Safari Misbehaving

[Peter Stremic]

Running 10.10.5 on iMac w/32G ram, SSD card, etc. Safari is now taking me to unwanted websites... If I'm on a site that I want, and click a link to a secondary page on that desired site, it goes there but ALSO opens up a new page totally unwanted topic. It's as if somebody's trying to point me to a page I know nothing about nor do I want to. I get the one page that I did click for, but also different pages I have no need for. Methinks somebody's gotten into my browser but not sure. Anything I can do to kill this behavior?

Thanks much.

 

[honestone]

What version of Safari are you using? Also, a newer version, compatible with both OS 10.10.x and OS 10.11.x came out last week. You can get it from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15675/apple-safari

Maybe the first thing to try is see if any "ad-related" garbage is on your machine. For that, get the excellent freeware product Malwarebytes from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/52105/malwarebytes-anti-malware

If you still have issues, then to try and confirm that it is confined to just Safari, try another browser, like Google Chrome:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/32956/google-chrome

or Firefox:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10700/firefox

Google Chrome is very fast, by the way.

If it is confined to Safari only, then you can use a free app like AppCleaner, available from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25276/appcleane

to get rid of all the files associated with Safari. You can then install V9.0.1 of Safari, and that should clear up your issue. The only problem with that approach, however, is that you will lose your bookmarks/favorites file. But, it might be the best way to get rid of whatever is on your machine.

 

[Peter Stremic]

What version of Safari are you using? Also, a newer version, compatible with both OS 10.10.x and OS 10.11.x came out last week. You can get it from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15675/apple-safari

Maybe the first thing to try is see if any "ad-related" garbage is on your machine. For that, get the excellent freeware product Malwarebytes from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/52105/malwarebytes-anti-malware

If you still have issues, then to try and confirm that it is confined to just Safari, try another browser, like Google Chrome:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/32956/google-chrome

or Firefox:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10700/firefox

Google Chrome is very fast, by the way.

If it is confined to Safari only, then you can use a free app like AppCleaner, available from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25276/appcleane

to get rid of all the files associated with Safari. You can then install V9.0.1 of Safari, and that should clear up your issue. The only problem with that approach, however, is that you will lose your bookmarks/favorites file. But, it might be the best way to get rid of whatever is on your machine.

What version of Safari are you using? Also, a newer version, compatible with both OS 10.10.x and OS 10.11.x came out last week. You can get it from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15675/apple-safari

Maybe the first thing to try is see if any "ad-related" garbage is on your machine. For that, get the excellent freeware product Malwarebytes from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/52105/malwarebytes-anti-malware

If you still have issues, then to try and confirm that it is confined to just Safari, try another browser, like Google Chrome:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/32956/google-chrome

or Firefox:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10700/firefox

Google Chrome is very fast, by the way.

If it is confined to Safari only, then you can use a free app like AppCleaner, available from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25276/appcleane

to get rid of all the files associated with Safari. You can then install V9.0.1 of Safari, and that should clear up your issue. The only problem with that approach, however, is that you will lose your bookmarks/favorites file. But, it might be the best way to get rid of whatever is on your machine.

Thanks much. Already had 9.0.1. I just ran the AVG antivirus freebie and it found 9 (NINE) suspects... I dumped them... they were all related to 'search' files so betcha that's what was causing the issue(s)... Will advise as I use it more after cleaning out the 9 files. Thanks again.

 

[honestone]

Thanks much. Already had 9.0.1. I just ran the AVG antivirus freebie and it found 9 (NINE) suspects... I dumped them... they were all related to 'search' files so betcha that's what was causing the issue(s)... Will advise as I use it more after cleaning out the 9 files. Thanks again.

Good to hear some "garbage" was found. I would still download and run that program Malwarebytes if I were you (I actually already have it).

 

[peterpica]

So far so good! I just ran the Malwarebytes utility you suggested and it found 5 MORE suspects which I immediately jettisoned. So far, so good. Thank you very much for your help! Was really getting annoying and at my age, I don't need that kinda stuff. Resolving issues like this used to be fun for me...not any more as my comprehension skills are inversely related to my increasing age! ;-) Thanks again.

 

[peterpica]

PS-FYI: Just about all of the suspects had the word 'search' in their file names.

 

[honestone]

So far so good! I just ran the Malwarebytes utility you suggested and it found 5 MORE suspects which I immediately jettisoned. So far, so good. Thank you very much for your help! Was really getting annoying and at my age, I don't need that kinda stuff. Resolving issues like this used to be fun for me...not any more as my comprehension skills are inversely related to my increasing age! ;-) Thanks again.

Glad you got it cleared up! And, I know what you mean about trying to fix "mysterious" issues! About 2 or so months back, I had a strange issue with a BitCoin Virus (never used BitCoin "services"). I never actually pinned down what the cause was, but I was using (and still use) Google Chrome as my browser of choice. I eventually had to Erase, Format, and Partition the SSD inside my Mac Mini (did not happen on my MacBook Air), and then did a recovery from a very recent backup I had done with the excellent program SuperDuper!. That program (along with a couple of other third party products) has "saved my bacon" more than once! I would strongly suggest that you make some kind of frequent backups (if you are not doing so now). You can either use Apple's Time Machine, or a backup/cloning program like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner. Time Machine is, of course free, and it is great for making "versioned" backups of non-Apple "system" files. But, recovery is somewhat more of a hassle. Something like SuperDuper! makes a bootable exact backup/clone of everything on your main partition (contains the OS also). Both SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner are not free, but for me, SuperDuper! is a life saver! It also make upgrading an OS easier too.

 

[peterpica]

Used to use SuperD, but gradually migrated to Carbon Copy Cloner (+Time Machine). Will have to revisit it & rekick the tires.

 

[honestone]

Actually, Carbon Copy Cloner is "somewhat" better than SuperDuper!, as it also backs up the Recovery Partition. SuperDuper! does not. However, that is not an issue with me, as I have recently been doing OS upgrades/restores from SuperDuper! backups by first Erasing, Formatting, and Partitioning the internal SSD (on either machine), then install the OS (and apply any Combo Updates (only 1 of those, actually), if applicable), and then use Migration Assistant to restore non-Apple "stuff" from the SuperDuper! backup. But, even if I Erase, Format, and Partition the drive, and then do a SuperDuper! restore, I can easily recreate the Recovery Partition. For disk maintenance/repairs purposes, however, given that I rely on Onyx and TechTool Pro (also have Disk Warrior), I actually don't need the Recovery Partition.

 

[peterpica]

Actually, Carbon Copy Cloner is "somewhat" better than SuperDuper!, as it also backs up the Recovery Partition. SuperDuper! does not. However, that is not an issue with me, as I have recently been doing OS upgrades/restores from SuperDuper! backups by first Erasing, Formatting, and Partitioning the internal SSD (on either machine), then install the OS (and apply any Combo Updates (only 1 of those, actually), if applicable), and then use Migration Assistant to restore non-Apple "stuff" from the SuperDuper! backup. But, even if I Erase, Format, and Partition the drive, and then do a SuperDuper! restore, I can easily recreate the Recovery Partition. For disk maintenance/repairs purposes, however, given that I rely on Onyx and TechTool Pro (also have Disk Warrior), I actually don't need the Recovery Partition.

How can I recreate a recovery partition? I think I really mucked up my 1T SSD several weeks ago... How can I check if I still have the recovery partition?

 

[honestone]

To check whether it is there or not. go to "About This Mac..." by clicking on the black Apple symbol, then select "System Report....". From there, select "SATA/SATA Express". That will show all the partitions on your internal drive. The one entitled "Recovery HD" is the one that is the recovery partition. You should also see another "hidden" partition entitled "EFI". (In my case, I have another one entitled "eDrive", which I created via TechTool Pro).

If it is not there, the "easiest" way to re-create it is to download the excellent freeware program "Recovery Partition Creator". You can get it from here:

http://musings.silvertooth.us/2014/07/recovery-partition-creator-3-8/

Just click on the link entitled "Recovery Partition Creator 3.8", located near the top of that page. To use it, you'll need to have the "Install OS X Yosemite" file (since you are using OS 10.10.5).

 

[honestone]

If you did an actual installation of either an OS, or an upgrade from the App Store (if you get the upgrade from the App Store, it is a full OS installation), then the Recovery Partition "should" get created after such an installation. I say "should" as I have seen "reports" (over the net) about issues with the non-installation of the Recovery Partition. I myself have never encountered any problems with that process. If, though, you apply just an "upgrade" (incremental or Combo, either of which are available separately, without going to the App Store (don't even think either one of those would be there) to an existing OS, that will not create the Recovery Partition (whether it is there already or not).

Again, though, I have an alternate way of creating it (if I need to).