Safari Hijacked

[Fred Stambaugh]

I need some help - I was surfing on Safari when a popup appears demanding payment for a supposed legal infraction. It's clearly malware of some sort, but I can't close it and return to normal usage. If I click "OK" (the only option) I get a second popup looking for the payment, and it goes into a loop between popups. This renders Safari useless. I've tried to close Safari by swiping up from the bottom row after I double-click the main button, but when I reopen it's still there. I've turned off my iPad altogether and when I turned back on it's still there. I know I can't uninstall core apps, so what can I do? Do I have to go to complete restore to factory settings?

 

[giradman]

I need some help - I was surfing on Safari when a popup appears demanding payment for a supposed legal infraction. It's clearly malware of some sort, but I can't close it and return to normal usage. If I click "OK" (the only option) I get a second popup looking for the payment, and it goes into a loop between popups. This renders Safari useless. I've tried to close Safari by swiping up from the bottom row after I double-click the main button, but when I reopen it's still there. I've turned off my iPad altogether and when I turned back on it's still there. I know I can't uninstall core apps, so what can I do? Do I have to go to complete restore to factory settings?

Hi Fred.... - as you have done, 'Force Close' Safari, then DISCONNECT from your internet connection (i.e. turn off Wi-Fi on the iPad); open Safari and try to delete the offending tab(s) - usually works for me - reconnect to the internet to determine if the problem is solved - if not, post back here. You could also open Safari in 'Settings' and clear your history and website data.

Safari is a native iOS app and cannot be deleted by itself; however, you can obtain another web browser(s) from the App Store (I have 'Atomic Web' & 'Puffin' on my device) and if you plan to browse potentially nefarious websites, then use an alternate browser - the same maneuver as described above usually works, but the other option is that the browser CAN be deleted and then re-downloaded. Dave

 

[Fred Stambaugh]

Hi Fred.... - as you have done, 'Force Close' Safari, then DISCONNECT from your internet connection (i.e. turn off Wi-Fi on the iPad); open Safari and try to delete the offending tab(s) - usually works for me - reconnect to the internet to determine if the problem is solved - if not, post back here. You could also open Safari in 'Settings' and clear your history and website data.

Safari is a native iOS app and cannot be deleted by itself; however, you can obtain another web browser(s) from the App Store (I have 'Atomic Web' & 'Puffin' on my device) and if you plan to browse potentially nefarious websites, then use an alternate browser - the same maneuver as described above usually works, but the other option is that the browser CAN be deleted and then re-downloaded. Dave

Dave - your first suggestion was not successful. Then I tried a reboot - turn off iPad then hold the start and home buttons until the Apple logo appears - and that didn't do it either. Finally, though, I cleared out history and website data and that seems to have done the trick.
Thanks so much for the rescue!

 

[giradman]

Dave - your first suggestion was not successful. Then I tried a reboot - turn off iPad then hold the start and home buttons until the Apple logo appears - and that didn't do it either. Finally, though, I cleared out history and website data and that seems to have done the trick.
Thanks so much for the rescue!

Great Fred - glad that one of the suggestions offered helped - usually that first one works. Dave