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This morning I received a full screen pop-up, purportedly from "Michael" at AdBlock. It had several hyperlinks. I did not click on anything and immediately closed Safari. I do have AdBlock on my mac. I highly doubt AdBlock would contact subscribers by pop-up. Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks.
iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)
There's no need for a third party ad blocker on your Mac as long as you have Block pop-up windows selected in Safari > Preferences > Security.
That way you don't have to be concerned about pop ups purportedly from AdBlock.
You can contact Adblock to have them verify the full screen pop up > Welcome - AdBlock Support
If Safari freezes after you see that pop up, force quit Safari using the Command + Option + Esc keyboard shortcut.
Then relaunch Safari while holding down the Shift key.
From your Safari menu bar click Safari > Preferences then select the Privacy tab then click: Remove All Website Data
Considering one of Adblock's job descriptions is blocking pop-up ads, gut instinct tells me it's a scam. Open Safari in Safe Mode by holding down the Shift Key, which will prevent any previous windows or tabs from reopening. From there, you can delete all your cookies and website data, them uninstall your extensions. Open Safari normally and reinstall Adblock from the developer's website, and hopefully you'll have no further issues.
The pop-up blocker native to Safari is nice, but I use Adblock Plus because aside from not wanting pop-ups, I don't want ads of any kind on any website I frequent, unless I personally choose to whitelist that domain. It's not always the pop-ups that can cause problems, it's all the other ads.
Hi, Carolyn -
Thanks for your response. I have always had "Block pop-up ads" in Safari preferences checked but find it really limited. The local newspaper, to which I have a subscription, defeats it with constant pop-up ads. The paid subscription does not allow you to opt out of ads (I've complained to no avail). AdBlock works for this and several other news sites that intersperse pop-ups with picture slide shows. I went to the website for AdBlock and there was no mention of an ad campaign so I'm pretty sure it was a phishing or malware attempt. I was able to click out of it and close Safari. There was no freeze. I ran Adware Medic by Malwarebytes and there was no adware detected. I checked my cookies and extensions and they were all familiar. I was just wondering if anyone else had this experience.
Hi pinkstones -
Thanks for your response. That was my thought too. There was nothing mentioned at the AdBlock website. I will go through Safe Mode and do a thorough reset of Safari as you suggest. Thanks.
You're welcome, and I hope it works for you with no further complications. 🙂
Actually, it was legitimate. The creator of AdBlock sold the product and AdBlock now participates in an "Acceptable Ads" program. Details are available in several articles online. I've linked to a few for you.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/02/adblock-chrome-extension-sold/
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2015/10/02/trust-us-we-block-ads/
http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/2/9441319/adblock-acquisition-unknown-buyer
I have to figure out a new AdBlocker as well.
Steve -
That's shocking! I had read that AdBlock Plus had gone to Acceptable Ads. They have a way that you can disable the default setting to disallow all ads. I have regular AdBlock and their website says nothing. I guess this is related to a lawsuit by a group of advertisers who believe that ad blockers interfere with their right to have ads seen by website users. Thanks for letting me know.
I tried to give you credit for solving my problem but I got no response when I clicked the button. Maybe it'll show up later.
Happy to help.
I went with Adblock Plus for now. No one seems to know who the buyer of AdBlock was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the owners of Adblock Plus. I plan on seeing how much I like it. I've allowed the acceptable ads feature on AdBlock Plus for now. I don't begrudge a website advertising. I am receiving a lot of benefit (content) for free and the bills have to be paid somehow by these websites. That said, I find the intrusive ads to be a bit much and so that's what AdBlock Plus will be there for.
I hope you find a product you like.
I've looked into this a little further and it is related to the lawsuit. Ad Block and AdBlock Plus were sued by a couple of German companies who think that ad blocking is illegal interference with trade. I don't think that suit has been resolved but it appears that both sites have created a work-around that puts the responsibility on the site viewer instead of AdBlock and AdBlock Plus themselves. If you click on the little shield icon on your toolbar, you get "options" which allows you to modify the default yourself. This works for both AdBlock and AdBlock Plus. It seems like a way for them to avoid liability for blocking the ad while still providing a means for the viewer to block them.
Full Screen AdBlock ad?
