Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Forum has malware?

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Pittsburg, KS

    Forum has malware?

    Today when I open up the PF.com homepage I'm getting what seem like malware pop-ups that I can only close via task manager.

    They all have the "ALET ALET URGENT" verbiage and are made to look like windows security pop-ups.

    One has this odd language "WARNING!!! Your Flashplayer version is outdated, have security risks. Please Update Now!"

    Another is "UPDATES RECOMMENDED! It is recommended that you install the software to ensure your browser is the latest version. Please update to continue."

    I'm using Windows 8 with Windows Defender and IE 10 with the latest updates. Nothing detected on my machine. It only comes up when I open PF.com not arf or M4C or any of the multitude of other forums and sites I visit.

    Besides not clicking is it possible the forum servers are infected? Just wanted to give staff a heads up.

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Pittsburg, KS
    Obviously ignored the "warnings" and logged in then closed IE with task manager. Re-opening the browser (it retained my log-in) and nothing shows up when I re-open PF.com. Every time I opened PF.com without logging in the bogus warnings showed up.

    Am I weird or should I burn my laptop?

  3. #3
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Off Camber
    I'm not having similar issues.

  4. #4
    Member orionz06's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Does it do it with other browsers?
    Think for yourself. Question authority.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Nothing like that here, but I auto login...
    "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

  6. #6
    Murder Machine, Harmless Fuzzball TCinVA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Virginia
    I'm not seeing the behavior from IE on several machines I've attempted to load the site on, both Win7 and Win8 with various versions of IE.

    The site itself isn't typically the culprit for those sorts of malware attacks, but the ad streams used by various websites can sometimes get hijacked by hackers pushing the malware popups. To the best of my knowledge all the major ad stream services out there have been compromised in this fashion at one time or another. The scans they run to catch this sort of thing are usually pretty good, but not perfect.

    If possible, can you grab a screenshot of what's showing on the PF homepage when these popups happen? Do you have any other tabs/windows of the browser open when this occurs?

    If anyone else out there is experiencing this, please chime in and let us know.
    3/15/2016

  7. #7
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Pittsburg, KS
    I tried it using Chrome (without being logged in) and the same thing happened. A new tab auto-opens with an address I forgot to copy but sure wasn't to anything legit with a similar generic "you must update your software" message. The tab would not let me close it by either clicking on the "X" or by right clicking and selecting Close Tab/Window. The only way I could close the browser was by opening task manager and selecting End Task.

    ETA - This was happening with only one tab open to PF.com.

    I just logged back on with IE and now there's nothing popping up.

    A scan by Windows Defender found nothing on my machine. If it happens again I'll see if I can grab a screen shot and copy the url.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Off Camber
    Can you scan your computer with Ad-Aware?

    FWIW: Windows defender, especially the Anti-Virus and browser integration, isn't that great of a program.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter hufnagel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    NJ 07922
    I'll 2nd TCinVA's assessment... it's frequently NOT the host site but the ads that bring bugs in for people. FWIW I can't even check if an ad is doing it as my router blocks them automagically. Bugs the kittens out of me when I go anyplace else with my laptop as I'm inundated with ads then.
    Rules to live by: 1. Eat meat, 2. Shoot guns, 3. Fire, 4. Gasoline, 5. Make juniors
    TDA: Learn it. Live it. Love it.... Read these: People Management Triggers 1, 2, 3
    If anyone sees a broken image of mine, please PM me.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Lomshek
    generic "you must update your software" message. The tab would not let me close it by either clicking on the "X" or by right clicking and selecting Close Tab/Window. The only way I could close the browser was by opening task manager and selecting End Task.
    Not PF. I'd scan your computer with another malware solution.
    Last edited by LittleLebowski; 05-07-2014 at 08:55 AM.
    #RESIST

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •