Safari can't connect to server, App store wont connect - Google Chrome/Spotify ok!

[rchip]

Hello guys, whenever I try to use safari, the apple homepage doesn't load and it comes up with a grey screen saying it can't connect to server. No websites will load in the safari, I just get the same message saying 'safari can't connect to server'. With the App Store I just get a grey screen with the app store logo imprinted into it. I'm using a 2011 macbook air 13".

The internet connection seems to be fine, Google Chrome is working like normal, my wireless printer seems to be ok as well. Outside of the mac my PS3 is working fine online too, so the wi fi connection in the house seems to be ok!

Any ideas what could be going on? I downloaded CalmX and Norton Anti virus trial just incase, nothing was found there as from googling other people with similar problems had some kind of virus/malware. I seem to be clear though!

This happened after I switched my macbook air off, which i rarely do. Switched it back on and it was like this!

Any ideas on things to try would be really helpful!

 

[rchip]

It's fixed! I saw someone else who had the same problem said little snitch was causing the issue. Now I don't have little snitch, I have TCP block, which I installed a while ago and never really used. I just uninstalled it and viola! App store and Safari are working ... I haven't made any changes to TCP block in months. So strange.

Anyway, problem solved!

 

[justperry]

It's fixed! I saw someone else who had the same problem said little snitch was causing the issue. Now I don't have little snitch, I have TCP block, which I installed a while ago and never really used. I just uninstalled it and viola! App store and Safari are working ... I haven't made any changes to TCP block in months. So strange.

Anyway, problem solved!

And, some advice, you don't really need a virus scanner, see here:

Malware FAQ

 

[rchip]

Hey thanks for the link! Yeah I've always thought/known that - it's such a fantastic advantage of a mac, but I'd tried everything I could from googling and the only thing I hadn't tried was a virus scanner - so I thought I'd give it a go! I was glad to see after 1.5 years of using my mac - nothing at all was picked up by either scanner! Apart from a phishing email by CalmX haha which I thought was weird.

 

[GGJstudios]

the only thing I hadn't tried was a virus scanner - so I thought I'd give it a go! I was glad to see after 1.5 years of using my mac - nothing at all was picked up by either scanner! Apart from a phishing email by CalmX haha which I thought was weird.

You don't need any 3rd party antivirus app to keep a Mac malware-free, as long as you practice safe computing, as described in the following link. Read the What security steps should I take? section of the Mac Virus/Malware FAQ that justperry posted for tips on practicing safe computing.

If you do elect to run antivirus for some reason, you should not have more than one installed, as having multiple AV apps can cause conflicts with each other and give false positives. If you're going to keep one, ClamXav (which is free) is one of the best choices, since it isn't a resource hog, detects both Mac and Windows malware and doesn't run with elevated privileges.