# links in posts indirect? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548 "2012-02-02T15:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/1 "2012-02-02T15:58:36Z")
Why do most links within posts go first to “[api.viglink.com](http://api.viglink.com)”, rather than their eventual target? ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/2 "2012-02-02T16:07:06Z")
Doesn’t do it for me. But then again, [viglink.com](http://viglink.com) is one of the restricted sites I setup in my browser. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/3 "2012-02-02T17:43:28Z")
Does it happen with [this link](http://www.google.com)? If so, you’ve probably got malware. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/4 "2012-02-02T17:54:56Z")
I have [viglink.com](http://viglink.com) blocked by my browser, but a couple days ago in a thread there was a link that kept getting routed thru it (and therefore went nowhere). Other links in other threads worked fine. And if I copy and pasted the link, it worked fine. There was a “#” page link in it that might have thrown something off. Can’t remember which thread it was. But there is something odd going on once in a blue moon. (If I come across it again, I’ll post here.) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/5 "2012-02-02T18:12:00Z")
For me, loading the current page causes the browser to attempt executing JavaScript files from: [ul] [li]eXelate ([insight-s3.exelator.com](http://insight-s3.exelator.com))[/li][li]Google Analytics ([www.google-analytics.com](http://www.google-analytics.com))[/li][li]Quantcast ([edge.quantserve.com](http://edge.quantserve.com))[/li][li]Rubicon ([tap-cdn.rubiconproject.com](http://tap-cdn.rubiconproject.com))[/li][li]VigLink ([cdn.viglink.com](http://cdn.viglink.com))[/li][/ul] So yeah, there’s a lot of “other stuff” going on. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/6 "2012-02-02T18:29:06Z")
We’ve had threads on it before. A quick search reveals: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=636875&highlight=vigilink](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=636875&highlight=vigilink) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=608769&highlight=vigilink](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=608769&highlight=vigilink) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614950&highlight=vigilink](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614950&highlight=vigilink) Viglink isn’t malware. As **Ed Zotti** explains it, > [@Possible illicit adware injected into SDMB posts??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-illicit-adware-injected-into-sdmb-posts/582138/18): > > Viglink is indeed a partner of ours; we get a small commission every time you click on a link to one of their clients. The process is supposed to be more or less invisible and doesn’t load any software on your computer. We’ve had scattered reports of malware from clicking on a link, e.g., the infamous phony virus scan popup. This isn’t supposed to be happening. If you see it, save a screen shot before bailing (Alt-Print Screen) and let us know; we’ll investigate. Vendors pay Viglink a commission if anybody buys something after clicking on a link on the SDMB, and Viglink pays the SDMB a portion of that commission. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/7 "2012-02-02T18:46:17Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Does it happen with [this link](http://www.google.com)? If so, you’ve probably got malware. It does for me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-in-posts-indirect/611548/8 "2012-02-02T18:50:43Z")
Me too. But **cochrane** has the reason listed above.