Google Search Results Containing Malware

[Dennis Oakley]

Thanks Johanna, glad you were able to fix it.

[JJs Leatherworks]

I have been folowing this thread as similar instances have happened to me on numerous occasions.

However, mine have never occurred when using Google, but have happened from within the LW site. It is always after getting on the site and once on the homepage, clicking on the 'Forums' button, I get a message that I am being redirected and end up on some other totally unrelated site.

Sometimes just clicking on the 'back' arrow gets me back into LW, but sometimes I have had to shut down the browser as windows as described in earlier posts that just seem to be an endless circle keep coming up.

This has occurred twice again today - just the easy version that the 'back' button gets me to LW, but something is still definitely happening.

JJ

[Johanna]

JJs Leatherworks- you need to run a security scan on your computer. There are helpful people and good clean up advice available at www.geekstogo.com . No one else has reported a problem like that, and it's not possible for the forum software to take you off site like that. I will run another another security check on the site, but AFAIK, we're clean. Let me know what happens please.

~J

[Cyberthrasher]

JJ, is there anyway you can take a screenshot. From what I could tell, all of the pages we were being redirected to were to something hosted with url4shortinfo in the address bar.

Joanna, since the problem was in the forum software, wouldn't his scenario still be plausible? From what he was saying, he was going to the leatherworker.net homepage and then clicking on the link to get into the forum. I don't know if the homepage is part of the forum software or not, but if it isn't that seems like it might be similar - as in a link external to the forum linking into it.

[JJs Leatherworks]

Cyber - not much of a computer whiz, how would I do the 'screenshot', if it happens again? Will do whatever possible to help if it isn't something in one of our computers. I have been trying to remember if this just happens on the desktop ( that's where it happened today) or if it has also happened on the laptop.

[Johanna]

To do a screenshot, press the print screen key. Open up a new Word document and press the control key and v at the same time. The image should show up as a picture on the document. Save it (press control and s) name it and post it here.

The way I understand it, an exploit used a cookie to cause external links to the forum to redirect to another site. The problem is gone, but it couldn't hurt to clear your browser cache. The tech bulletins say it affected most of the popular forums, and kinda hint that the forum developer geniuses should have anticipated this. All IPB will say is that a fix was issued Dec 27th. Their policy is not to discuss details because they don't want to give other people ideas, good or bad. I found the fix by accident after Googling forever. Since I still had an open support ticket, I asked them to inspect the board, and it passed with flying colors. It's a good thing people here noticed. There are a lot of boards that still have the exploit and are redirecting members and guests. If someone follows all the prompts from the bogus page, they could get an infected computer. And next week some other bored jerk will think up a new way to make the Internet more convoluted. Those frustrated virus writers ought to take up leatherwork and do something constructive with their lives.

~J

[JJs Leatherworks]

J - will do, if and when it happens again.

BTW, I agree whole heartedly that some people have too much time on their hands and just want to screw up everyone elses life.

JJ