Peter_Air

Q: Safari does not work properly since update "OS X El Capitan"

Hi everyone,

 

I recently updated my Mac Book Air from Mavericks to El Capitan. Before the update Safari worked liked it should. Pages loaded fast and without any problems.

After the update I have a lot of troubleshooting loading pages as Safari does not load the pages at all or just some parts of it.

 

I did already the following:

- stopped all extensions

- emptied the cache

- reinstalled the Mac completely new (this was the idea from a iStore employee)

 

Nothing worked. Safari is not loading pages at all or not all parts of it. The most issues I have on Facebook or pages with a lot of advertisement. I also checked Java and the Flash Player but also no solution.

 

Can someone help me with that issue?

 

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Jan 20, 2016 8:28 AM

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Q: Safari does not work properly since update "OS X El Capitan"

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 20, 2016 4:51 PM in response to Peter_Air
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Jan 20, 2016 4:51 PM in response to Peter_Air

    You may have installed one or more variants of the "VSearch" ad-injection malware. Please back up all data, then take the steps below to inactivate it.

    Don't use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product on a Mac. There is never a need for it, and relying on it for protection makes you more vulnerable to attack, not less.

    Malware is always changing to get around the defenses against it. This procedure works as of now, as far as I know. It may not work in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for a more recent discussion, or start a new one.

    The VSearch malware tries to hide itself by varying the names of the files it installs. To remove it, you must first identify the naming pattern.

    1. Triple-click the line below on this page to select it, then copy the text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination  command-C:

    /Library/LaunchDaemons

    In the Finder, select

              Go Go to Folder...

    from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

    A folder named "LaunchDaemons" may open. Look inside it for files with a name of this form:

              com.something.net-preferences.plist

    Here something is a meaningless, random string of characters, which can be different in each instance of VSearch. So far it has always been an alphanumeric string without punctuation, such as "disbalance" or "thunderbearer."

    You could have more than one copy of the malware, with different values of something.

    There may also be one or more files with a name of this form:

               com.somethingelseUpd.plist

    where somethingelse may be a different meaningless string than something. Again, there may be more than one such file, with different values of somethingelse.

    Here's a typical example of a VSearch infection:

              com.disbalance.net-preferences.plist

              com.thunderbearerUpd.plist

    You will have files with names similar, but probably not identical, to these.

    If you feel confident that you've identified the above files, back up all data, then drag just those files—nothing else—to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password. Close the Finder windows and restart the computer.

    Don't delete the "LaunchDaemons" folder or anything else inside it, unless you know you have some other kind of unwanted software besides VSearch. The folder is a normal part of OS X. The term "daemon" refers to a program that starts automatically and runs with no direct user interaction. That's not necessarily bad.

    2. Reset the home page in each of your browsers, if it was changed. In Safari, first load the home page you want, then select

              Safari Preferences... General

    and click

              Set to Current Page

    The malware is now permanently inactivated, as long as you never reinstall it. A few small files will be left behind, but they have no effect, and trying to find them all is more trouble than it's worth.

    3. If you didn't find the files or you're not sure about the identification, post what you found.

    If in doubt, or if you have no backups, change nothing at all.

    4. The trouble may have started when you downloaded and ran an application called "MPlayerX." That's the name of a legitimate free movie player, but the name is also used fraudulently to distribute VSearch. If there is an item with that name in the Applications folder, delete it. I don't recommend that you install the genuine "MPlayerX," because it's hosted on the rogue "SourceForge" website and is bundled with other malware.

    This trojan is often found on illegal websites that traffic in pirated content such as movies. If you, or anyone else who uses the computer, visit such sites and follow prompts to install software, you can expect more of the same, and worse, to follow. Never install any software that you downloaded from a bittorrent, or that was downloaded by someone else from an unknown source.

    In the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences, select the General tab. The radio button marked Anywhere  should not be selected. If it is, click the lock icon to unlock the settings, then select one of the other buttons. After that, don't ignore a warning that you are about to run or install an application from an unknown developer.

    Then, still in System Preferences, open the App Store or Software Update pane and check the box marked

              Install system data files and security updates (OS X 10.10 or later)

    or

              Download updates automatically (OS X 10.9 or earlier)

    if it's not already checked.

  • by Peter_Air,

    Peter_Air Peter_Air Jan 21, 2016 1:29 AM in response to Peter_Air
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 21, 2016 1:29 AM in response to Peter_Air

    First of all thanks for the quick response.

    @Eric Root, I saw those links but nothing helped.

    @Linc Davis: This is what I have found. I already deleted a lot of unused programs. But the problem remains.

    Bildschirmfoto 2016-01-21 um 10.24.19.png

     

     

    Just as reminder, I used my Mac with Mavericks 1,5 years also with MPlayerX and other programs, like Teamviewer and co. than I updated it to El Capitan and the problem started. I also use a Viruscanner and co. but it did not interrupt the normal work I did on the Mac.

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 21, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Peter_Air
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Jan 21, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Peter_Air

    I guessed wrong about the cause of your problem. It's not malware.

    Please remove "AppBarrier," "ContentBarrier," "NetBarrier," and/or "VirusBarrier" by following the instructions on this page. If you have a different version, the procedure may be different.

    Back up all data before making any changes. Never install any "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product again.

  • by Peter_Air,Solvedanswer

    Peter_Air Peter_Air Jan 21, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Peter_Air
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 21, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Peter_Air

    Hi Linc Davis,

     

    I found the problem. And yes the problem was NetBarrier. It blocked most of the incoming traffic. After updating it and setting it right, its working properly again.

     

    Thanks you very much for your help anyways. Cause you mentioned the program, so I checked also on it

  • by Jeffreyferrer,

    Jeffreyferrer Jeffreyferrer Jan 22, 2016 7:52 PM in response to Peter_Air
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2016 7:52 PM in response to Peter_Air

    CAn you post the step by step on how to uninstall that netbarrier etc..... Coz its terrably frustrating for me coz i cant use my safri on macbook air w/ 10.11.3 please please

  • by Peter_Air,

    Peter_Air Peter_Air Jan 23, 2016 1:13 AM in response to Jeffreyferrer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 23, 2016 1:13 AM in response to Jeffreyferrer

    Well, first of all I did not uninstall it. I just changed the settings.

    You can have different settings in Netbarrier, "Home" "Work" and the last one should be something like "Hotspot". In those settings you can lock or unlock incoming traffic. This is where the problems comes from.

    Bildschirmfoto 2016-01-23 um 10.08.38.png

     

    But you can also uninstall the program. But as Im not a specialist on this one. Im sending you a good link

    https://support.intego.com/entries/24937247-How-to-Uninstall-Intego-Products

     

    Good Luck

  • by monsan,

    monsan monsan Apr 7, 2016 2:39 PM in response to Peter_Air
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 7, 2016 2:39 PM in response to Peter_Air

    I have no malware or anti-spam software . . and I still have the same problem with Safari . . works for a while than just freezes, USUALLY, if I quit it and start over, it's okay for a little while longer. . but not always . . .I have to quite numerous times throughout the day just to use. and it's not a wi-fi problem, I'm hardwired to the router.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Apr 8, 2016 9:52 AM in response to monsan
    Level 9 (73,783 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 8, 2016 9:52 AM in response to monsan

    You might want to consider starting a new discussion. Since this one is marked solved, less people are likely to look at it. You can link to this one.

     

    Safari 9

     

    Safari/Preferences/Advanced - enable the Develop menu, then go there and Empty Caches. Quit/reopen Safari and test. Then try Safari/History/Show History and delete all history items.  Quit/reopen Safari and test. You can also try try Safari/Clear History…. The down side is it clears all cookies.Doing this may cause some sites to no longer recognize your computer as one that has visited the web site. Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library./Caches/com.apple.Safari/Caches.db and move it to the trash.

     

    Go to Safari Preferences/Extensions and turn all extensions off. Test. If okay, turn the extensions on one by one until you figure out what extension is causing the problem.

     

    Safari Corruption       See post by Linc Davis

     

    Safari 8

     

    Safari/Preferences/Advanced - enable the Develop menu, then go there and Empty Caches. Quit/reopen Safari and test. Then try Safari/History/Show History and delete all history items.  Quit/reopen Safari and test. You can also try try Safari/Clear History and Web Site Data. The down side is it clears all cookies.Doing this may cause some sites to no longer recognize your computer as one that has visited the web site. Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library./Caches/com.apple.Safari/Caches.db and move it to the trash.

     

    Go to Safari Preferences/Extensions and turn all extensions off. Test. If okay, turn the extensions on one by one until you figure out what extension is causing the problem.

     

    Safari Corruption       See post by Linc Davis

     

    10.9 and lower

     

    Safari/Preferences/Advanced - enable the Develop menu, then go there and Empty Caches. Quit/reopen Safari and test. Then try Safari/History/Show History and delete all history items.  Quit/reopen Safari and test. You can also try try Safari/Reset Safari. The down side is it clears all cookies. Doing this may cause some sites to no longer recognize your computer as one that has visited the web site. In Finder hold down the option/alt key while selecting the Go menu item. Select Library. Then Library./Caches/com.apple.Safari/Caches.db and move it to the trash.

     

    Go to Safari Preferences/Extensions and turn all extensions off. Test. If okay, turn the extensions on one by one until you figure out what extension is causing the problem.