I see this appear on my display at random, which disappears after a minute or so. I’m thinking clicking in it would be a bad idea. Wondering what it is.
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I think it is trying to make you click on it. It this a website or a program?
The popup doesn’t match the wording, visual style, format, or placement usualy used by Apple, so I wouldn’t say it’s a macOS/iPadOS/iOS/TVOS popup.
Looking at the graphic, I think you might want to search the Support area of the maker of your monitor, assuming you use an external, non-Apple monitor. Or upload your screen shot into Google Images or an AI-assisted search engine and see what comes up.
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Clicking that would be a bad idea.
The goal must be to find out what’s triggering it and then deleting every last bit of it. Is this a browser popup (“notification”) or is it being thrown up outside of browsing (eg. by an app or background process)?
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I agree. Doesn’t look like Apple. Don’t go there. Did you check Activity Monitor for a suspicious process?
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Malware. Clear your Web browser cache and cookies in case it’s hijacking a Web notification.
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A popup that doesn’t seem to come from anything might be a notification from your web browser. Go check your browser configuration for configured notifications and disable notifications from any site you don’t actually want sending them to you.
- Safari: Settings… → Websites → Notifications
- Firefox: Settings… → Permissions and Data → Notifications
- Chromium: Settings… → Privacy and security → Site settings → Notifications
- Microsoft Edge: Settings… → Privacy, search, and services → All Permissions → Notifications
Other browsers should have similar configurations somewhere in their settings.
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Perhaps it’s a firmware update for your display. It’s not coming from Apple.
Yes, I have been thinking along those lines also. I should have mentioned that it is a Samsung M80D, which has its own OS with apps. Will check that. Thanks for all the responses.
My research wasn’t definitive, but it also suggested it could be a Samsung monitor.
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Yea if legit, it’s still pretty irresponsible for any software vendor in this decade to be presenting anonymous messages and suggesting that the only way to get more information is to click a button.
It’s kinda like driving up to a school bus stop and offering some kids candy. MAYBE you’re just being nice, but you have to find a safer way.
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I switched the monitor to “TV mode,” but couldn’t find anything about upgrading its OS. But one dialog box did pop up in the upper right corner (where the upgrade box appears) that had many of the same characteristics of the upgrade box. So I’m pretty sure the upgrade box is from Samsung.
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I would think if the box were generated by the monitor, it wouldn’t show up if you took a screen shot of that area on the Mac. On the other hand, if it were being presented by the monitor, it’s unclear how you’d be expected to click on one of the two buttons.
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All correct, and it’s definitely from the monitor. It came up again when I woke the monitor up this morning. I clicked on the monitor remote and an upgrade screen came up telling me all about the things I would be able to do if I upgrade its OS. Since I never use the TV mode, I clicked the Later button and it went away. I suspect the window will keep popping up, but it only stays up for a few seconds. Thanks again for all the responses.
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I did a reverse image search on the original photo, which returned a handful of similar or identical pop-ups, all from Samsung TVs or other Android-based devices.
If you don’t use your display for any network-connected features, e.g., as a smart TV, you may be able to disconnect it from your network and/or disable prompts to update. It’s possible that you may need to do a factory reset of the display or accept this update as your last to avoid future prompts.
The instructions vary based on the specific model of your display, but you should be able to find them with an Internet search or using your favorite A.I. chat.
FWIW, if you only use the device as your computer display, I strongly recommend disabling its network connection. It’s rare that smart TV firmware updates actually improve anything their user-facing experience. More likely, they just enable the device to invade your privacy more.
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It was connected to my WiFi network, so I turned it off. Thanks.