dsa_shea

I just got a microsoft warning with a voice over and a popup saying that my computer has been infected and it wanted me to click on the box. I went into task manager and closed out all of my windows, as it would not even give me the opportunity to close the tab.

Draven

Just got it again.

I vaguely remember The Sixth Sense one. Wasn't there another that had screaming on it?

DJariya

I normally don't post via my phone, but I have skimmed through threads.

But, now the mobile site is practically unreadable with these new "Ads" popping up. I'm afraid that my phone will get some kind of virus, so I have stopped using the mobile site.

I don't have any issues using my iPad though.

DVDChris

Still getting those ads. Unacceptable!

auto

Nothing like searching for new posts, getting a spam ad, killing it, opening up the site in a new window, searching for new posts and being told I didn't wait long enough in between searches. WTF

There is zero chance IB isn't getting paid for these ads. No way it goes this long without being fixed.

Meathead

VinVega

I got 3 more browser hijack ads tonight on mobile. I PM'd IB about it again. I wish I had the juice to turn it off guys.

tommyp007

I just got one for the first time in a few days.

Draven

Twice tonight.

story

I think the most frustrating thing about these ads is they're blatant lies. Your phone is hacked. Your passwords aren't secure. Your browser is compromised. They're all predatory lies. Why are we in bed with these ads? How is this good hospitality to new people? How is this not insulting to current members? I'm very disappointed these are still happening and for the style of the message.

Josh-da-man

I haven't had one of these since about Jan. 16.

Has anyone else not been getting these?

I'm using an iPad Air 1, Safari, with no adblocker active.

MBoyd

I just got one on my phone clicking on this thread!

Breakfast with Girls

The latest takeover ad:



No kidding.

I think at this point it's become evident that one of three possibilities is occurring: either Internet Brands is complicit in these takeover ads, it's not worth their time to manage the site, or both.

Any of these is unacceptable. This problem has a very simple solution: switch ad partners. This solution seems to have eluded Internet Brands, and when something very obvious continues to elude, in my experience it usually means there's a vested interest in not seeing the solution.

I've already been using DVD Talk a lot less than before as a result of these ads, but I've just deleted the bookmark on my phone. I'm going to try to seek out a community where the people running the site actually use the site and care what happens to it. This, clearly, is not it.

Trevor

I certainly won't be using any dvdtalk referral links until they fix this issue.

The Cow

I've stopped visiting from the phone and ipad, it's unacceptable.

And i agree with Trevor, no more shopping through the referral links until it's fixed.

b2net

And so starts the beginning of the end.... Sad to say it...

VinVega

These "ad" sites are actually virus sites. That's not a legitimate business. I certainly would not do business with someone who maintains these practices. A few extra bucks is not worth the bad will that's happening here.

Quack

Not sure if it's related or not, but I've been just browsing like I normally do, open links in new tabs, and this morning, got a few that showed up as this instead of the links I clicked.

http://fasttoss.com/d/p/finalweep.co...43001.124.1&r=

I just clicked the back button, and it took me to the thread I opened up. Thankfully work had blocked it anyways.

Breakfast with Girls

I was discussing this with Adam Tyner and he suggested that the site software may actually have been compromised, which I hadn't considered. Internet Brands should investigate that possibility, or give a trusted DVD Talk user with technical skills the ability to look into it.

Deftones

As if they care.

Adam Tyner

A friend's vBulletin forum was afflicted with a similar issue (though it was popups rather than redirects), and it turned out that there was some exploit with a Tapatalk plugin, even though he'd been diligently keeping it up to date.

Since this isn't the easiest thing in the world to duplicate, I don't know if it's a server-side redirect or Javascript. (On my phone, I don't get a back arrow, which leads me to think it's server-side, but maybe that's a quirk of Chrome on iOS.) I'd love to write a Chrome plugin to intercept those types of calls so I could trace where they're coming from, but...well, I don't know how to do that. I'll see what I can figure out when I have some more free time.

Meathead

It's pretty clear they don't...

VinVega

Have you PM'd IBobi, or IBJoel about this?

Trevor

Are you implying that IB isn't monitoring every post in the feedback forum?!

TheBang

That's what I've been saying:



Despite IB's "conclusion" that this is caused by rogue ad partners, I, frankly, have little confidence in their tech team's abilities to properly diagnose a problem (e.g. see YouTube embed thread).

For one thing, it is not normally very easy for regular banner ads to hijack browsers like this. It is usually only possible through more complex JavaScript than is allowed to be served via that avenue. That kind of JavaScript is usually the result of maliciously injected code.

It is my professional opinion (and yes, my profession has been web hosting server admin at Internet/Hosting Service Providers for a total of 17 years), that there is a high probability that this is being served by malicious code and not by the normal ads.

It would be fairly easy to prove this. IB could simply disable all the normal ads on the site for, say, a week. It should quickly become evident within a day or two whether the ad hijacks are still occurring. If they are, then it's clear that IB's conclusion that this is normal behavior from their ad partners is wrong, and that they have a deeper issue with the site. If the ad hijacks stop, then IB was right, and they then need to make some decisions about how they want to proceed with advertising on this site.