WiFiProxy wants to make changes.

"WiFiProxy wants to make changes."
A Standard user [ NOT Admin ] got the above message when starting to try to connect to web using WiFi and Router on Safari.
It requested Admin name and Password before continuing.
MacBookPro on Sierra 10.12.2 since early Jan 2017 approx.
We did not proceed.


This is worrying. I did not even know there was such a thing as "WiFiProxy".
Is there any risk in signing in the Admin name and Password?

Any ideas what this message is about?

As Administrator I do not appear to receive that message when I am the User.

Is there any safe remedial action worth taking such as RESTART ?

It appears to be a standard mac service

As Batty says, it's an Apple process.

It is possible you have a mangled keychain, so it might be worth reseting the default (Open Keychain Access >> Preferences >> General (on Sierra, anyway) and click the button).

Thanks for the 2 replies.
Just by chance I found that the settings had somehow been corrupted to demand an Administrator to turn Wi-Fi on or off. Odd, as this standard user had previously been able to do this without Admin.

So I changed the settings as in QUOTE below to remove the requirement for Admin involvement and all is now well, just as it used to be.

I cannot explain how the settings got corrupted.

QUOTE

Set advanced Wi-Fi options

You can set advanced Wi-Fi-specific options. For example, you can specify preferred Wi-Fi networks and arrange them in order of preference, and specify whether an administrator password is required to control certain Wi-Fi capabilities, such as turning Wi-Fi on or off.

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network.

Open Network preferences for me

Select Wi-Fi in the list on the left.

If Wi-Fi isn�t in the list, make sure you have a Wi-Fi card installed in your computer, then click the Add button at the bottom of the list. Click the Interface pop-up menu, choose Wi-Fi, give the Wi-Fi service a name, then click Create.

Click Advanced, click Wi-Fi, then select the options you want to set up:

Add a network to the network list: Click the Add button at the bottom of the Preferred Networks list, enter a network name, then choose a security type from the pop-up menu. To view available Wi-Fi networks, click Show Networks, then choose a wireless network from the list.

Automatically add networks you joined to the network list: Select �Remember networks this computer has joined.�

Require an administrator password to change options from the Wi-Fi status menu: Select any action under �Require administrator authorization to.�
END QUOTE

Interesting... this computer is connected to my router via Ethernet so I always keep the wifi turned off.

One day I noticed that it had been turned on; it wasn't by me and nobody else uses this computer!

I don't know when it happened, I suspect it was when I upgraded to Sierra (from Mountain Lion, I skipped Mavericks and Yosemite) and was Apple's usual philosophy of knowing better than the user how their machine should be set up

Edited by billford (Sun 12-Feb-17 10:41:59)

No doubt it was the the upgrade. Certain apps such as maps need to use the wifi for location purposes. I have wifi switched off also and maps asked for it to be switched on. With location services integrated through other apps, find friends, maybe contacts, other apps may ask for it to be active.

Edited by stniuk (Sun 12-Feb-17 11:10:09)