# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/61 "2011-12-17T00:38:12Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > IE has a flash blocker built-in, but you have to know where to look to activate it, and reconfiguring it is an all-or-nothing deal (if you ever want to re-block a site after unblocking it, you have to unblock all sites and then do each one over). The adblocker is third party. EDIT—I see from another thread that people are talking about java script and other script blockers, plus java blacker in other browsers. IE has that built-in as well, and it is easier to use than the flash blocker. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/62 "2011-12-17T00:53:58Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Guess my time here will be **cut down by something like 90 percent.** Oh well. Hey Missy, that’ll be enough of that talk! ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/63 "2011-12-17T01:07:06Z")
I helped identify some SDMB malware ads before. I will try to capture some malware ads using Fiddler this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/64 "2011-12-17T01:12:44Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > I helped identify some SDMB malware ads before. I will try to capture some malware ads using Fiddler this weekend. You da man! ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/65 "2011-12-17T05:08:30Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > IE has a flash blocker built-in, but you have to know where to look to activate it, and reconfiguring it is an all-or-nothing deal (if you ever want to re-block a site after unblocking it, you have to unblock all sites and then do each one over). The adblocker is third party. What is this IE you speak of? 😉 My browser speaks Norwegian. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/66 "2011-12-17T14:38:12Z")
> [@The\_Surb](#): > > Hey Missy, that’ll be enough of that talk! The SDMB is no longer SFW. Sorry, Charlie. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/67 "2011-12-17T18:05:30Z")
I think I captured the malware. I just emailed the Fiddler log to Ed Zotti and Tuba Diva. It appears that an ad is installing a malicious Java application. In addition to the various precautions already suggested (ad blocker, anti-virus, sandboxing, running on Linux), I suggest that you make sure your Java is up-to-date: Version 6 Update 30. You can check this here: [http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp](http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp) ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/68 "2011-12-17T20:57:34Z")
You did? I’m not seeing it. Tuba Diva @ aol . com I’ll give Ed a heads up, hopefully he got it. And thanks! ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/69 "2011-12-17T21:31:36Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > You did? I’m not seeing it. Tuba Diva @ aol . com Yes, I sent it hours ago. Maybe it was blocked by a spam filter. If you have a backup email address, please PM it to me and I’ll send it there. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/70 "2011-12-17T22:50:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Maybe not rich, but you don’t seem to be [hurting](http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/15002533/who-is-cecil-adams). Er, you might want to read that article a little more carefully and critically. > [@njtt](#): > > 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) On other websites a few flash ads have been creeping through my flashblock for unknown reasons. Also, you might want to install [Nuke anything](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nuke-anything-enhanced/?src=ss): it permits removal of any object with a right click. Stamps out annoyances and is helpful when printing out an article without frames. The OP: Sorry about the problem. When I had a virus scare, I installed malwarebytes: it’s one of the few antivirals that can co-exist with your existing anti-virus software. If you do online banking, Keepass password manager adds another layer of protection. The utility permits you to drag and drop passwords, which can defeat keyloggers. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161/71 "2011-12-18T07:52:39Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Maybe not rich, but you don’t seem to be [hurting](http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/15002533/who-is-cecil-adams). OK, can you advise which part of that link implies a cavalier attitude to exploiting the sites users? ““We’re not making millions, but we’re always in the black,” Zotti cheerily reports. “So I look like a genius in a dying industry.” Seems reasonable to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-to-death-of-the-hacking-attempts/606161.md?page=3)