Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
Whenever I use Safari, it is extremely slow to start up and for my saved bookmarks to appear. The little wheel turns and turns, sometimes for a minute or more, before I can open any web pages. My other browser, Firefox, does not have this problem and opens immediately. Does anyone else have this problem and what may be causing it?
Mac mini, macOS Sierra (10.12), 2.6GHz Intel Core i7
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/Cache.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
If that doesn't work, try running this program in your normal account , then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. On the screen with Options, please open Options and check the bottom 2 boxes before running. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy Report” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.
Here's the Etrecheck report:
EtreCheck version: 3.1.5 (343)
Report generated 2017-02-06 07:31:31
Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime 1:39
Performance: Excellent
Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.
Problem: Beachballing
Description:
Beachballing occurs when I first open Safari and continues for some time before I can use the application
Hardware Information: ⓘ
Mac mini (Late 2012)
[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]
Mac mini - model: Macmini6,2
1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-3720QM) CPU: 4-core
16 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]
BANK 0/DIMM0
8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
Wireless: Unknown
Video Information: ⓘ
Intel HD Graphics 4000
S23C570 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
System Software: ⓘ
macOS Sierra 10.12.3 (16D32) - Time since boot: about 2 hours
Disk Information: ⓘ
APPLE SSD SM256E disk0 : (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)
[Show SMART report]
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 250.14 GB (127.56 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
USB Information: ⓘ
Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
Fujitsu Takamisawa Component Apple Optical USB Mouse
Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard
Apple, Inc. IR Receiver
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. MacBook Air SuperDrive
Firewire Information: ⓘ
MICRONET FANTOM DRIVE 800mbit - 800mbit max
EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Fantom HD (disk1s2) /Volumes/Fantom HD : 999.86 GB (864.37 GB free)
Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Configuration files: ⓘ
/etc/hosts - Count: 4
Gatekeeper: ⓘ
Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ⓘ
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.pctools.iantivirus.kfs (1.0.1 - 2017-01-23) [Support]
System Launch Agents: ⓘ
[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks
[loaded] 177 Apple tasks
[running] 96 Apple tasks
System Launch Daemons: ⓘ
[not loaded] 40 Apple tasks
[loaded] 173 Apple tasks
[running] 99 Apple tasks
Launch Agents: ⓘ
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-09-26) [Support]
[running] com.epson.Epson_Low_Ink_Reminder.launcher.plist (2015-09-26) [Support]
[loaded] com.epson.esua.launcher.plist (2016-11-22) [Support]
[running] com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist (2016-12-16) [Support]
[running] com.epson.scannermonitor.plist (2016-12-16) [Support]
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2017-01-17) [Support]
Launch Daemons: ⓘ
[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2013-11-18) [Support]
[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2017-01-24) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-12-16) [Support]
[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (2017-01-31) [Support]
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2016-12-12) [Support]
User Launch Agents: ⓘ
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-09-26) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2015-10-13) [Support]
Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ
FlashPlayer-10.6: 24.0.0.194 - SDK 10.9 (2017-01-10) [Support]
QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-12-13)
Flash Player: 24.0.0.194 - SDK 10.9 (2017-01-10) [Support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 121 build 13 (2017-01-17) Check version
Safari Extensions: ⓘ
TranslateMe - Marek Piechut - http://marekpiechut.github.io/translate (2015-06-17)
AdBlock Ultimate - Secure Download - https://adblockultimate.net/ (2016-08-07)
Ghostery - GHOSTERY, Inc. - https://www.ghostery.com/ (2016-08-07)
AVG Do Not Track - AVG Technologies - http://www.avg.com (2014-01-14)
Blur - Abine, the online privacy company. - https://www.abine.com (2017-02-01)
AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (2017-01-13)
Adblock Plus - Eyeo GmbH - https://adblockplus.org/ (2017-01-13)
3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ
Flash Player (2016-12-16) [Support]
Java (2017-01-17) [Support]
Time Machine: ⓘ
Skip System Files: NO
Mobile backups: OFF
Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 250.14 GB Disk used: 122.58 GB
Destinations:
Fantom HD [Local]
Total size: 999.86 GB
Total number of backups: 1
Oldest backup: 1/31/17, 8:19 AM
Last backup: 1/31/17, 8:19 AM
Size of backup disk: Excellent
Backup size 999.86 GB > (Disk size 250.14 GB X 3)
Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ
6% WindowServer
2% fontd
2% kernel_task
1% com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgent
0% askpermissiond
Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ
998 MB kernel_task
918 MB firefox
492 MB softwareupdated
180 MB mdworker(7)
180 MB mds_stores
Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ
11.41 GB Available RAM
8.62 GB Free RAM
4.59 GB Used RAM
2.79 GB Cached files
0 B Swap Used
Diagnostics Information: ⓘ
Feb 6, 2017, 05:03:05 AM Self test - passed
The support link in the report gives me this response: "
Your search - iavkfs support site:pctools.com - did not match any documents.
Doing a web searth of this file suggests it is a Norton Antivirus extension, which mystified me as I have never used Norton Antivirus. Furthermore, in opening the System/Library/Extensions folder, I cannot find the extension in question, so how do I get rid of something I do not seem to have. Is it a hidden file and how can I unhide it?
FYI I took Esquared's advice to switch off all Safari extensions but that didn't seem to help. And I use some of the same extensions in Firefox without any ill effects.
Found out a few more things. It's an invisible file, Etrecheck's report says it's "unloaded" but is apparently still in my System, and I still don't know how it got there. Went online and got a terminal script on Symantec's web site to uninstall all Symantec files from my Mac, of which there were none but this one. However, on running Etrecheck again, this same hidden file -- com.pctools.iantivirus.kfs -- is still sitting somewhere in my System/Library/Extensions folder. Any ideas on how to make it visible and trash it? FYI I don't have a Symantec account since I don't use their products, therefore cannot get any kind of live support from that company.
If it's unloaded, it cannot cause problems. But I'm pretty sure the file, which is installed only a week ago, isn't invisible.
I also noticed you have a modified hosts file. Is that something you did intentionally? If so, check the contents of that file.
The mystery keeps growing. I have researched the file in question and found it to be an invisible file connected to an old PC Tools iAntiVirus application that was discontinued by Norton back in 2013. I have never used that set of tools or any other antivirus product. I finally got hold of a Norton tech online and was told Symantec no longer supports that set of tools and he directed me to a terminal script that I already had obtained and which did not work on that particular file. The Etrecheck report may say that file was loaded a week ago but that is simply not so -- the only things I've loaded into my computer in the past three or four weeks was a Sierra OS update, a Microsoft Office Update and a Java flashplayer update. Furthermore, I have a utility called Invisiblix that allows one to see hidden files. According to the Etrecheck report hat file remains "unloaded" in my System/Library/Extensions folder and it remains completely invisible to Invisiblix. So either Etrecheck is making things up or I am obviously losing my sanity.
Switch off all those Safari extensions. Most are for the same thing, and combining them can cause havoc.
Install and manage Safari extensions on your Mac - Apple Support
[not loaded] com.pctools.iantivirus.kfs (1.0.1 - 2017-01-23) [Support]
Try uninstalling the above using the Developer's uninstall instructions.
Safari is extremely slow to start up
