Q: I have my "block pop-up windows" checked in Safari and yet I am still getting a lot of unwanted pop-up ads and am getting very frustrated each time I use my computer. Is there an Apple software package that I can purchase to remedy this?

Most likely you have some sort of adware problem.

Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems

If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Tool. Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Disable all Extensions. If this stops your problem, then re-enable them one by one until the problem returns. Now remove that extension as it is causing the problem.

An excellent link to read is Tom Reed's Mac Malware Guide.

Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware.

See these Apple articles:

  Mac OS X Snow Leopard and malware detection

  OS X Lion- Protect your Mac from malware

  OS X Mountain Lion- Protect your Mac from malware

  OS X Mavericks- Protect your Mac from malware

  About file quarantine in OS X

If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.)

From user Joe Bailey comes this equally useful advice:

The facts are:

1. There is no anti-malware software that can detect 100% of the malware out there.

2. There is no anti-malware that can detect anything targeting the Mac because there

     is no Mac malware in the wild, and therefore, no "signatures" to detect.

3. The very best way to prevent the most attacks is for you as the user to be aware that

     the most successful malware attacks rely on very sophisticated social engineering

     techniques preying on human avarice, ****, and fear.

4. Internet popups saying the FBI, NSA, Microsoft, your ISP has detected malware on

    your computer is intended to entice you to install their malware thinking it is a

    protection against malware.

5. Some of the anti-malware products on the market are worse than the malware

    from which they purport to protect you.

6. Be cautious where you go on the internet.

7. Only download anything from sites you know are safe.

8. Avoid links you receive in email, always be suspicious even if you get something

    you think is from a friend, but you were not expecting.

9. If there is any question in your mind, then assume it is malware.

Glad it helped.

<Edited By Host>

You are the Man!!

OT. I have a terrible problem understanding how Japanese, Chinese, etc. pronounce the vowels and multi-syllable words. For example, can you show me phonetically how to correctly pronounce your name? Do you stress the first or second syllable? How is the the "u" pronounced at the end of your name?

I had this problem in all three browsers I was using. In my case it was Adware called Palmall. In Safari I opened preferences, clicked on extensions and then disabled the Palmall extension.

In Firefox I found Palmall in the Add ons. Go too Tools in the main menu and Addons is in the dropdown.

In Chrome I found Palmall under extensions as well. Open Preferences and Extensions is listed in the far left-hand column.

Thank you! That does help. Another question if you don't mind? How is the pronunciation stressed for each of three syllables? Do you tend to stress the initial syllable or the second one? I'm afraid I'm a long way from understanding either language, but it does help when reading words written within text or here online. In particular I consider it poor taste if you cannot correctly pronounce a person's name.

Thanks a lot. I'm sure you understand why I find it so difficult to understand. More difficult than English, I think, but then my language may be just as complex to get for similar reasons.