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how do i get rid of what appears to be a virus containinghttps://ads1.msads.net/

I recently used a torrent application to download a few files. My anti virus software scanned the files and found nothing malitious in the files.. But later that evening my Google Chrome Browser and my Safari Browser both began to open repeatedly to an unknown URL: ads1.msads.net/....etc...etc plus a bunch of numbers and so on... I installed every free antivirus application available in the app store and eve some paid ones, and nothing would detect a virus or any kind of malware.. I finally was able to do a search for the URL and it brought my to the Apple Support forum.. Apparently many other Apple users had the same problem and were nice enough to post the solution. If you've purchased the Outlook Pro Tab for your computer, DELETE IT ASAP! It apparently becomes incompatible with your Mac and produces some sort conflict between the app and your browsers causing the browser to open repeatedly and attempts to redirect you to an unknown site begining with the aforementioned URL.


So, thank you my fellow Applelanians for sharing useful information with us. Once again this proves why I chose Apple over Microsoft again. Not only does Microsoft have the worst customer service in the world, but their Support forums are as useless as their customer support service. I will never go back to Windows again. Hope this snippet can help another Apple user if they come accross the same problem.


Joey

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), 21.5" - Late 2013 Model

Posted on Apr 16, 2014 8:58 PM

Reply
23 replies

Apr 17, 2014 6:46 AM in response to thomas_r.

Greetings, I am having the same issue, it keeps reloading and I can't find a way to remove this. I did purchase the Outlook Pro Tab from the App Store. I have it the app for a few months now but have not had a issue with it. This ads1.msads.net started two days ago. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will be reporting this to both MS and Apple. Thanks.

Apr 17, 2014 7:00 AM in response to kanawiteg

I don't find anything called Outlook Pro Tab in the App Store. There is something called MailTab Pro for Outlook that others, on another topic here, have identified as causing ad problems. Is that what you downloaded?


Was there an update to this program at the same time that the problem started? And have you verified that quitting MailTab Pro for Outlook causes the ads to stop popping up in Safari?

Apr 17, 2014 12:22 PM in response to thomas_r.

Yes its the Mailtab Pro for Outlook. I did quit it this morning and I also removed all cookies from browser and reset Safari. So far nothing has come back up. I looked on my updates for Mac Apps for the last 30 days, there was a update to MS OneDrive done on the 9thAPR. And the most recent have been MS OneNote; Evernote and Astro Messenger for Facebook. I would have to say since several of my apps have been updated I have had issues. But you do raise a good point, that the MailTab Pro for OutLook. Right now I am logged out of it and have quit it but it is still on my iMac.

Apr 18, 2014 3:27 AM in response to Joeydabull

Okay, I've been in contact with the company that makes MailTab Pro for Outlook, and assuming they're giving me the whole story, I understand a little better why I couldn't make this happen. They say:


Outlook.com changed their website code and it is triggering a rogue window to open in the user's browser.


We have patched the issue and awaiting Apple to approve the update.


So, it sounds like what's going on is that this app loads data from the Outlook.com website and displays parts of it within the app's interface. The parts of the site's code that the app is displaying must have changed, and now contain something that is causing ads to load in Safari every time the app refreshes its display.


Do you see some of these same ads displayed on the Outlook.com website if you log in there?

Apr 19, 2015 7:46 AM in response to Joeydabull

I was having the same problem . Everyone said remove the mailtab pro. But guess what ? I hadnt installed it on my system! I thought lets check who is the company that makes mailtab. Found out (FIPLAB Ltd )

and discovered that i had installed Disk Doctor, which is from the same company. Uninstalled it and problem fixed... They should test their products more....

Apr 19, 2015 2:46 PM in response to morfeas-dsl-

Your Mac does not need the kind of things that Disk Doctor does; that app is worthless, and should not be used. Macs do not need that kind of "cleaning." See:


The myth of the dirty Mac


It's interesting that this problem is occurring with another product from this same company. I assume you were seeing ads from the ads1.msads.net site in your web browser. Was the problem only happening when you had Disk Doctor open, or is Disk Doctor designed to run continuously in the background? Do you use Outlook.com at all?


(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com.)

Apr 19, 2015 2:53 PM in response to thomas_r.

Actually what disk doctor does is not mandatory. But it is good to clear the cache from programs from time to time and it does it automatically.
As far as the problem, no it wasnt open. I tried visited outlook through safari and i was redirected to ads1.msads.net . When i uninstalled disk doctor the problem was fixed


Ps. it created the problem only though safari. Chrome didnt have the same behavior

Apr 19, 2015 3:15 PM in response to morfeas-dsl-

morfeas-dsl- wrote:


it is good to clear the cache from programs from time to time and it does it automatically.


No, it's not. The purpose of caches is to keep your Mac running faster. By constantly deleting them, Disk Doctor is actually causing you problems. You probably have a powerful Mac, and are not pushing it hard enough to notice the difference. See the lengthier explanation in the link I gave in my previous post.


As far as the problem, no it wasnt open. I tried visited outlook through safari and i was redirected to ads1.msads.net . When i uninstalled disk doctor the problem was fixed


Good to know. I'll try to gather some more data about this.


Were you redirected every time you tried to go to the Outlook.com site, or more infrequently? Did it only happen with Outlook.com?

how do i get rid of what appears to be a virus containinghttps://ads1.msads.net/

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