Safari: Is there a way to prevent a website opening a new tab / new window?

Question

Level 1

24 points

Safari: Is there a way to prevent a website opening a new tab / new window?

Hey folks,

do you know a hidden setting or maybe a Safari Extension which allows me to completely disable a website's ability to open a new tab / a new window?

I know that there is a setting in Safari which calls itself "block pop ups", but this seems to only block popups that try to open 'unasked', meaning, when not having clicked on anything. In todays internet, a lot of advertisement popups open up when clicking on a legitimate button or link, and these kind of pop ups aren't blocked my Safari itself.

Do you guys have a good recommendation?

Thanks in advance!

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016), macOS Sierra (10.12.3)

Posted on Jun 10, 2017 4:27 AM

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Answer 1

dominic23

Level 10

84,018 points

Jun 10, 2017 6:17 AM in response to b0nz1l

Adware/Malware can cause this kind of a problem.

1. Use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac to remove adware/malware.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/

Download, install , open, and run it by clicking “Scan” button to remove adware.

Once done, quit Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac.

2. Disable Extensions and test.

Safari > Preferences > Extensions

Select, disable all extensions and test.

Enable Extensions one by one and test.

To uninstall any extension, select it and click the “Uninstall” button.

3. Safari > Preferences > Search > Search engine:

Select your preferred search engine.

4. Visit the site you want it to be the Home page

Safari > Preferences > General > Homepage

Click the button “Set to Current Page” button.

5. Restart your Mac.

6. Sometimes third party anti-virus software can cause this kind of a problem.

Please run EtreCheck and post the report here.

https://etrecheck.com

Download it, open Downloads folder, click on it to open, and then select ”Open”.

Click on the bouncing EtreCheck icon in the Dock.

“Choose a problem” from the popup menu box, and then “Start EtreCheck” in the dialog.

Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” .

Paste it when you reply.

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Answer 2

b0nz1l Author

Level 1

24 points

Jun 10, 2017 6:24 AM in response to dominic23

Thanks for your reply.

The behavior I was describing does not originate from malware. It is caused by Javascript inside of displayed ads on websites, which just open a new tab or a new windows (depending on the settings in Safari) I observed this behavior on completely fresh installed macOS-machines, so I think that malware was not the reason.

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Answer 3

b0nz1l Author

Level 1

24 points

Jun 10, 2017 6:27 AM in response to Eric Root

Thanks for your reply.

The articles and the plugin seem to be focussing on alert-boxes which lock up the browser, which is not the problem I am experiencing.

I was talking about ads that open up in a new tab (or window, depending on Safari settings).

So, what I want to do is: not allow websites to create a new tab/window at all!

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

685,305 points

Jun 10, 2017 6:16 AM in response to b0nz1l

See if these help.

Safari – Popup takes over

Safari – Popup takes over (2)

Popup remover – Scam Zapper

If the pop-up reloads, force quit Safari (command - option/alt - esc) and reopen with the shift key held down. If that doesn't work, disconnect from the Internet, go to Safari/History and delete the website. Quit and reopen with the shift key held down.

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Answer 5

Eric Root

Level 10

685,305 points

Jun 17, 2017 6:05 AM in response to b0nz1l

See if anything here helps.

Safari/Browsers - Eliminating browser redirects and advertisements

Safari/Browsers - Eliminating browser redirects and advertisements (2)

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Answer 6

tygb

Level 9

65,010 points

Jun 18, 2017 5:57 AM in response to b0nz1l

You wrote : do you know a hidden setting or maybe a Safari Extension which allows me to completely disable a website's ability to open a new tab / a new window?

There is no setting , but in finder preferences - General if you uncheck the option open folders in tabs instead of new windows this for finder window .

For general ads coming on internet websites you can follow the method in this article : Safari for Mac: Read articles clutter-free with Safari Reader

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Answer 7

b0nz1l Author

Level 1

24 points

Jun 17, 2017 5:56 AM in response to b0nz1l

Any ideas?

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