Some sites say browser needs to be upgraded, but it already is

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I've encountered this problem for the past week or so. At first, I thought it was a Firefox issue, but it's also happened in Safari and Google Chrome. There are some sites that tell me that my browser needs to be upgraded to use the site, but all of the browsers are the latest version. Does anybody know what the problem could be? Thank you.
 
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What kind of websites are you going to? I'm not sure that the information you are being given is truthful and may simply be a ploy to get you to download something that you do not want to download.

Can you provide some addresses of the sites that this is happening at?

Regards,

Pat
 
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The first time it happened was with my yahoo mail. It said I couldn't upgrade to the latest version because my browser was out of date. Then it happened on Kayak.com, then today on the FAFSA website. I've found people who are having some of the same issues, but nobody seems to know the resolution.
 
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I'm not really sure what could be causing that. I went to Kayak and fafsa websites and didn't have any issues at all. No warnings of any type.

I am using Firefox 5.0.1. Maybe you should try deleting your browser and then reinstalling the software. I don't know what else to try. Maybe some of the more experienced Mac folks can help you out.

Sorry I can't do more.

Regards,

Pat
 
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I tried that as well. It happens in all of the browsers. Do you think it could be a virus?
 
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I tried that as well. It happens in all of the browsers. Do you think it could be a virus?

No. NOT a virus. Since this is happening across multiple browsers, I'm more inclined to think it's a plug-in. What version of Flash do you have? What are the contents of your Internet Plug-Ins folders? There are two you need to check: the one in your User Library:
yourhomefolder/Library/Internet Plug-Ins

and the one in the root Library:
Macintosh HD/Library/Internet Plug-Ins

One test you can try is to create a new user account on your Mac and see if the problems replicate under that account. This will help narrow down what the problem may be.
 
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Yup, what he said. I knew someone would come along. I have a pretty clean system and don't really have a lot of "stuff" in my system as far as plug in's etc.

I think you can also disable the plug in's in the actual browser. In Firefox it's tools/add-on's and from there you can see plug-ins and extensions. You can disable and remove. I don't know that any of those items are causing the trouble but I did find that disabling a Log-Me -In plug in increased the speed of my browser considerably. I don't use Log-Me-In enough to worry about it. I un-installed the software.

I hope you find the issue.

Regards,

Pat
 
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I went to check. There are no plug ins in my library, but there are some in the user library. I set up a new account, but the same thing happened. Are there plug-ins that are necessary or may have been deleted?
 
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I went to check. There are no plug ins in my library, but there are some in the user library. I set up a new account, but the same thing happened. Are there plug-ins that are necessary or may have been deleted?

By "my library" you do mean the root library? Normally I would take that as being the "user" library. If there are no plug-ins in the root Library, and you are having the same problem in the new user, then plug-ins are not the problem here.

Can you post a screenshot of a page showing this error specifically? One from Kayak.com should do. And what version of OS X are you running?
 
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Just out of curiosity, is your date and time accurate? Since it's happening across multiple browsers, multiple accounts, we need to look for solutions that are based at the system level. That would lead me to check date/time, network security settings, proxies if you use them, changing DNS servers (try 8.8.8.8, Google's public DNS).
 
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I have OSX 10.6.8. No plug ins in the root library. Date/time is correct, also changed DNS server. Here's a screen shot:

Screen shot 2011-07-13 at 12.59.28 PM.png
 
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I went to check. There are no plug ins in my library, but there are some in the user library. I set up a new account, but the same thing happened. Are there plug-ins that are necessary or may have been deleted?

This could be your problem. I went to my
Macintosh HD/Library?internet plugins
and this is what is in there.

Flash Player.plugin
FlashPlayer.xpt
iphotoPhotocast.plugin
Javaplugin2_NPAPI.plugin
JavaPluginCocoa.bundle
NSIQTScriptablePlugin.xpt
QuartzComposer.webplugin
Quicktimeplugin.plugin
SharepointBrowserPlugin.plugin
SharePointWebKitPlugin.plugin

The only items in the user library are EvernoteSafariClipperplugin.plugin and PicasaPlugin.

If you have nothing in your Macintosh HD/Library
it seems to me that might be the issue.
If this is the case I am unsure how to get them in there except by re-installing the browsers after un-installing them the proper way.

Regards,

Pat
 
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It look like it might be the site. I did a search for the entire first sentence of the error, and multiple pages opened pointing to travel sites with the same error.
 
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I go to the site and get no errors at all. Even the other site you referenced and I get no errors. Strange.

Are you still able to use the site regardless of the error?
 
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This is just extremely odd. PatM mentions that there are a number of plug-ins in the root Library's Plug-Ins folder, and I think that the lack of them is the problem. Most of those he lists are optional 3rd-party ones, but a couple are part of the system… QuartzComposer and the QT ones in particular. I'm gonna try a test of something and post back in a few.

EDIT: Well nevermind that. I temporarily deleted the root plug-ins folder and I was still unable to replicate the problem. I'm fast running out of ideas. Do you have any other apps running in the background? A system-wide ad-blocker is about all else I can think of at the moment that it could be. I see in your screen shot a number of menubar extras. Can you tell us what those all are?
 
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I feel like something may have been deleted when I ran MacCleanse. In the menu is a task manager for Promethean (whiteboard) software which I thought was deleted, an icon for the scanner, one for SMART response, then the usual Time Maching, Displays etc.
 
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I try not to use any of the so called Mac cleanup programs. I hear more bad things about them than good. I also am very careful about what I load into my computer especially since this is a new gig to me. I find the less I mess with it the better off I am. I actually learned that lesson on the Windows side of the equation. I've reformatted and reloaded operating systems more than I care to remember. One of the things that attracted me to the Mac was the stability of the operating system.

But it can be just as unstable as a windows machine if programs are loaded willie nillie with no regards for the consequences. Don't get me wrong I'm not talking about you I'm talking about me. I am very careful what I load and try to do proper due diligence before I do. As well I am using a Sandbox now which lets me make system changes and software additions so that I can see if there are any unintended consequences.

I don't know about the MacCleanse program or how good (or bad) it does it's job. Do you have a stable backup that you can restore from?

Regards,

Pat
 
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I do have a backup drive, which I use about once a week, but have never done a restore before. Will it do anything to new files I have created?
 
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Did you run the MacCleanse program before or after your last backup?
Is it a full system backup or just a data backup?

If it is a full system backup and it was done before the MacCleanse operation you may be able to do a system restore to get back full functionality of your browsers. It will overwrite any new changes to your system since the last full backup.

If it's possible to go this route and you have data that you have created since your last backup then you will need to save that manually on a thumb drive or disc so that you do not lose it.

Make sense?
 

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