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What is green icon in Safari?

When I open a page in Safari (e.g, Amazon, Google, DuckDuckGo), a green circular icon appears on the top left side of the page. See example below. The icon remains for a few seconds, then disappears. It reappears when I open the next webpage. Does anyone know what is generating this icon and what the icon is for? Thanks

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Posted on Jul 10, 2014 6:06 AM

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Posted on Jul 10, 2014 6:45 AM

I'm not sure what it is, but a good starting point is to go to Safari Preferences > Extensions tab and turn off all extensions. Then restart Safari and test. If the icon goes away, then you know an extension was responsible. You can turn the extensions back on one at a time, resetting at each step, to narrow down the one causing the icon. If the icon returns, the last extension reenabled was the culprit.


It is also possible you have picked up some adware. Please review this web site:


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

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Jul 10, 2014 6:45 AM in response to pomme4moi

I'm not sure what it is, but a good starting point is to go to Safari Preferences > Extensions tab and turn off all extensions. Then restart Safari and test. If the icon goes away, then you know an extension was responsible. You can turn the extensions back on one at a time, resetting at each step, to narrow down the one causing the icon. If the icon returns, the last extension reenabled was the culprit.


It is also possible you have picked up some adware. Please review this web site:


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

Jul 10, 2014 3:56 PM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks for the suggestion. I only had three extensions in Safari: AdBlock, 1Password and Avast. I removed them all as you suggested, re-started Safari and the green icon did not appear. I then re-added AdBlock and 1Password, one at a time, and the green icon did not re-appear. I couldn't find the Avast extension to re-add it, so I only have the two extensions running with Safari now. The green icon has not returned, so maybe is was related to Avast.


Thanks!

Jul 10, 2014 7:47 PM in response to pomme4moi

Thanks for the follow-up. I was able to confirm that is an Avast icon. Keep an eye on things because some people are reporting issues with 1Password and Mavericks. At least make sure it is updated.


You might want to read this article on that Safe Mac site I referenced:


Avast installs adware!


Avast alone can drag down your performance so I'd not only stop trying to find the extension but totally remove Avast. Instructions here:


http://www.lancelhoff.com/how-to-remove-avast-antivirus-from-a-mac/


BUT DON'T click any links on that page. I saw one unlabeled link that was supposed to a "cleaner" but the link IDed as being to MacKeeper, one of the worst scamware products around and the current subject of at least two class-action lawsuits.


The main online threat you face is adware and the majority of anti-virus programs won;t pick up adware.

Jul 11, 2014 8:09 AM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks again Allan. I am thinking of removing Avast, so appreciate your input. I know there is a lot of debate about the need and usefulness of anti-virus software for Mac's. And I know that Avast's business model is based on giving away the software for free, then using the software to collect user data behind-the-scenes for marketing purposes. So I am not surprised about their move into adware. Maybe I will try ClamXav and see how that works.


FYI that I have had no issues with 1Password with OS X Mavericks. I have been a 1Password user for a couple years now, am running the current version of the software, and it works great! Also like LastPass and KeePass, but found 1Password to have a much nicer interface. I have a Apple-only environment, so others might have a different experience in a Windows or Android environment.


Thanks again.

What is green icon in Safari?

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