How to remove Mac OS X 10.10.1 Yosemite popup: "networksetup is trying to modify the system network configuration"

See if this helps:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11819336/prevent-networksetup-from-asking-pas sword

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=9141

https://github.com/getlantern/lantern/issues/68

the repeating is related to the setting "Security and Privacy" / “Require an administrator password to access system preferences with lock" -- when this is checked each shell call to networksetup will ask for an administrative password.

Also triggerable in a single case by locking the preferences (clicking the big lock shut) this will cause popups until correct password is entered.

Back up all data, then uninstall "Private Internet Access" according to the developer's instructions. Restart the computer and test.

Hi,

It sounds like an App or an Utility

It will either be in the Apps folder or in the Utilities one inside the Applications one.

8:56 PM Saturday; November 29, 2014

Any third-party software that doesn't install by drag-and-drop into the Applications folder, and uninstall by drag-and-drop to the Trash, is a system modification.

Whenever you remove system modifications, they must be removed completely, and the only way to do that is to use the uninstallation tool, if any, provided by the developers, or to follow their instructions. If the software has been incompletely removed, you may have to re-download or even reinstall it in order to finish the job.

I never install system modifications myself, and except as stated in this comment, I don't know how to uninstall them. You'll have to do your own research to find that information.

Here are some general guidelines to get you started. Suppose you want to remove something called “BrickMyMac” (a hypothetical example.) First, consult the product's Help menu, if there is one, for instructions. Finding none there, look on the developer's website, say www.brickmymac.com. (That may not be the actual name of the site; if necessary, search the Web for the product name.) If you don’t find anything on the website or in your search, contact the developer. While you're waiting for a response, download BrickMyMac.dmg and open it. There may be an application in there such as “Uninstall BrickMyMac.” If not, open “BrickMyMac.pkg” and look for an Uninstall button. The uninstaller might also be accessed by clicking the Customize button, if there is one.

Back up all data before making any changes.

You will generally have to restart the computer in order to complete an uninstallation. Until you do that, there may be no effect, or unpredictable effects.

If you can’t remove software in any other way, you’ll have to erase and install OS X. Never install any third-party software unless you're sure you know how to uninstall it; otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.

Trying to remove complex system modifications by hunting for files by name often will not work and may make the problem worse. The same goes for "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.

I'm also a Private Internet Access user, and I got the networksetup dialogue after migrating from an iMac to a Mac Mini. I chatted with PIA support, which gave me two troubleshooting procedures: the first was to repair privileges, restart, and reinstall a fresh version of the PIA app; when that didn't work, I asked for and was given instructions on how to completely uninstall PIA, which I'd later reinstall once the Internet was up. Here's what I was told (but please keep reading before doing anything):

1. Go into your Applications folder, and drag Private Internet Access.app to the Trashbin. Empty the Trashbin after doing this.

2. Open Terminal

3. **NOTE** Please make sure this step is completed very carefully. All symbols, and spacing are VERY important. Incorrect usage of this command can lead to Data loss. (It is best to simply copy and paste the command below)

Type: rm -rf ~/.pia_manager/

4. Press enter. If the command is successful, there will be no confirmation, it will simply go to a new line in the Terminal window.

However, before doing that I followed up on a Chrome error message that implied the browser was looking for a proxy to connect to the Internet. I could see the computer was able to connect to the Airport router, which in turn was on the Internet, and I could also see that the PIA app was able to connect to its server, so I went to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > Proxies and noticed that web proxy and secure web proxy were checked. I unchecked them and applied the settings, and then I was able to go online. I don't recall having selected those proxy settings in the past, so it's possible PIA or some other bit of software did that in the transition. All of which is to say, take a look there if you're having trouble with the networksetup dialogue.

The networksetup dialogue came up when I got a refurb Mac Mini with 10.9 (Mavericks), upgraded it to 10.10 (Yosemite), and migrated the data and settings from an old iMac. I assume something went wrong with Migration Assistant, but I don't know what it was because I'm not all that skillful at looking under the hood. I got lucky with the proxies setting. You might open Console and look at the logs when the networksetup dialogue comes up. That might give you a clue about what's going on in the background. If I'm unlucky enough to encounter the problem again and figure out another solution, I'll let you know.

Thank you so much for this Jonathan! I had this same problem when trying to configure a new MacBook Air. I tried absolutely everything to fix it, including spending 2+ hours on 2 different calls with AppleCare, wiping and re-installing the OS, and the data from my backup (3X!). Your solution finally did the trick - it was indeed Private Internet Access causing the nag screen, and now it's gone. Thanks again.