try recovery but will try trashing all the third party apps first just in case

  • by Carolyn Samit,Solvedanswer

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 10, 2013 2:40 PM in response to granzie
    Level 10 (122,600 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 10, 2013 2:40 PM in response to granzie

    There's a good free utiity available for uninstalling apps. It not only uninstalls the app itself, but all the associated files. Just dragging an app to the Trash doesn't do the job.

     

    Download AppCleaner for Mac

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 2:47 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 2:47 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Thanks. Its hard to know except by trial and error which apps to use.

     

    And there you may have the crux of all my problems.. I've simply been dragging apps to trash.

     

    Extra question...

     

    Why are apps allowed into the app store if we are not really supposed to use them ie not good for the mac system. If its a case of developing then there should be a section where you can volunteer to test apps at your own risk surely?

     

    I will try AppCleaner.

  • by granzie,

    granzie granzie Sep 10, 2013 4:08 PM in response to granzie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2013 4:08 PM in response to granzie

    Worked like a charm.... It was the traces of old apps left over that were corrupting Safari I think. All apps bar one removed together with all the extras ... reinstall latest flashplayer.... yes Safari working as should again. Thanks again..Great!

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 10, 2013 4:24 PM in response to granzie
    Level 10 (122,600 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 10, 2013 4:24 PM in response to granzie

    You're welcome