Q: what is the best pop up blocker?

Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems

If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and AdwareMedic.

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.

The following comes from user stevejobsfan0123. I have made minor changes to adapt to this presentation.

Fix Some Browser Pop-ups That Take Over Safari.

 

Common pop-ups include a message saying the government has seized your computer and you must pay to have it released (often called "Moneypak"), or a phony message saying that your computer has been infected, and you need to call a tech support number (sometimes claiming to be Apple) to get it resolved. First, understand that these pop-ups are not caused by a virus and your computer has not been affected. This "hijack" is limited to your web browser. Also understand that these messages are scams, so do not pay any money, call the listed number, or provide any personal information. This article will outline the solution to dismiss the pop-up.

 

Quit Safari

 

Usually, these pop-ups will not go away by either clicking "OK" or "Cancel." Furthermore, several menus in the menu bar may become disabled and show in gray, including the option to quit Safari. You will likely have to force quit Safari. To do this, press Command + option + esc, select Safari, and press Force Quit.

 

Relaunch Safari

 

If you relaunch Safari, the page will reopen. To prevent this from happening, hold down the 'Shift' key while opening Safari. This will prevent windows from the last time Safari was running from reopening.

 

This will not work in all cases. The shift key must be held at the right time, and in some cases, even if done correctly, the window reappears. In these circumstances, after force quitting Safari, turn off Wi-Fi or disconnect Ethernet, depending on how you connect to the Internet. Then relaunch Safari normally. It will try to reload the malicious webpage, but without a connection, it won't be able to. Navigate away from that page by entering a different URL, i.e. www.apple.com, and trying to load it. Now you can reconnect to the Internet, and the page you entered will appear rather than the malicious one.

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 everything targeting the Mac.

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.

Hi ..

The pop ups are likely due to adware and malware. That's not something that can be blocked with Block pop-up windows selected in Safari > Preferences > Security.

Download and run the AdMedic adware / malware removal tool here >  AdwareMedic

Easy and only takes a few minutes.

cheyennefromnewbraunfels wrote:

 

My pop up blocker is turned on in safari. I keep getting terrible pop ups, but only when using the wifi at my home. Everyone else using the same wifi has the same problem so I'm pretty sure it's our internet provider (which is Cox Communications).

No, that's a sign that your router is one of those that can be compromised from anywhere on the Internet. For some ideas see How to manage a hacked wireless router.

hi!

You can go to Safari> Extensions and add "Adblock" there. It will block advertising and pop up menus. You may want to install "Traffic light" and "Ghostery" too.

Hope it helps.

cheyennefromnewbraunfels wrote:

 

Does AdwareMedic only work when I have a popup on the screen?

No, it doesn't pay any attention to pop-ups you may be seeing, it only searches your hard drive for all currently known Adware files, lists them and gives you the option of deleting them. It doesn't run any background processes to prevent future installation of adware nor will it block pop-ups. The only way to do that would be to completely disable JavaScript, which would prevent you from using many web sites, including this one.

Hi!

Is there any software to know if the router is compromised instead of running all the tests that suggests the article?

Thanks!

macsonrisa wrote:

 

Is there any software to know if the router is compromised instead of running all the tests that suggests the article?

No.

You could try downloading bitdefender from the App Store. Maybe you have some malware there.

Un saludo,

Julen

El 7/11/2014, a las 22:02, Apple Support Communities Updates <discussions-updates@apple.com> escribió:

 

 

 

Apple Support Communities

cheyennefromnewbraunfels has posted in the Safari community.

what is the best pop up blocker?

I downloaded adwaremedic and it's definely not an adware issue. It's scam popup issue apparently with javascript. The only advice I've gotten is how to close the browser when this happens, but it happens all the time. How do I prevent further scam popups???

 

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cheyennefromnewbraunfels wrote:

 

The only advice I've gotten is how to close the browser when this happens, but it happens all the time. How do I prevent further scam popups???

This typically happens when you are frequently visiting a site that is either malicious or has been hacked in some way. Try to pay attention to what site you were on when this happens, and then avoid that site in the future. If you believe the site is legit, report the issue to them.

If it is happening repeatedly with a wide variety of sites, including sites that do not normally have ads (like this one, for example), then there's something more going on. Perhaps, as MadMacs0 suggested earlier, a hacked wireless router.

cheyennefromnewbraunfels wrote:

 

Okay it is NOT a hacked wireless router because it happens to everyone in my apartment complex and we all use separate routers.

Then there is something else in common with the networks you're all using, or you're all seeing the same thing on the same hacked or malicious site.

One thing to think about is where your network comes from. If you have some kind of building-wide network that you hook your own wireless router into, it's not your router that is hacked but something in the building's networking hardware. Ultimately, if this isn't something that can be identified as happening only on a specific site (or set of sites), then you will probably need to consult with a professional in your area who can help you with your network.

cheyennefromnewbraunfels wrote:

 

Okay it is NOT a hacked wireless router because it happens to everyone in my apartment complex and we all use separate routers.

If they were all the same router provided by Cox, then it would still be a possibility.

And yes I have my firewall on.

I would not have asked as it is not needed on a trusted network (protected by a strong WPA2 password) and Firewalls only protect against incoming connection requests. Since your browser does an outbound connection request to each site, no Firewall comes into play. Once a request is accepted, that port is open for all two-way traffic.

It IS a scam popup.

You keep calling it that. What exactly do you consider a "scam"? Can we please have a screenshot or two?

How do I get rid of scam popups?

Turning JavaScript off, as I mentioned before, is the only thing you can do locally, and that will give you a less than satisfactory browsing experience on most sites, including this one. Otherwise you are going to have to track down the source of what certainly seems to be an injection. ISP's often do this to keep costs down, but I doubt that a Company as big as Cox would resort to that. The customer outcry would be huge.

If the source could be nailed down through content analysis then you could block that URL / IP address using something like the JavaScript Blocker extension for Safari. You also might be able to figure it out using Firefox with NoScript and toggling each script until you find the one that causes a "scam popup."