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cindyjj

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 29, 2014
115
1
Macbook pro late 2011 10.8.5 using firefox and sometimes chrome and rarely safari

Awhile ago I had to replace my hard drive. Since then, my internet searches are always plastered with ads and it seems to be getting worse and worse. I have tried a few things, but nothing seems to fix the problem. It didn't do this at all before I replaced my hard drive. I have to navigate all over the place around ads to read an article. What the heck.
 
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treekram

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2015
1,849
411
Honolulu HI
There is no way that just moving everything from your old HDD to a new HDD would cause the problems you're having (unless there's some software that was dormant on your old HDD that got triggered by whatever event, to push ads, but that seems unlikely).

You're going to have to tell us: 1) Where did you buy your HDD from - was it new? 2) What steps did you take to move programs/data from your old HDD to the new HDD? 3) What software have you installed and or suspicious downloads have you done since your new HDD was in place? 4) Have you loaned the computer or left it unattended since you installed your new HDD?

(NOTE: Some sites will pretend to be legitimate but will not be - adware sites saying you need to update your Flash plugin are one example.)

You can try downloading and running EtreCheck and posting the results here.
https://etrecheck.com/
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
32,957
13,178
California
cindyjj said:
Macbook pro late 2011 10.8.5 using firefox and sometimes chrome and rarely safari

Awhile ago I had to replace my hard drive. Since then, my internet searches are always plastered with ads and it seems to be getting worse and worse. I have tried a few things, but nothing seems to fix the problem. It didn't do this at all before I replaced my hard drive. I have to navigate all over the place around ads to read an article. What the heck.
Click to expand...
Sounds like maybe somewhere along the line you installed an app that had some adware bundled in there with it. Try running MalwareBytes to see if it finds any malware/adware on your system.
 
C

cindyjj

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 29, 2014
115
1
treekram said:
There is no way that just moving everything from your old HDD to a new HDD would cause the problems you're having (unless there's some software that was dormant on your old HDD that got triggered by whatever event, to push ads, but that seems unlikely).

You're going to have to tell us: 1) Where did you buy your HDD from - was it new? 2) What steps did you take to move programs/data from your old HDD to the new HDD? 3) What software have you installed and or suspicious downloads have you done since your new HDD was in place? 4) Have you loaned the computer or left it unattended since you installed your new HDD?

(NOTE: Some sites will pretend to be legitimate but will not be - adware sites saying you need to update your Flash plugin are one example.)

You can try downloading and running EtreCheck and posting the results here.
https://etrecheck.com/
Click to expand...

What a coincidence, then. Here's the sequence - I did a time machine back up on a new external hd. Then I installed a new internal hd. Then I moved only some contents back onto my hd - some things would not transfer - Microsoft Office, Dragon Dictate etc. and I had to reinstall them. Then I went about using my computer as I always do and started getting these pop up ads everywhere. I'm guessing it was simply settings I had when my old hd was in that I hadn't re configured. Perhaps had I done an entire time machine restore, the settings would have been restored as well, no idea. I have not installed any new software at all. I think it is just adware getting into my computer from all of the surfing I do, but the usual link to clear that (see below) said none was there.
 
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treekram

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2015
1,849
411
Honolulu HI
So, given that scenario, where do you have your firewall? If your home router/whatever doesn't have a firewall or if you use the computer on wifi networks where the firewall status is unknown, then you should have the internal firewall turned on. That's in System Preferences -> Security and Privacy Pane (first row) -> Firewall. Maybe that setting wasn't turned on when you moved over to the new HDD? I don't know if that's a typical way to get adware but is something to check anyway.
 
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C

cindyjj

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 29, 2014
115
1
treekram said:
So, given that scenario, where do you have your firewall? If your home router/whatever doesn't have a firewall or if you use the computer on wifi networks where the firewall status is unknown, then you should have the internal firewall turned on. That's in System Preferences -> Security and Privacy Pane (first row) -> Firewall. Maybe that setting wasn't turned on when you moved over to the new HDD? I don't know if that's a typical way to get adware but is something to check anyway.
Click to expand...
Will that firewall interfere with anything else?
 
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treekram

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2015
1,849
411
Honolulu HI
cindyjj said:
Someone in this thread, Duane, recommended a link and so far it has worked. I will check the firewall setting, though.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned, I don't think the type of attack that a firewall prevents is the way most adware is installed. But the firewall setting is probably the most obvious setting where the less secure setting is the default and which may have been turned off if you didn't do a full restore. Glad you got rid of the adware.
 
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