Pop Ups and Redirects

[thopson2]

I recently have had an additional tab coming up when I search for something with my Safari browser. How can I make these additional windows stop coming up?

 

[chas_m]

Sounds like you might have picked up some adware. You can use the free Adware Medic to remove it.

 

[thopson2]

www.only-search.com and adcash.com popups now are a problem

By search engine keeps going back to only-search.com and popups from adcash.com are constant now. How can I clean these things from my Mac Book Pro?

 

[McBie]

What ' additional ' windows/tabs are you referring to ? Do you have a URL you can share with us.
What OS version are you running and what version of Safari.
Do you see the same behaviour on when you use Chrome/Firefox as a browser.

Cheers ... McBie

 

[pigoo3]

Threads merged. Not necessary to start a 2nd thread for the same issue.

Thanks,

- Nick

 

[bobtomay]

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6640492

 

[thopson2]

Pop ups

The website that it begins with is adcash.com but then changes to various different websites as it loads. I am using Safari Version 7.1 and 10.9.5 operating system. I also saw the same issue while using Chrome.

I have turned off all extensions and attempted to go to the link it suggested it suggested at the apple discussion board that bobtomay suggested i look at but received a message stating that "Safari can't find the server". The link that was suggested was: http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

 

[gsahli]

but received a message stating that "Safari can't find the server". The link that was suggested was: AdwareMedic

You "may" have a sophisticated adware/malware. Antivirus programs probably wouldn't find this - they haven't in the past.
Have you updated your OS X recently? Please tell us exactly what version you're on. Apple has included some new adware/malware protection (definitions) in the last month. One "feature" of the malware is that it blocks Apple updates by the simple mechanism of modifying the /etc/hosts file.
To check this please open the Terminal Utility and type:
more /etc/hosts (& RETURN)
This command displays the text of the hosts file. If there's more than one page worth, you can see the rest by pressing the space bar. (press q to quit/exit)
Look for:
127.0.0.1 swscan.apple.com
It shouldn't be there.
And tell us any other lines that have 127.0.0.1 in them.
(127.0.0.1 localhost is the Only normal one)

 

[MacInWin]

You "may" have a sophisticated adware/malware. Antivirus programs probably wouldn't find this - they haven't in the past.

Yep, it's not a virus and A/V programs don't find anything because there are NO viruses now existing for OS X. A/V is a waste of time/money/cpu cycles.

thopson2, What you need to do is to go to the aware medic site and get that, plus AdBlock+ and Ghostery to block the popup ads. The link is correct, I just tested it. Maybe your DNS got hijacked by adcash.com. To fix that, open System Preferences/Network, select your connection, Advanced/DNS and see what's set for DNS Servers. You haven't told us where you are, but one quick fix may be to click the "+" at the bottom of the DSN Server window and enter 8.8.8.8 (which is the Google DNS Server), then drag that to the top of the list so that it is the first DNS server checked. That may bypass any DNS hijack lower on the list. If Safari still cannot find the server, write down what is there in the DNS Server list, then delete all but the 8.8.8.8 entry and try again. Finally, you can check with your ISP to see what DNS server they are suggesting/linking to and make sure it's in the list and up at the top of the list.

 

[gsahli]

MacInWin,
What you have described for changing DNS will Not conteract the /etc/hosts file mods made by versions of the iWorm trojan.
And if OS X updates are blocked (in the /etc/hosts file), you can't get the xProtect updates from Apple to prevent it.

But we don't know enough to say whether he has that particular issue. That's why I ask for those steps.

 

[MacInWin]

I didn't say it would. But hijacking DNS is much easier than changing the /etc/hosts file from the outside, so it's a more likely scenario. But Apple blocked iWorm in early October, so if the OP has done any updating since then, iWorm is unlikely. OS X ‘iWorm’ trojan spreads via pirated software – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home