How to Stop Pop-Up Ads and Browser Redirects in Mac Safari

Pop-ups on a Mac come in two flavours. Annoying ones are ordinary web adverts that Safari mostly blocks already. The dangerous ones are scare pages — “Your Mac is infected!”, “Call Apple Support now!” — designed to panic you into installing the very software that caused the problem. When pop-ups and redirects refuse to stop, the cause is usually an unwanted extension, a rogue website notification permission, or adware installed alongside something else. This guide shows how to tell scam pages from real warnings and clean Safari properly, step by step.

Quick Answer

First, never call numbers or install software offered by a pop-up — force-quit Safari if the page will not close (Command + Option + Esc), then reopen it holding Shift. To stop pop-ups for good: remove unknown extensions (Safari, Settings, Extensions), revoke website notification permissions (Settings, Websites, Notifications), reset the homepage and search engine, update macOS, and if redirects continue, check for adware apps and configuration profiles as described below.

Recognise the Scare Page (And Escape It Safely)

A full-screen page shouting that your Mac has a virus, often with a voice warning and a phone number, is a scam 100% of the time. Apple never displays warnings like this and never asks you to call a number. Escape like this:

1. Do not click anything on the page, including its “Close” or “OK” buttons — they are part of the trap.
2. Press Command + Option + Esc to open Force Quit.
3. Select Safari and click Force Quit.
4. Hold the Shift key while reopening Safari. Holding Shift prevents the previous tabs — including the scam page — from reloading.
5. Optionally, clear history to remove the page entirely: History, then Clear History, choosing “all history.”

Nothing was installed merely by viewing the page. Trouble only starts if you downloaded and ran something it offered — if you did, work through the adware section below and our fuller guide on checking a Mac for malware and removing it.

Step 1: Check Safari’s Own Pop-Up Blocking

Safari blocks most pop-ups automatically; make sure the setting is on:

1. Open Safari, then Settings (or Preferences on older versions), and click the Websites tab.
2. Select Pop-up Windows in the left list.
3. At the bottom, set “When visiting other websites” to Block (or Block and Notify).
4. Review the per-site list above: any site set to Allow that you do not recognise should be switched to Block or removed.

Apple’s Safari pop-up guidance on Apple Support explains the same settings. A few sites genuinely need pop-ups (some banks and course platforms), which is why per-site allowances exist — grant them deliberately, site by site.

Step 2: Remove Unknown Extensions

Extensions are the number-one cause of persistent pop-ups and search redirects:

1. In Safari Settings, click the Extensions tab.
2. Read the list carefully. Uninstall anything you do not remember adding — especially “shopping helpers,” coupon finders, PDF converters, and anything with a generic name.
3. Select the extension and click Uninstall. Some extensions insist you remove their companion app in the Applications folder too — do it.
4. When in doubt, uninstall it. Legitimate extensions can be reinstalled from the App Store in seconds.

After this step, quit Safari completely (Command + Q) and reopen it before judging the result.

Step 3: Revoke Website Notification Permissions

Many “pop-ups” are actually notifications from websites you once allowed — often a site that begged “Click Allow to prove you are not a robot”:

1. Safari Settings, Websites tab, select Notifications.
2. Set anything you do not actively want (news sites you chose, for instance) to Deny, or select it and click Remove.
3. Untick “Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications” at the bottom to stop the requests themselves.

Genuine notifications then only come from sites you trust, and the fake “virus warning” notifications — sent by scam sites through this very system — stop immediately.

Step 4: Reset Homepage, Search Engine, and Website Data

1. Homepage: Settings, General — set Homepage to a page you trust and set “New windows open with” and “New tabs open with” to Homepage or Empty Page, not a strange URL.
2. Search engine: Settings, Search — choose Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, or Ecosia. If your choice will not stick, a configuration profile or extension is enforcing it — revisit Steps 2 and 5.
3. Website data: Settings, Privacy, Manage Website Data, Remove All. This clears stored site data that some redirect scripts abuse (you will be signed out of websites).

Step 5: Hunt the Adware Behind the Browser

If pop-ups survive a cleaned Safari, the source is software outside the browser:

• Applications folder: sort by Date Added and remove apps you never chose — fake cleaners and “search” utilities are common culprits. Drag to Trash, empty Trash.
• Login Items: System Settings, General, Login Items — remove unknown entries so helpers cannot relaunch at startup.
• Profiles: System Settings, Privacy & Security, Profiles — delete any configuration profile you did not install yourself; hijackers use profiles to lock the homepage and search engine.
• One reputable scan: run a free scan with Malwarebytes for Mac, downloaded from the official site only, to catch leftovers.
• Update macOS: System Settings, General, Software Update — Apple’s XProtect definitions update alongside the system and remove known adware automatically.

Test in a Private Window to Isolate the Cause

Before uninstalling things at random, run one quick experiment: open a Private Browsing window (File, then New Private Window) and visit the sites that trigger the pop-ups. Private windows disable most extensions and start with no stored site data. If the pop-ups vanish there, an extension or stored permission in your normal browsing is the cause, and Steps 2 and 3 will find it. If pop-ups still appear even in a private window, the source is almost certainly outside Safari — an adware app on the Mac — and Step 5 is where your answer waits.

Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips

• Clicking the pop-up’s own buttons. Scam pages fake their controls. Always escape with Force Quit, never with anything on the page.
• Calling the “support” number. The agents are scammers who will charge you and install remote-access tools. Apple Support is only reached through Apple’s own website or app.
• Installing a “pop-up blocker” from an advert. That is precisely how the adware arrived. Extensions belong from the App Store, reviewed and signed.
• Reopening Safari without Shift. The scam tab reloads and the loop restarts. Shift-opening Safari is the small step that breaks the cycle.
• Allowing notifications to “watch the video.” Any site demanding notification permission before showing content is training you to accept its spam. Leave instead.

Conclusion

Persistent pop-ups and redirects in Safari are almost always self-inflicted permissions and passengers: an extension here, a notification allowance there, sometimes a full adware app behind them. Escape scare pages with Force Quit and a Shift-relaunch, then strip extensions, revoke notifications, reset the homepage and search engine, and remove rogue apps and profiles. Safari returns to being quiet — and stays that way if downloads come only from trusted sources.

Frequently Asked Questions

A pop-up says my Mac has a virus and I must call immediately. Is it real?

No. Apple never shows such warnings and never provides a phone number in a web page. It is a scam designed to sell fake support or install malware. Force-quit Safari and reopen holding Shift.

Why do I get pop-ups even when Safari is closed?

Those are website notifications you allowed at some point, delivered by macOS itself. Revoke them in Safari Settings, Websites, Notifications — and untick the option letting sites ask in the first place.

Do I need a third-party pop-up blocker extension?

Safari’s built-in blocking handles ordinary pop-ups well. Persistent ones signal an unwanted extension or adware already installed — removing the cause beats adding another extension on top.

I removed the extension but redirects continue. What is left?

Check for a configuration profile enforcing the settings (Privacy & Security, Profiles) and for adware in the Applications folder. Remove both, restart, and run a scan with a reputable tool to confirm the Mac is clean.

Can a pop-up alone install malware on my Mac?

Merely viewing a pop-up cannot install software on a current macOS — installation requires you to download a file and approve it, usually with your password. That is why scammers work so hard to persuade you to do exactly that.