Offsite images/"Gotta See" photos, et al

derg

derg

Apparently a "terse" writer
Staff member
Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

The internet is full of interesting things that we'd all like to share. A funny photo, some crazy wacky eBay auction, or hilarious Photoshopped images of some dancing boy-girl thingy.

Anyway, one of the threads in "The Lavatory" had a image link to a site which contained some type of script that fed pop up ads and tried to link to a secure server.

A new twist in unscrupulous advertising on the internet is fiding an item with a high 'buzz' factor, then naturally people link to the item or email it their friends.

The pop up script spreads and may even potentially contain Spyware which they normally do.

I'm asking for each and every one of you to be very careful before you use the "image tags" on remotely hosted images on the website.
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
What is spyware? I dont like that name

[/ QUOTE ]

Basically, you install software (you may not know it, but the website might do it for you...
mad.gif
) and the software leaves you a little gift. Sometimes it's a program that just watches what you're doing and sends data back to the master, telling the master how you search the web. Since it's doing all of this reporting without you knowing, it's called spyware.

Sometimes these programs do even more than send information back. Sometimes they use this information to give you pop-ups every 30 seconds or so. Go to alot of aviation websites? You'll get "FIND CHEAP TICKETS HERE" pop-ups. Surf internet dating sites, then you'll get "FIND TRUE LOVE HERE" pop-ups. Sometimes they're not so nice, either...
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What is spyware? I dont like that name

[/ QUOTE ]

Basically, you install software (you may not know it, but the website might do it for you...
mad.gif
) and the software leaves you a little gift. Sometimes it's a program that just watches what you're doing and sends data back to the master, telling the master how you search the web. Since it's doing all of this reporting without you knowing, it's called spyware.

Sometimes these programs do even more than send information back. Sometimes they use this information to give you pop-ups every 30 seconds or so. Go to alot of aviation websites? You'll get "FIND CHEAP TICKETS HERE" pop-ups. Surf internet dating sites, then you'll get "FIND TRUE LOVE HERE" pop-ups. Sometimes they're not so nice, either...

[/ QUOTE ]


Jeesh is there any way to stop them?security level maybe?
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Doug I check your PMs

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps you did because I certainly don't have any unread PM's!
smile.gif
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

Hey Doug, last week someone must have posted domething like that with a link, went to it, and all hell broke loose. Two and a half years I've had this computer and never had a problem, but you wouldn't believe the pop-ups I started getting. My brother, who's a computer programmer, said he had never seen a computer so infected. We basically had to uninstall windows xp, totally reload it, and run all the patches and updates.

For everyone out there, make sure you have multiple firewalls, this "trogan virus" definitely reeks havoc on your pc or laptop!
mad.gif
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Jeesh is there any way to stop them?security level maybe?

[/ QUOTE ]
Ad-aware
Spybot

[/ QUOTE ]

hey Stevec, I ran spybot on this, and it eliminated most of the popups, but two programs kept coming back. That's why we totally had to reinstall windows xp. Spybot is great, but it doesn't eliminate everything.
grin.gif
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Jeesh is there any way to stop them?security level maybe?

[/ QUOTE ]
Ad-aware
Spybot

[/ QUOTE ]

hey Stevec, I ran spybot on this, and it eliminated most of the popups, but two programs kept coming back. That's why we totally had to reinstall windows xp. Spybot is great, but it doesn't eliminate everything.
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]
Zone Alarm Pro and keeping Windows Update on automatic seems to do the trick for me.
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Doug, last week someone must have posted domething like that with a link, went to it, and all hell broke loose.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you remember the thread offhand so I can research the original poster and the site?

About once a week, I have a couple of people that try to register with 'suspicious' email addresses. Let's just put it this way, if I had approved the threads, we'd be deluged with "Not Safe For Work" postings to umm "non-aviation" sites.

Primarily the reason why I ceased all approvals of web-based email addresses. It's a hassle to my users, but it's a great step for the health of the forums.
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Jeesh is there any way to stop them?security level maybe?

[/ QUOTE ]
Ad-aware
Spybot

[/ QUOTE ]

hey Stevec, I ran spybot on this, and it eliminated most of the popups, but two programs kept coming back. That's why we totally had to reinstall windows xp. Spybot is great, but it doesn't eliminate everything.
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]
Zone Alarm Pro and keeping Windows Update on automatic seems to do the trick for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

where do I make windows update automatic? thanks alot
 
Re: Offsite images/\"Gotta See\" photos, et al

Yep, I got it last week too. Not sure if it was from following a link off this site or not, but I was infected with countless Adware and Spyware programs, and also had the "download.trojan" virus on my PC. I couln't remove it even with Norton, so I too spent a crapload of time re-formatting and re-installing everything. What a pain in the A$$!!! Another good anti-spyware program is Spyware Blaster.
 
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