Insanely strange behaviour

[casperes1996]

I just had a very crazy experience.

I was watching a YouTube video with Safari. However, about 30 seconds into the video, I start hearing a second instance of the audio from the video, however, starting from the beginning. Because having two audio tracks to 1 video is not a good experience, I just quit Safari (cmd+q). Safari closed down, but the second audio track continued. I closed all apps, yet the audio persisted. I grepped ps for all Safari processes and killed them all, yet the audio continued. – I logged out and it seemed to fix it, but what on Earth just happened?

 

[SoCalReviews]

Was this the YouTube video you were watching?

Never Gonna Give You Up

Just kidding

Actually it probably was some kind of pop up ad in Safari that woulnd't shut down or you had multiple videos going without realizing it and Safari didn't shut down completely. I've seen it happen before. That's why I prefer using Firefox with all the privacy features and pop up blocking enabled. It tends to handle web spam better than most browsers and I generally don't get those multiple hidden videos popping up in the background.

 

[casperes1996]

Actually it probably was some kind of pop up ad in Safari that woulnd't shut down or you had multiple videos going without realizing it and Safari didn't shut down completely. I've seen it happen before. That's why I prefer using Firefox with all the privacy features and pop up blocking enabled. It tends to handle web spam better than most browsers and I generally don't get those multiple hidden videos popping up in the background.

It definitely wasn't that. First of all, the second audio stream was identical to the video i was watching.
Second, I quit Safari with cmd+q and the dot under its Dock icon disappeared. Furthermore, I killed all Safari processes via Terminal, and there were no Safari or webkit processes left running on the system

 

[SoCalReviews]

I've seen similar behavior that you are describing before relating to web videos. I've also seen YouTube videos that play multiple or duplicate audio streams at the same time. You could have also clicked on the same video twice by accident and didn't realize you had another video stream playing in the background.

I realize that you used terminal commands to shut down Safari but if this happens again make sure first to check if the "Force quit" option is still available for the browser you are using. There could have been a glitch or bug preventing Safari from completely shutting down despite the fact you didn't see a dot under it in the bar.

On another note... I'm still not a fan of using standard browsers that are embedded into the OS since in the past they were more easily exploited. This goes back to my past experience using Windows systems with MS Explorer that would always get hijacked by web ads, malware, etc..

 

[casperes1996]

I've seen similar behavior that you are describing before relating to web videos. I've also seen YouTube videos that play multiple or duplicate audio streams at the same time. You could have also clicked on the same video twice by accident and didn't realize you had another video stream playing in the background.

If it's in another tab Safari won't load the video before you go to that tab.

I realize that you used terminal commands to shut down Safari but if this happens again make sure first to check if the "Force quit" option is still available for the browser you are using. There could have been a glitch or bug preventing Safari from completely shutting down despite the fact you didn't see a dot under it in the bar.

The Force Quit menu was empty - I quit all programs to make sure nothing else could make the sound, and the Force Quit menu reflected that nothing was open at all. - Besides, force quitting is identical to sending SIGKILL via the Terminal.

On another note... I'm still not a fan of using standard browsers that are embedded into the OS since in the past they were more easily exploited. This goes back to my past experience using Windows systems with MS Explorer that would always get hijacked by web ads, malware, etc..

Internet Explorer is a very different thing to Safari. Even Microsoft acknowledges IE is *****.

 

[SoCalReviews]

I stopped using IE a very long time ago and even MS dropped it as the default browser for Win 10. When I started using Macs years ago the first thing I noticed was how difficult it was to lock down Safari's privacy settings the way I could with Firefox. Safari has also been exploited in the past by malware in ways similar to IE. Things have improved but despite recent improvements embedded browsers are still designed for ease of use and web compatibility and not as much for security and privacy.

 

[casperes1996]

I stopped using IE a very long time ago and even MS dropped it as the default browser for Win 10. When I started using Macs years ago the first thing I noticed was how difficult it was to lock down Safari's privacy settings the way I could with Firefox. Safari has also been exploited in the past by malware in ways similar to IE. Things have improved but despite recent improvements embedded browsers are still designed for ease of use and web compatibility and not as much for security and privacy.

I don't know so much about the older Safari revisions - I have used them back to Tiger, but not thought so much about it - but what is it that you feel you can do in Firefox or other browsers that you can't in Safari, with respect to security and privacy? - Safari runs in a sandbox, has intelligent tracking prevention, will allow you to block Javascript and plugins at will, eliminate cookies, etc.

We're also a bit off topic now. The real question is; Do I need to get an exorcist for my Mac, or will the ghost leave on its own?

 

[SoCalReviews]

I don't know so much about the older Safari revisions - I have used them back to Tiger, but not thought so much about it - but what is it that you feel you can do in Firefox or other browsers that you can't in Safari, with respect to security and privacy? - Safari runs in a sandbox, has intelligent tracking prevention, will allow you to block Javascript and plugins at will, eliminate cookies, etc.

We're also a bit off topic now. The real question is; Do I need to get an exorcist for my Mac, or will the ghost leave on its own?

IMO you don't need an exorcist for your Mac. It was probably just a glitch that you are unlikely to see again. If you do see it again it might be a bug that you could possibly submit to Apple.

I can't tell or convince you how to secure your Mac. They've made a lot of security improvements to Safari and MacOS in recent years. But I do recommend using a non-native browser like Firefox with all privacy and security settings enabled and I recommend a good antivirus with browser and email protection like Avast for Mac.

Ok... I know when I first started using Mac I heard all the classic speeches from friends that had "used Macs for years" without AV and used Safari instead of a non-native browser. I made my arguments to them at the time and let it go. Now every one of those friends now are using my suggestions after two of them ended up with bad viruses on their systems and the third was getting web page re-directs and harassed by ads when using Safari. Like I said... I'm sure the latest Mac and Safari security features and updates have addressed many of these issues but it's ultimately your choice.

Oh... I also highly recommend you turn on the MacOS firewall (under System Preferences>Security and Privacy) which is usually off by default. I know someone who had their MBP hacked and infected with a virus while using a public network (coffee shop, airport, etc.)

 

[casperes1996]

I can't tell or convince you how to secure your Mac. They've made a lot of security improvements to Safari and MacOS in recent years. But I do recommend using a non-native browser like Firefox with all privacy and security settings enabled and I recommend a good antivirus with browser and email protection like Avast for Mac.

Ok... I know when I first started using Mac I heard all the speeches from friends that had "used Macs for years" without AV and without a non-native browser. I made my arguments at the time and let it go. Now every one of those friends now are using my suggestions after two of them ended up with bad viruses on their systems and the third was getting web page re-directs and harassed by ads when using Safari. Like I said... I'm sure the latest Mac and Safari security features and updates have addressed many of these issues but its your choice. Oh... also I highly recommend you turn on the MacOS firewall which is usually off by default.

I understand your feelings towards all this, but I am confident in my own security measures . My router's firewall will suffice and I frankly trust Safari as much as I do Firefox.
For anti-virus I go without and use common sense, however, if I notice anything that could be malicious, I will turn to Sophus.

Regardless, my question was what privacy lockdowns Firefox offers you Safari doesn't

 

[SoCalReviews]

I understand your feelings towards all this, but I am confident in my own security measures . My router's firewall will suffice and I frankly trust Safari as much as I do Firefox.
For anti-virus I go without and use common sense, however, if I notice anything that could be malicious, I will turn to Sophus.

Regardless, my question was what privacy lockdowns Firefox offers you Safari doesn't

Most consumer routers don't really protect you from today's web based threats and even the routers have exploits that can be hacked... make sure you are using the latest firmware.

I don't know much about the latest Safari for MacOS because I almost never use it. It is my understanding that the older versions of Safari didn't have all the privacy settings related to flushing the browser cache that Firefox has.

One of those friends I mentioned had used Macs for decades... he is a high level network system admin that works on securing networks for large companies and even he finally ended up taking my suggestions especially regarding using Firefox and Avast. Btw... the latest Firefox has been rated as one of the best browsers available for security and privacy.

 

[casperes1996]

Most consumer routers don't really protect you from today's web based threats and even the routers have exploits that can be hacked... make sure you are using the latest firmware.

Of course. But my cisco's Firewall works fine - it is up to date, and not using default login credentials .

I don't know much about the latest Safari for MacOS because I almost never use it. It is my understanding that the older versions of Safari didn't have all the privacy settings related to flushing the browser cache that Firefox has.

Again - the reserve of you, I am not that versed in the older Safaries' capabilities in these aspects, but you certainly can flush the cache from the latest Safari.

One of those friends I mentioned had used Macs for decades... he is a high level network system admin that works on securing networks for large companies and even he finally ended up taking my suggestions especially regarding using Firefox and Avast. Btw... the latest Firefox has been rated as one of the best browsers available for security and privacy.

Firefox is a nice browser and it is my second favourite after Safari. And of course it ranks highly on privacy, seeing it's an open source browser that can be audited by anyone. But Safari is good with privacy too. The core of Safari, i.e. webkit is open source and audited as well, and as the only browser I know of, includes intelligent tracking prevention that has caused substantial grief to advertising companies.

With respect to Avast, it needlessly eats up process cycles and space, and is itself in fact another attack point for any malicious software. It has in the past occurred that malicious software has been spread through anti-virus software, or that vira have infected malware protection applications.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it can't be a useful tool if you are infected and need to deal with it - what I am saying is that I don't see the need for keeping it on at all times. Common sense, WireShark and NoTrack will keep you more safe than Avast or any other similar product. Besides, what utilities like Avast offer is essentially no different to XProtect

 

[SoCalReviews]

Of course. But my cisco's Firewall works fine - it is up to date, and not using default login credentials .

It was my friend who is a certified Cisco network engineer (he consults companies on network configuration and oversees programming code for manufacturers and advises software developers) who advised me to turn on the OSX/MacOS firewall... Lol

Besides, your router firewall won't protect you if any devices on your local network or smart devices get hacked and then attack the other devices on your network. I suppose you could set up virtual network settings to separate all those devices attached to your local network but then you have to go through the hassle of adding any new device to those settings every time. I guess there are a lot of ways to secure your network using a router but I'll stick with my friend's advice about enabling the OSX/MacOS firewall...which is so easy and then do anything else in addition to that.



Again - the reserve of you, I am not that versed in the older Safaries' capabilities in these aspects, but you certainly can flush the cache from the latest Safari.

Firefox automatically flushes the cache and has had popup blocking and ad blocking enabled by default long before IE and Safari added those features.


Firefox is a nice browser and it is my second favourite after Safari. And of course it ranks highly on privacy, seeing it's an open source browser that can be audited by anyone. But Safari is good with privacy too. The core of Safari, i.e. webkit is open source and audited as well, and as the only browser I know of, includes intelligent tracking prevention that has caused substantial grief to advertising companies.

With respect to Avast, it needlessly eats up process cycles and space, and is itself in fact another attack point for any malicious software. It has in the past occurred that malicious software has been spread through anti-virus software, or that vira have infected malware protection applications.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it can't be a useful tool if you are infected and need to deal with it - what I am saying is that I don't see the need for keeping it on at all times. Common sense, WireShark and NoTrack will keep you more safe than Avast or any other similar product. Besides, what utilities like Avast offer is essentially no different to XProtect

According to Avast their browser uses some of the least resources of any of the AVs for Mac. I don't notice any slowdown with it installed vs. not installed. It even works to protect my Windows VMs in Parallels from malicious web links, inbound email viruses and USB attached devices.

Good luck with your system. Everybody needs to make their own choices regarding configuration and security.

I realize why I stopped doing tech support for a living long time ago. Lol

 

[Ritsuka]

Probably it was playing in spotlight preview, spotlight doesn’t clear its preview after you close the search window

 

[casperes1996]

Probably it was playing in spotlight preview, spotlight doesn’t clear its preview after you close the search window

Spotlight doesn't play website content in its preview for me at all. Never knew it was supposed to