# Chrome just flagged this site as malware for me **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 13, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352 "2014-05-13T14:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/81 "2014-05-13T19:04:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’m mostly peeved about having to use IE as a browser for this, while Chrome works for everything else. Goddamn first world problems. :mad: You can use Chrome if you click the “proceed at your own risk” link. As long as I leave the tab open everything’s fine. If I close the tab and come back I get the warning screen again. That’s a good thing. I wouldn’t want to permanently bypass malware protection on this site. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/82 "2014-05-13T19:05:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’m mostly peeved about having to use IE as a browser for this, while Chrome works for everything else. Goddamn first world problems. :mad: Two things: 1. You don’t have to use IE. You can use Chrome; just click on the ‘Advanced’ link on the warning page, and then on ‘Proceed at your own risk’, assuming you aren’t concerned about any potential problems. 2. If you _are_ concerned about potential problems, then using IE isn’t a ‘fix’. IE isn’t protecting you from any potential malware; it’s just not warning you about it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/83 "2014-05-13T19:20:02Z")
Oh, and can we get a cite for “Google is becoming infamous for false positives”? As if. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/84 "2014-05-13T19:24:29Z")
FYI, I’m being blocked regardless of whether I use MSIE, Chrome, or Firefox. I wonder whether adblock makes me less vulnerable. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/85 "2014-05-13T19:39:32Z")
I guess it’s just piling on to come in here and say “Me too” so I’ll just say “still.” With Chrome, and since I pay, I never get ads anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/86 "2014-05-13T19:41:17Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > On the one hand, I hate that we are constantly exposed to this and forced to use adblockers and anti-malware tools just to surf the Dope, but on the other hand I really don’t like the way all browsers now seek Google’s permission to visit a website. That means even if you use Firefox or Safari, Google is tracking what sites you visit each time you visit any site, even in a non-Google browser. The many Firefox blocking extensions I run on my Mac include google-no-tracking-url, Remove Google Tracking and Remove Yahoo Tracking. But as you say, Google still knows where I am when it warns of alleged dodgy web pages (that hadn’t occurred to me, so thanks for that post). So I turned off Firefox’s Block reported attack sites and Block reported web forgeries. But only Og and Google know whether that would hinder by even an iota the Borg’s omniscience. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/87 "2014-05-13T19:48:38Z")
My investigation leads me to believe we were having a problem with malware being delivered via the ad slots. The message board system itself (minus the ads) seems clean. I’ve turned off the advertising for all users of the site and have asked Google to review the site again for any indications of malware. The review process can take up to 24 hours to complete. If Google is satisfied the potential malware issue has been eliminated the warning you’re seeing in your browsers will be dropped. When I know additional information about the situation I’ll post an update to this thread. Jerry ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/88 "2014-05-13T19:58:11Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Oh, and can we get a cite for “Google is becoming infamous for false positives”? > > As if. > **[Information Security and IT Security News - Infosecurity Magazine](https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/)** > > Keep up to date with the latest Information Security and IT Security News & Articles - Infosecurity Magazine (Also, “[google malware false positive](https://www.google.com/search?q=google+malware+false+positive)” returns a substantial pile of hits, topmost of which are a ton of discussions about flagging at the Google Product Forums.) ETA: Thanks, **Jerry**! . ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/89 "2014-05-13T20:05:33Z")
SMDB is now blocked at work (as of an hour or so ago) on every browser. If only IT could be this efficient dealing with actual problems. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/90 "2014-05-13T20:08:14Z")
> [@andros](#): > > [Information Security and IT Security News - Infosecurity Magazine](http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/30320/false-google-chrome-malware-warning-blocks-tech-sites/) > > (Also, “[google malware false positive](https://www.google.com/search?q=google+malware+false+positive)” returns a substantial pile of hits, topmost of which are a ton of discussions about flagging at the Google Product Forums.) > > ETA: Thanks, **Jerry**! > . Any monkey can type a few things into a search bar and find some hits, obviously. It takes a little more skill, not much, to check the dates and relevance of the cites and compare them to the matters at hand. I too, however, am gratified to see that removing ads stops incidences of malware. Who knew? And just for the record, we surely can all agree that Google was correct in this case despite their dodgy reputation as a tech company. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/91 "2014-05-13T20:25:01Z")
So, was the only risk to people who clicked on the ads? Or could board-only users still wind up with a horse’s head in their bed? This “malware distributed through the ad slots” thing sounds kinda scary. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/92 "2014-05-13T20:35:24Z")
You’ll never believe the 7 weird tricks that a Pastor found to keep you from getting hit by ad-based malware. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/93 "2014-05-13T20:50:44Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > So, was the only risk to people who clicked on the ads? Or could board-only users still wind up with a horse’s head in their bed? > > This “malware distributed through the ad slots” thing sounds kinda scary. :eek: I always come here via an old bookmark (sans gaps) “http:// boards. straight dope. com/sdmb/usercp.php” (subscribed threads) and I never click on a single ad (Sorry, Ed), so if Google had something to do with that, I would find it very interesting and disturbing. I finally was able to post this by going into Safari prefs and unclicking “warn about fraudulent sites” because not only have I been getting the warning on every page change, but I could not complete previews or posts, the page would just come up blank. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/94 "2014-05-13T20:51:48Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Oh, and can we get a cite for “Google is becoming infamous for false positives”? > > As if. > [@andros](#): > > [Information Security and IT Security News - Infosecurity Magazine](http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/30320/false-google-chrome-malware-warning-blocks-tech-sites/) > . > [@hajario](#): > > Any monkey can type a few things into a search bar and find some hits, obviously. It takes a little more skill, not much, to check the dates and relevance of the cites and compare them to the matters at hand. > > I too, however, am gratified to see that removing ads stops incidences of malware. Who knew? > > And just for the record, we surely can all agree that Google was correct in this case despite their dodgy reputation as a tech company. It seems to me that a 2013 citation of a set of google false positives at tech sites substantiates the initial claim and that the initial claim should not have been characterized as absurd. I agree that any monkey could have obtained substantitation to the claim that “Google is becoming infamous for false positives”. It indeed was not difficult which leads one to wonder [which animal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_classification) best characterizes the substance of the initial question. Thank you **andros** for substantiating the claim. Thank you to the admins for addressing this issue. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/95 "2014-05-13T21:17:03Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > It seems to me that a 2013 citation of a set of google false positives at tech sites substantiates the initial claim and that the initial claim should not have been characterized as absurd. I agree that any monkey could have obtained substantitation to the claim that “Google is becoming infamous for false positives”. It indeed was not difficult which leads one to wonder [which animal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_classification) best characterizes the substance of the initial question. > > Thank you **andros** for substantiating the claim. Thank you to the admins for addressing this issue. One cite from a year and a half ago does not verify that Google is becoming infamous for anything. Sorry. Plus, as if this needs to be said again, we have had a very real malware problem here for years. Occam’s razor and all. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/96 "2014-05-13T21:24:05Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > One cite from a year and a half ago does not verify that Google is becoming infamous for anything. Sorry. Plus, as if this needs to be said again, we have had a very real malware problem here for years. Occam’s razor and all. Why do you come here if it is so risky? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/97 "2014-05-13T21:27:18Z")
In Safari, you can turn off this warning by unchecking the “Warn when visiting a fraudulent website” checkbox in Preferences-\>Security. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/98 "2014-05-13T21:36:11Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Why do you come here if it is so risky? I’m a paid member and have Firefox with Adblock Plus installed. It’s not risky for me at all. Thanks for your concern. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/99 "2014-05-13T21:43:02Z")
I’m getting a “Reported Attack Site” message on Firefox. Dunno if this is similar to what’s happening in Chrome. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352/100 "2014-05-13T21:51:22Z")
It’s entirely possible for Google to have a reputation for something which is not true. In my IT and infosec circles, it is generally believed, based on a great deal of anecdotal experience, that Google throws a fuckton of false positives. This may not actually be the case. Nevertheless, it is a very common belief. **hajario** , I’m not at all certain why you feel the need to jump my shit. Unless you’re seeing me as **Tuba** by proxy. Which I’m not. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-just-flagged-this-site-as-malware-for-me/688352.md?page=6)