# The SDMB is serving up malware again **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 21, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949 "2010-06-21T02:40:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/61 "2010-06-28T12:08:36Z")
Last night on my work desktop, I was infected with the AV virus. It disabled all MS programs (which means that I effectively can’t do my job on that computer). It took our IT guys 3.5 hours to get that computer scrubbed. Fortunately, I had another computer to use. Now the Dope is blocked on all of our company computers. Too bad the legit advertisers aren’t getting what they are paying for. missred (Nashville area) ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/62 "2010-06-28T15:07:42Z")
As I said (in a more snarky manner) in another thread on a similar subject, every time I’ve bothered to try to track down an issue on this board, it’s always come up as a “Rubicon” issue. I strongly suspect that the main problem is technical incompetence on the part of Rubicon’s staff. My suggestion to TPTB is to dump Rubicon. They are more trouble than they are worth. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/63 "2010-06-29T21:40:27Z")
Has anything been done about this? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/64 "2010-06-29T21:53:00Z")
I think \*\*Ed \*\*apologized for it over in another thread and said they were working on it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/65 "2010-06-30T18:32:28Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I think \*\*Ed \*\*apologized for it over in another thread and said they were working on it. “Working on it” basically means: We know all about it, but we don’t know jack about how to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/66 "2010-06-30T19:21:15Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > “Working on it” basically means: We know all about it, but we don’t know jack about how to fix it. Welcome to computers. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/67 "2010-07-06T20:51:33Z")
Is there an update on this? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/68 "2010-07-06T22:11:05Z")
I already told you this Rubicon issue was being addressed in another thread. Apparently it’s too much work to click to the TOC page for this forum and find the damned thing your own selves. So here you go: **[I’m getting a pop up asking me for a password](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=568637) (Rubicon bug)** ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/69 "2010-07-06T22:17:07Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I already told you this Rubicon issue was being addressed in another thread. Apparently it’s too much work to click to the TOC page for this forum and find the damned thing your own selves. So here you go: > > **[I’m getting a pop up asking me for a password](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=568637) (Rubicon bug)** Well golly gee, I hadn’t reported any fucking login prompt in my complaint in this thread, so maybe my request for an update didn’t have anything to do with the Rubicon password issue? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/70 "2010-07-06T23:18:16Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I Apparently it’s too much work to click to the TOC page for this forum and find the damned thing your own selves. So here you go: > > **[I’m getting a pop up asking me for a password](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=568637) (Rubicon bug)** That’s a bit much for atmb. Please dial it back a notch. No warning issued. **Gfactor** Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/71 "2010-07-07T14:08:27Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Well golly gee, I hadn’t reported any fucking login prompt in my complaint in this thread, so maybe my request for an update didn’t have anything to do with the Rubicon password issue? :rolleyes: Sorry, you didn’t specify what “this issue” was, and the most recent thing under discussion _was_, in fact, the Rubicon bug. My apologies for assuming that you were referring to that instead of calling back to something further up the thread. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/72 "2010-07-07T18:06:56Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Is there an update on this? Although we appear to have two separate problems here, the Rubicon login and the fake virus alert ad, the fact that both started and stopped around the same time makes me think they’re related. Rubicon evidently was tweaking the ad server and admits having messed something up, resulting in the login prompt. This has been fixed. We haven’t been able to figure out exactly why the fake virus alert started showing up, but we’re no longer getting reports about it and I’m hopeful fixing one problem fixed the other. If that isn’t the case and you see either of these problems again, please advise ASAP and make a screen shot of whatever weird thing you see; this seems to be the surest way to get things resolved fast. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/73 "2010-11-26T23:03:35Z")
The board is serving malware yet again. I was viewing the “How to tell if book downloads are legal” in GQ, when I got a full-screen window of “Online computer scan” and Microsoft Security Essentials reported [Rogue:JS/PrivacyCenter](http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?name=Rogue%3aJS%2fPrivacyCenter&threatid=2147627632). I reiterate that of all the boards I visit regularly, the SDMB is the only one with this ongoing inability to deal with the situation (and the other boards have ads, too). Get your act together, already. I’m outta here… ---
**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 2, 2010, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/74 "2010-12-02T10:31:30Z")
I just noticed that [collegehumor.com](http://collegehumor.com) uses rubicon as well (which I have blocked with noscript). Perhaps you can get in touch with them and figure out why they don’t have malware problems. Still, I continue to wonder if some pissed off ex-user is designing ads specifically for the SMDB. (After certain events a couple months ago at the SnackPit, I wouldn’t put it past a few people.) I have never encountered a site with so many malware problems. ETA: And in no way is that meant to say anything bad about the usual SnackPit user. Despite the horror stories you may have heard, most of them are good individuals who know not to go beyond words. Even the ones who call me BigTard (which is really stupid, as the point of those names was so the user couldn’t search and find them.) ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/75 "2010-12-02T17:20:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Despite the horror stories you may have heard, most of them are good individuals who know not to go beyond words. Even the ones who call me BigTard (which is really stupid, as the point of those names was so the user couldn’t search and find them.) I don’t know why this gave me the giggles, but it did. Something about saying people are good individuals at heart while repeating a rude nickname they gave you. As a bonus, it also reminded me of the Cape Fear Simpsons episode I recently watched: [QUOTE=Chief Wiggum] Sideshow Bob has no decency! He called me Chief _Piggum_! [/QUOTE] Anyway, I don’t think the Snarkpit has anything to do with anything. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/76 "2010-12-02T18:09:28Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Anyway, I don’t think the Snarkpit has anything to do with anything. Ever. ---
**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 3, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/77 "2010-12-03T01:35:20Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I don’t know why this gave me the giggles, but it did. Something about saying people are good individuals at heart while repeating a rude nickname they gave you. As a bonus, it also reminded me of the Cape Fear Simpsons episode I recently watched: > > Anyway, I don’t think the Snarkpit has anything to do with anything. Well, that last part was just me campaigning for them to come up with a better one. And I wasn’t trying to say that Snackpit\* people did it as much as saying that that one incident indicates there are some people out there that would cross the line. Heck, if the Snackpit did it, I’m sure a nonny would have bragged about it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949/78 "2010-12-03T04:01:28Z")
Long live the nonnies!!! 😛 (People are far, far too paranoid about the snarkpit around here.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-is-serving-up-malware-again/543949.md?page=3)