Q: Macbook air, browsers won't load webpages.
My macbook air is connected to the internet but any browsers I use will not load most webpages. Safari will in fact not load any, and Google Chrome seems to only be able to load those beginning with HTTPS. I have checked and it is not the wi-fi I am connected to, as other devices are working fine while connected. Also, some programs that use the internet on my macbook (Steam) are working perfectly fine. I have tried re-installing the browsers, re-installing the latest version of OS X and I have also cleared all caches for both browsers and nothing helped. I then shut the laptop down and powered up while holding: command, option, P and R keys in order to reset PRAM settings which was a proposed fix, it also did not help. However, when booted up in safe mode the internet works as normal. It is becoming very frustrating, any help would be much appreciated!
MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)
Posted on May 25, 2014 12:39 PM
"Avast" is perhaps the worst of the whole wretched lot of commercial "security" products for the Mac. Not only does it fail to protect you from any real danger, it throws false warnings, destabilizes and slows down the computer, and sometimes or always corrupts the network settings and the permissions of files in your home folder. Removing it may not repair all the damage, and neither will Disk Utility or even reinstalling OS X.
Back up all data, then remove "Avast" according to the developer's instructions. Restart.
If you tried to remove Avast by dragging an application to the Trash, you'll have to reinstall it and then follow the instructions linked above.
Remove the equally useless Sophos product by following the instructions on this page. If you have a different version, the procedure may be different.
1. This is a comment on what you should—and should not—do to protect yourself from malicious software ("malware") that circulates on the Internet and gets onto a computer as an unintended consequence of the user's actions. It does not apply to software, such as keystroke loggers, that may be installed deliberately by an intruder who has hands-on access to the computer, or who has been able to log in to it remotely. That threat is in a different category, and there's no easy way to defend against it.
2. All versions of OS X since 10.6.7 have been able to detect known Mac malware in downloaded files, and to block insecure web plugins. This feature is transparent to the user. Internally Apple calls it "XProtect."
- It can be bypassed by some third-party networking software, such as BitTorrent clients and Java applets.
- It only applies to software downloaded from the network. Software installed from a CD or other media is not checked.
- It can easily be disabled or overridden by the user.
- A malware attacker could get control of a code-signing certificate under false pretenses, or could simply ignore the consequences of distributing codesigned malware.
- An App Store developer could find a way to bypass Apple's oversight, or the oversight could fail due to human error.
Software from an untrustworthy source
- Software of any kind is distributed via BitTorrent. or Usenet, or on a website that also distributes pirated music or movies.
- Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, doesn't come directly from the developer’s website. Do not trust an alert from any website to update Flash, your browser, or anything else.
- Rogue websites such as Softonic and CNET Download distribute free applications that have been packaged in a superfluous "installer."
- The software is advertised by means of spam or intrusive web ads. Any ad, on any site, that includes a direct link to a download should be ignored.
Software that is plainly illegal or does something illegal
- High-priced commercial software such as Photoshop is "cracked" or "free."
- An application helps you to infringe copyright, for instance by circumventing the copy protection on commercial software, or saving streamed media for reuse without permission.
Conditional or unsolicited offers from strangers
- A telephone caller or a web page tells you that you have a “virus” and offers to help you remove it. (Some reputable websites did legitimately warn visitors who were infected with the "DNSChanger" malware. That exception to this rule no longer applies.)
- A web site offers free content such as video or music, but to use it you must install a “codec,” “plug-in,” "player," "downloader," "extractor," or “certificate” that comes from that same site, or an unknown one.
- You win a prize in a contest you never entered.
- Someone on a message board such as this one is eager to help you, but only if you download an application of his choosing.
- A "FREE WI-FI !!!" network advertises itself in a public place such as an airport, but is not provided by the management.
- Anything online that you would expect to pay for is "free."
Unexpected events
- You open what you think is a document and get an alert that it's "an application downloaded from the Internet." Click Cancel and delete the file. Even if you don't get the alert, you should still delete any file that isn't what you expected it to be.
- An application does something you don't expect, such as asking for permission to access your contacts, your location, or the Internet for no obvious reason.
- Software is attached to email that you didn't request, even if it comes (or seems to come) from someone you trust.
Stay within the safe harbor, and you’ll be as safe from malware as you can practically be. The rest of this comment concerns what you should not do to protect yourself.
7. Never install any commercial "anti-virus" (AV) or "Internet security" products for the Mac, as they are all worse than useless. If you need to be able to detect Windows malware in your files, use one of the free security apps in the Mac App Store—nothing else.
- To recognize malware, the software depends on a database of known threats, which is always at least a day out of date. This technique is a proven failure, as a major AV software vendor has admitted. Most attacks are "zero-day"—that is, previously unknown. Recognition-based AV does not defend against such attacks, and the enterprise IT industry is coming to the realization that traditional AV software is worthless.
- Its design is predicated on the nonexistent threat that malware may be injected at any time, anywhere in the file system. Malware is downloaded from the network; it doesn't materialize from nowhere. In order to meet that nonexistent threat, commercial AV software modifies or duplicates low-level functions of the operating system, which is a waste of resources and a common cause of instability, bugs, and poor performance.
- By modifying the operating system, the software may also create weaknesses that could be exploited by malware attackers.
- Most importantly, a false sense of security is dangerous.
London Terror Moovie.avi [124 spaces] Checked By Norton Antivirus.exe
Posted on May 26, 2014 6:38 AM