Q: onclickads - malware or virus?

First, stop using Norton. It has trashed many more Macs than it's saved. Completely uninstall it:

https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v64924250_EndUserProf ile_en_us

There are several adware types that can make your life miserable. How to find, identify, and remove is here:

http://www.reedcorner.net/arg/

There are fake Flash installers out there, If you did not update Flash directly from the Adobe site, you could have gotten the adware that way. Only update Flash fro this site:

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Do you know where the Flash updater/installer came from ?.

I'm having the same problem!  When we're on a page and click a link to something, we're transported right to an ad or sometimes a **** site!  Mostly it's been to vube.com or us.games724.com, etc.  Even though our pop-up blocker is on, it's still doing it.  I've tried rebooting, taking the pop-up blocker off, then on, plugging and unplugging the modem, clearing the history and cookies and data -- nothing works to fix this problem so far.

It's possible we installed a "fake" Flash updater.  I'll trying figuring out how to uninstall/reinstall that, I guess.

Dear James,

It's possible that "onclickads" is simply another, newer name for a known adware. You can help us find it. Please download and install this free utility:

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

It is secure and written by one of our most valued members to allow users to show details of their computer's configuration in Apple Support Communities without revealing any sensitive personal data.

Run the program and click the "Copy report to clipboard" button when it displays the results. Then return here and paste the report into a response to your initial post. It can often show if any harmful files/programs are dragging down your performance.

Hardware Information:

          iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)

          iMac - model: iMac11,2

          1 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB

System Software:

          OS X 10.9.2 (13C1021) - Uptime: 5 days 23:56:58

Disk Information:

          WDC WD5000AAKS-40V6A0 disk0 : (500.11 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    iMac_HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (429.09 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H 

USB Information:

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

          Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

          Western Digital My Book 1110 999.5 GB

                    EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    TimeMachine (disk1s2) /Volumes/TimeMachine: 999.16 GB (304.41 GB free)

          Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

          Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information:

Gatekeeper:

          Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:

          [not loaded] com.wdc.driver.1394HP (1.0.7) Support

          [not loaded] com.wdc.driver.USBHP (1.0.6) Support

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support

          [running] com.ecamm.printopia.plist Support

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

User Login Items:

          iTunesHelper

          Mail

          Dropbox

          StatusMenu

Internet Plug-ins:

          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 Support

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 13.0.0.206 - SDK 10.6 Support

          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.06 - SDK 10.6 Support

          AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.06 - SDK 10.6 Support

          Flash Player: Version: 13.0.0.206 - SDK 10.6 Support

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

          SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.1 - SDK 10.6 Support

          GarminGpsControl: Version: 2.9.3.0 Release Support

          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20125.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8

Safari Extensions:

          AdBlock: Version: 2.6.29

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

          AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

          Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player  Support

          Flip4Mac WMV  Support

          Printopia  Support

Time Machine:

          Auto backup: YES

          Volumes being backed up:

                    iMac_HD: Disk size: 464.96 GB Disk used: 65.34 GB

          Destinations:

                    TimeMachine [Local] (Last used)

                    Total size: 930.54 GB

                    Total number of backups: 135

                    Oldest backup: 2011-11-11 01:39:55 +0000

                    Last backup: 2014-04-28 18:29:27 +0000

                    Size of backup disk: Adequate

                              Backup size 930.54 GB > (Disk used 65.34 GB X 3)

          Time Machine details may not be accurate.

          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

Top Processes by CPU:

               1%          WindowServer

               0%          fontd

               0%          com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

               0%          SystemUIServer

               0%          Dropbox

Top Processes by Memory:

          160 MB          Safari

          127 MB          mds_stores

          94 MB          softwareupdated

          74 MB          com.apple.WebKit.Networking

          66 MB          Dropbox

Virtual Memory Information:

          1.35 GB          Free RAM

          1.43 GB          Active RAM

          621 MB          Inactive RAM

          583 MB          Wired RAM

          1.63 GB          Page-ins

          83 MB          Page-outs

I've been trying to replicate the problem, and today the site that keeps coming up is worldnews247.org.

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro11,3

          1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores

          16 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel Iris Pro - VRAM: 1024 MB

          NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - VRAM: 2048 MB

System Software:

          OS X 10.9.2 (13C1021) - Uptime: 0 days 2:0:14

Disk Information:

          APPLE SSD SM0512F disk0 : (500.28 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.42 GB (391.56 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

USB Information:

          Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Configuration files:

          /etc/hosts - Count: 5

Gatekeeper:

          Anywhere

Kernel Extensions:

          [kext loaded] at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (4050 - SDK 10.8) Support

          [kext loaded] com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.2 - SDK 10.7) Support

          [not loaded] com.mice.driver.Wireless360Controller (1.0.0d12 - SDK 10.8) Support

          [not loaded] com.mice.driver.WirelessGamingReceiver (1.0.0d12 - SDK 10.8) Support

          [not loaded] com.mice.driver.Xbox360Controller (1.0.0d12 - SDK 10.8) Support

Launch Daemons:

          [running] at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist Support

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

          [loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support

          [loaded] com.ambrosiasw.ambrosiaaudiosupporthelper.daemon.plist Support

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support

          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support

          [loaded] KillLittleSnitch.plist Support

          [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist Support

Launch Agents:

          [running] at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist Support

          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

          [loaded] KillLittleSnitch.plist Support

          [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist Support

User Login Items:

          Steam

          Macs Fan Control

          iTunesHelper

          ShiftIt

          Android File Transfer Agent

          Fantastical

          Google Chrome

Internet Plug-ins:

          SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.1 - SDK 10.6 Support

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 13.0.0.201 - SDK 10.6 Support

          Flash Player: Version: 13.0.0.201 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version

          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

Safari Extensions:

          AdBlock: Version: 2.6.28

          Open in Internet Explorer: Version: 1.0

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

          AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

          Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player  Support

          XBox 360 Controllers  Support

Time Machine:

          Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:

               2%          WindowServer

               1%          fontd

               1%          Little Snitch Network Monitor

               0%          Memory Clean

               0%          warmd

Top Processes by Memory:

          246 MB          Safari

          197 MB          Wunderlist

          164 MB          WindowServer

          164 MB          com.apple.IconServicesAgent

          131 MB          Dock

Virtual Memory Information:

          11.40 GB          Free RAM

          2.86 GB          Active RAM

          476 MB          Inactive RAM

          1.26 GB          Wired RAM

          542 MB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs

Hey everyone, I think I've found the solution, it looks like it was due to a bad version of flash player.

I followed these steps from adobe to uninstall flash player (skipped step 9 because those folders didn't exist for me after uninstallation). I then rebooted after the uninstall.

http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html#main_u ninstall

I am no longer experiencing the popups from before! feels so relieving

I tried sirpig's suggestion and I think it's fixed!  I'm holding my breath, but so far so good.  The first time I tried clicking a link on a page it went to an ad, but after that it seemed to be working.  I've tried and tried to get another ad and it's not doing it!  Yipee!

You're right -- I'm very relieved!  I've now had to do this fix on my desktop as well as my laptop - may need to do it on my iPad.

Thanks so much!

James, You have the WD software that comes with a WD external drive, yet I don't a WD external listed. Their drives are fine; their software is a mess. Delete it (wdc.driver).

you also have the horrible Conduit toolbar modifier. Gotta go!

http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-conduit/

EVERYBODY ELSE!

Please start yourt own threads with the information you've posted here. It is horribly difficult to help multiple people in one thread. You're making me crazy!!!!