Googleadservices

You could try the following all-purpose steps for dealing with erratic device or sync behaviour. They assume that all of the content you want on the device is in your library ready for restoring. If it isn't see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device first. I would also recommend you copy everything out of the camera roll if you haven't already.

1. Backup device.
2. Restore as a new device.
3. Restore the backup you made earlier.

Use an encrypted backup if you want to preserve passwords, Wi-Fi settings, web history and health data where appropriate. I also suggest syncing with a selection of playlists (unless you're using iCloud Music Library) rather than manually adding content as, if nothing else, the process above is easier to do if you ever have to go through it again.

In your case following step 2 set up the device and confirm that Safari is behaving normally before proceeding to step 3, and then check again. You might also want to export/forward the texts (perhaps screenshots would do) and emails you are concerned about so you have an alternate record if required.

tt2

Pjmice wrote:

OK, here's the status thus far:

1. I found a third-party app and copied/saved the texts to my Mac, printed them out, and feel secure with that aspect.

2. Even tho it backup routinely, I, just now, once again backed up my iPad to my Passport device via Time Machine.

3. I believe that I'm also linked to iCloud, which I will "unlink" (I forget the proper term) before the Erase $ Restore as New process.

4. My photos will be backed up yo the Cloud and to Passport, no? Do I need to copy them to my Mac? Many of them are already there - will the copy process "duplicate" them? I will have 2000+ photos if they duplicate!

5. I will save/copy/ print any documents created on my iPad (from Pages & Word) and Notes that are important.

6. Documents in Dropbox are safe, no?

7. I have very few songs on my iPad and I don't care if I lose them in the Restore process, but could I save them via iTunes during the Restore process if I wanted to?

8. I don't know why I'm such a worrier about "transferring" the virus or whatever this is to my Mac, but can I do a Restore w/o physically connecting my ipad to my Mac?

9. Is there anything else that I need to do before Restoring?

PS - Can I use my current Apple ID when setting up my Restored iPad or will it ask me to create a new one specific to the device?

OK, that's it from this Newbie! 😉

1. OK.
2. How did you do that? Backup is either to your computer with iTunes, or iCloud from the device over Wi-Fi.
3. You need to Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support before attempting to restore.
4. Always make sure to manually copy off photos from the camera roll from time to time. Although the contents of the camera roll should be included in any device backup if the restore fails then so do your chance of recovering the photos. Link to Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support posted earlier.
5. Great. Make sure they are either in iCloud or use the iTunes File Sharing features to copy them off: See About File Sharing on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support.
6. Yes.
7. Anything that is on the device but not in your library will be lost. Purchases can be transferred, but if the device was originally loaded with content from a different library see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
8. I'm not sure there is a virus. Did you say you had some third party ad-blocker on the iPad or did I imagine that? If so removing the third-party service may be all you need to do. (Actually you mentioned two. Multiple services to do the same task is generally a bad idea.)
9. I don't think so.

P.S. Stick to one Apple ID, managing multiple Apple IDs creates a new world of hurt.

tt2

OK, I think I understand. I've just tried searching for Dog Toys on my iPad. The results look similar to yours, but in the address bar I see the search terms. If I click any of the initial results the address bar flicks to googleadservices.com and then through to the site I want to go to. This is how Google keeps track of successful responses to the ads. I believe you mentioned you had installed some sort of ad blocker on the iPad. My guess is that therein lies the problem.

BTW If you do a long press on a web link it will show the full URL for link, like this:

tt2

There is no risk of infecting the Mac if all you do is a Restore as New. A Restore is not complicated, the process is listed in the linked article better than I could explain them. Just follow this:

Restore your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to factory settings - Apple Support

Remove googleadservices from ipad

I found another thread where Diana posted some advice but no one came back to say if it worked or not.

If it is what it reads like, clearing your safari cache and not using google as a search engine may help. it reads like the adservices are all those sponsored links (aka ads) at the top of every google search....and privacy settings may be interfering with them since the click through and cookies may be messing things up.

Did you try resetting Safari?

Close Safari completely from the app switcher window by double clicking the Home button and swiping up the Safari preview pane until it disappears from the screen.

Then go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.

Then restart your device.

Do you have Google Chrome installed? If so delete it and reinstall it. This will clear its cache.

Your iPad is not jailbroken, is it? I have never heard of googleadservices on an iOS device. I would restore your iPad as New using iTunes, not from a backup as the backup would likely bring it back. You would have to reinstall your apps from scratch, a pain I know, but that is the only way to start fresh with a clean system.

If you Restore as New it will wipe your iPad clean. All will be gone however, regarding the items you mentioned above:

1) The texts will be gone.

2) Emails depend on the type of account. If you have an IMAP account, they stay on the server and you can recover them once you restore the iPad.
3) Music also depends. It will be wiped from your iPad but any music that you downloaded from iTunes can be recovered. Also any music that you synced from a computer can also be recovered.

The Apple Store Genius Bar is likely a good idea at this point.

As I mentioned I have not heard of "googleadservices" on an iOS device. I am going to ask some high level users who have far more knowledge than me regarding these issues. So hang around, someone may have a better idea.

I'm sorry, I didn't notice that it was you in another thread. Since googleadservices is tied to google, the only way to really avoid it is to not use google as a search engine or try another browser that may handle the cookies and redirected better.

FWIW, I use Google as my search engine for Safari on my iPad and so does my wife. We use the same in two iPhones and neither of us have had this issue. I cannot explain why you did. I would not rely on any device as a repository of important data. I backup my main computer to external drives by copying files, not using the auto backup. That makes it much easier to recover data.