# Sick to death of the hacking attempts **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 14, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161 "2011-12-14T13:49:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/1 "2011-12-14T13:49:19Z")
I am sickened by the SDMB’s complicitness in hacking. I was browsing just this morning on a SDMB page (ads were for Google Chrome and Comcast Xfinity), and Kaspersky lit up like a Christmas tree. CUT IT OUT! You have been warned about this before. If I leave the board, it is your own fault. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/2 "2011-12-14T14:22:36Z")
Dude. Adblock. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/3 "2011-12-14T14:34:08Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Dude. Adblock. > **[Victim blaming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming)** > > Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm done to them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as the greater tendency to blame victims of rape than victims of robbery if victims and perpetrators knew each other prior to the commission of the crime. The Gay Panic Defense has been characterized as a form of victim blaming. > Psychologist William Ryan coine... I must say that I’m pretty mad right now. I won’t post anymore right now to protect my computer as well as calm myself down so I don’t post anything excessively vitriolic. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/4 "2011-12-14T14:38:25Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > [Victim blaming - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming) > **[Non sequitur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur)** > > Non sequitur may refer to: Who’s blaming anyone? Not me, for sure. This is the internet - you already take the precaution of using Kaspersky - I was just suggesting another one you might find useful. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/5 "2011-12-14T14:43:12Z")
1. It is really outrageous that this stuff continues to be an issue on this site. I mean, come on, guys, get it together. People should be able to surf the Dope without worrying about getting a malware infection from it. 2. That said, there’s absolutely no reason in the world not to install Adblock, unless you just really love the experience of being bombarded with dozens of ads every time you browse the web. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/6 "2011-12-14T14:43:44Z")
Respectfully, I will also suggest Adblock. I mean, you can’t fix the SDMB, unfortunately, but you can protect yourself. I never see ads now. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/7 "2011-12-14T14:43:53Z")
I’m sorry you’re having difficulties. It’s possible rogue ads are appearing on our site, but we need more information to track this kind of thing down. We serve up more than 11 million pages per month. There are several ad distributors, hundreds of ad networks, thousands of advertisers, and God knows how many ads. Helpful info includes: 1. Screen shots showing the ads visible at the time of the incident, or any popups or other suspicious apparitions. 2. Any info provided by your antivirus software. 3. Time/date of the incident, your location, and browser. 4. If anyone has had this happen to them more than once and is willing to run a background bug tracker, we’ve found this enables us to identify rogue advertisers pretty fast. 5. It’s helpful for us to know if multiple visitors to our site are having the same problem. If you read a report that an SDMB user has experienced a specific malware attack and the same thing has happened to you while visiting our site, let us know this by posting on ATMB. To emphasize, Web advertising is a complex multi-tiered system. Except in rare cases we have no direct relationship with advertisers. We deal with ad distributors, who deal with the networks, who deal with the advertisers. Our distributors are reputable companies with quality-control people who track down bad ads, but we need to give them something to work with. Thanks for your cooperation. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/8 "2011-12-14T15:34:08Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > … and Kaspersky lit up like a Christmas tree. It _is_ mid-December, after all. Maybe this was a holiday-themed greeting. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/9 "2011-12-14T15:46:03Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > You have been warned about this before. If I leave the board, it is your own fault. No. Not that. Joe ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/10 "2011-12-14T15:56:41Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > You have been warned about this before. If I leave the board, it is your own fault. Is this some kind of reverse banning? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/11 "2011-12-14T15:56:53Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > 1. That said, there’s absolutely no reason in the world not to install Adblock, unless you just really love the experience of being bombarded with dozens of ads every time you browse the web. To be fair, websites need that ad money to function. So that’s why I refuse to run AdBlock… except on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/12 "2011-12-14T16:01:41Z")
The real solution is not to use Kaspersky. It constantly has false positives. And even when it detects something legitimate, it very often isn’t an actual threat. Oh, and you aren’t a victim if you didn’t actually catch anything. You’re someone who protected himself. Getting mad because you had to use the software you paid money for is kinda weird. And I’m sorry, but the SDMB is far from the worst site on the net for this sort of thing. It’s likely just the only one you use that doesn’t handle its own advertising. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/13 "2011-12-14T16:41:38Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > To be fair, websites need that ad money to function. So that’s why I refuse to run AdBlock… except on the SDMB. I use Flashblock instead of Adblock largely for this reason. Adblock is overkill. Flashblock lets most ads through (then I use the capacity for ignoring things that is preinstalled in the human brain), except for the annoying animated ones that cannot be turned off (animated gifs are dealt with by the escape key), and it seems to block most malware attacks too. I have not seen any attempted attacks at the Dope for, IIRC, well over a year now. > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > You have been warned about this before. If I leave the board, it is your own fault. Oh noes! It will not be worth coming here any more! ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/14 "2011-12-14T16:52:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The real solution is not to use Kaspersky. It constantly has false positives. And even when it detects something legitimate, it very often isn’t an actual threat. Speaking personally (not as a moderator), I’d like to add my agreement here. While it’s true we’ve had some problem ads so it’s possible it wasn’t a false positive, in my professional life I’ve found that Kaspersky is particularly bad about this. We don’t use it here but we get reports from users who do, and it’ll suddenly start flagging our (ad-free, never compromised) website despite no recent changes. It’s weird. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/15 "2011-12-14T17:13:18Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Speaking personally (not as a moderator), I’d like to add my agreement here. While it’s true we’ve had some problem ads so it’s possible it wasn’t a false positive, in my professional life I’ve found that Kaspersky is particularly bad about this. We don’t use it here but we get reports from users who do, and it’ll suddenly start flagging our (ad-free, never compromised) website despite no recent changes. It’s weird. In fact, about five seconds afterward, I started getting pop-up error dialogs outside of my browser. So, it is prima-facie looking like that not only was the attack real, but it looks like Kaspersky didn’t protect me. Now I get to have a fun evening reinstalling Windows. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/16 "2011-12-14T17:24:40Z")
Reinstalling Windows? Really? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/17 "2011-12-14T17:30:52Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Now I get to have a fun evening reinstalling Windows. You really need to stop clicking all of those Kardashian links. They’re giving you viruses. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/18 "2011-12-14T17:38:26Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > If I leave the board, it is your own fault. Gosh, I hope you don’t…it wouldn’t be the…wait…who are you again? mmm ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/19 "2011-12-14T17:47:38Z")
I don’t use AdBlock, and people who do piss me off. If I like a site enough to go there frequently, the least I can do is not deprive them of revenue like some entitlement-minded child. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/20 "2011-12-14T17:47:43Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Now I get to have a fun evening reinstalling Windows. Then it appears your computer has been compromised by malware. If so, then I suggest two things: [ul] [li]Use a quality web browser that you can install addons to protect you while surfing. So that means forget using IE. Also, look at using a variety of tools to protect your computer.[/li][li]Look at your own surfing habits.[/li][/ul] FWIW, I actually ran an experiment with one of my Win7 machines for six months. I installed no anti-virus software, no malware checking software, etc. I used default Win7 security and firewall settings and nothing more. In those six months i did my usual web surfing, which included never clicking on ads. At the end of six months I performed a comprehensive anti-virus/malware check using my own boot CD. That led to installing/running anti-virus and anti-malware software. They found a number of minor issues easily corrected and cleaned. But nothing caused me to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the O/S because the problems were insurmountable. I have yet to experience any SDMB issues you described. I use Firefox with AdbBlock (soon to be compromised with “approved” ad leaks by the AdBlock manufacturer). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161.md?page=2)