"Windows warning error" Virus in Safari?

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"Windows warning error" Virus in Safari?

Hi,

A few minutes ago I accidentally typed the word thesaurus wrong into the URL form on safari and was redirected to what was obviously a malicious website. Before the page loaded, a dialogue box showed up (looks like this), so I closed safari and eventually the dialogue box disappeared. I never clicked "OK," so I don't think I ever loaded website, yet "WINDOWS WARNING ERROR" appears in my recent history.

So, is it likely that I caught the virus? I'm going to run a check on my computer anyways but I want to know whether I should shut down all activity for the night or not.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 6:00 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

stedman1

Community+ 2024

Level 10

256,404 points

Jun 1, 2015 6:02 PM in response to jaclyng

It is not a virus, just an annoying popup message. Are you able to surf without popups now?

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Answer 2

Niel

Level 10

726,851 points

Jun 1, 2015 6:05 PM in response to jaclyng

No, you shouldn't. There wasn’t a virus to begin with; those messages are scams.

(128179)

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Answer 3

Kurt Lang

Level 9

57,924 points

Jun 1, 2015 6:06 PM in response to jaclyng

Don't waste your time trying to find anything. Nothing was downloaded to, or installed on your Mac. It's not possible. For Windows users, these kinds of pages do create a fair amount of havoc. But on a Mac, it's just an annoying popup.

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Answer 4

jaclyng Author

Level 1

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Jun 1, 2015 6:07 PM in response to stedman1

I've only been on a few other websites, but so far, so good. The website I linked to does mention that whatever it is, the repeated pop-ups only appear to interfere with IE, firefox, and chrome, so I am thinking as I use safari that I might be in the clear.

Thanks for your reply! As you can probably tell, I'm not versed in all the terminology, but nevertheless a very paranoid person when these issues do come up.

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Answer 5

Jun 1, 2015 6:09 PM in response to jaclyng

The key thing to remember is to not interact with the popup. Do not call the number. If it happens again, quit or force quit Safari, then restart Safari while holding the Shift key.

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Answer 6

jaclyng Author

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Jun 1, 2015 6:09 PM in response to Niel

Thank you! I just wanted to make sure : )

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Answer 7

jaclyng Author

Level 1

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Jun 1, 2015 6:16 PM in response to stedman1

Just looked up what holding the shift key does during start up--I didn't know about the tip! Thank you.

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Answer 8

Jun 1, 2015 6:18 PM in response to jaclyng

Actually, I was referring to holding the Shift key while restarting Safari, not while restarting the computer. Doing this will allow Safari to start without it trying to reload previously open pages.

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