Aggressive sponsors?

[Don Corleone]

I wanted to report a problem I've been having that I believe is coming from the .Org, unfortunately. It seems that after crusing through a couple of threads, I start getting redirected to a personals page or a yellowbook clone type site. When I try to navigate away from it, it automatically returns me. I end up having to close my browser to make the issue stop.

Can somebody with the ability to determine such things look into this for me and tell me if it's the .Org or if I might have a virus? I think it's the .Org, because 1) it only happens when I visit the .Org, not visiting any other website 2) it happens on both my laptop and my home P.C.

Thanks.

[Andres]

Hey Don. I never encountered the problem you are describing. Does it happen in a particular subforum or is it randomly (i.e. after visiting a certain number of different threads in random subfora)?

Could it be that you sometimes doubleclick when going to a thread and accidentally click on an ad or so?

Unfortunately, I'm not really specialised in this sort of things, but I think it would be useful for those with more knowledge than me to specify which browser and OS you use.

[LittleGrizzly]

Something similar has happened to me a few times, also only on the .org, i thought i may have been accidently double clicking but it has happened too many times to be a mistake, i find if i just click back once it reloads the ad page but if i click the arrow next to the back button i can go back 2 steps fine...

I think it may not have happened for a day or two now though...

Whilst were on the subject some add on the .org starting playing sound at me about an hour ago! i tried pressing stop to get the noise off but ended up having to refresh the page to get rid of it...

[TosaInu]

Hello Don Corleone,

That may be a geographically limited campaign, it hasn't happened to me yet. Can you make a screenshot from it? It will be easier to contact the host about it (he can contact the people responsible for the ads).

When did the issue start?

What kind of sound LittleGrizzly?

[LittleGrizzly]

What kind of sound LittleGrizzly?

It was people talking, sounded like it could be a movie trailer perhaps, or it sounded similar, only happened once in the backroom today, so i don't think its much of an issue...

[Husar]

My guess concerning the back button is that you get to the ad via a redirecting page. Now when you click back you get to the redirecting page and it will redirect you to the ad immediately, what Grizzly does would be a solution but it sounds rather annoying anyway.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

One temporary solution, till its sorted, probably would be to install Firefox with AdBlock+. This should be able to stop it since most ads come from sources that it has pinpointed and automatically stuck on a block list. NoScript, if you keep nothing other than "totalwar.org", "timeanddate.com" and "about:blank" running on the page, is also almost guaranteed to block it, but is a little more intrusive than AdBlock.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I have had the same issues occasionally as LG & Don. One of the ads is a dating site, Fling.com.
It usually occurs, but is not limited to just after I log on with my password. I use the scroll wheel to scroll the page down to the sub-forum I want and I get redirected to an ad site. Sometimes you can see the ad page address loading for several seconds on the bar at the bottom of your screen. I'll try and get a screen shot next time it happens.

[PanzerJaeger]

I've had the same issue. Southeast US here.

[Hosakawa Tito]

It just happened again. I tried print screen, but I have a new keyboard with no F-lock button and it didn't work. The redirect site was www.blinkx.com. This is getting very annoying.

[TevashSzat]

I just got a rather annoying ad in the backroom.

It was in audio so I couldn't really ignore it. I know I can turn my speakers off but I was listening to music though.......

Anyways, this was what the ad looked like, it seems alot of it was cut off...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

It was talking about Lindsay Lohan losing weight or something like that

[Hosakawa Tito]

That's the one, it just happened again. This browser hijacking is getting on my nerves.

That's 3 in a row in less than 2 minutes. I'm logging off.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I have had the same issues occasionally as LG & Don. One of the ads is a dating site, Fling.com.
It usually occurs, but is not limited to just after I log on with my password. I use the scroll wheel to scroll the page down to the sub-forum I want and I get redirected to an ad site. Sometimes you can see the ad page address loading for several seconds on the bar at the bottom of your screen. I'll try and get a screen shot next time it happens.

I got redirected once to that same dating site. I'm in the Northwest US.

CR

[Don Corleone]

Hello Don Corleone,

That may be a geographically limited campaign, it hasn't happened to me yet. Can you make a screenshot from it? It will be easier to contact the host about it (he can contact the people responsible for the ads).

When did the issue start?

What kind of sound LittleGrizzly?

Next time it happens, I'll be sure to.

I don't think I'm accidentally clicking anything Andres. I had thought of that and have been rather cautious about clicking.

Hasn't happened since early this morning, however, I'm pleased to report.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Just got it twice in five minutes. Once to a site with some free Ugg boots offer (with participation) and some other coupon site.

CR

[Crazed Rabbit]

This shit is getting ridiculous.

That fling site I just got forwarded too has a bunch of naked images now.

CR

[Strike For The South]

I never get the good stuff

[Whacker]

Firefox + Adblock Plus + Noscript = Only way to go folks. Sorry, but using IE will cause you problems. Opera I am to understand doesn't have the same controls that are on par with Noscript and Adblock, so will likely get the same results.

I realize this doesn't fix the core issue at hand, but when properly used it WILL prevent redirects and popups like folks are getting.

[TosaInu]

That is nasty indeed Crazed Rabbit. I can see (though it always is an issue) that the crisis motivates adbureaus to host whatever they can get, but aggressive ads only result in more actions against all ads, also the fair and useful ones. And then the machine stops completely. Websites do cost money.

[caravel]

Firefox + Adblock Plus + Noscript = Only way to go folks. Sorry, but using IE will cause you problems. Opera I am to understand doesn't have the same controls that are on par with Noscript and Adblock, so will likely get the same results.

I realize this doesn't fix the core issue at hand, but when properly used it WILL prevent redirects and popups like folks are getting.

Seconded.

I'm not having any problems, though I am using all of the above and I'm not posting from the US (so I would be seeing a different set of localised ads anyway).

I'm wondering if this is some kind of domain spoofing present on the local machine? Perhaps entries in the hosts files?

-Edit: To avoid confusion local machine = user's own PC.

[Abokasee]

The only one I've had problems was the Old Mosquito one were you had to zap them, that really sucked the [Denied: Warning Point Risked], you HAD to Zap the lil mother [Denied: Warning Point Risked] in law, its really annoying on NewGrounds because you could be happily playing any zombie related flash game or any flash game at all, and suddenly: BUH-ZZIZZZZZZZZ...

But with almost all other adverts I just have to say i'm thirded, and I just take the internet as: "Oh great fun, I wouldnt recomend it to a friend though"

[Beefy187]

I never had one here in Japan. Guessing its only in America.

[TosaInu]

Hello,

I mailed the host about it and they'll clean up their adhosting.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Thanks Tosa. I know we all appreciate the Orgahs who helped hunt down the bothersome ads.

CR

[Abokasee]

I never had one here in Japan. Guessing its only in America.

The UK has them too, in fact my sites I bump into somehow have them localised. "Meet sexy Singles in Bristol"*, yes that gets pretty tiresome.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I never click on adds

*They dont have that one on the .org, so nothing to worry about.

[Don Corleone]

Thank you Tosa-sama

And it actually stopped pretty quickly for me. Based on the duration of this thread however, it appears to have continued for others.

I'm an uber-capitalist (who's too lazy to learn how to make uhmlauts). I understand the value of advertising, and as you said, ads are in fact useful. It's how we learn about things.

I just resist the aggresive tactic of forced, repeated, direction. Again, thank you for dealing with this issue. Happy Friday.

[TosaInu]

Thank you Tosa-sama

And it actually stopped pretty quickly for me. Based on the duration of this thread however, it appears to have continued for others.

I'm an uber-capitalist (who's too lazy to learn how to make uhmlauts). I understand the value of advertising, and as you said, ads are in fact useful. It's how we learn about things.

I just resist the aggresive tactic of forced, repeated, direction. Again, thank you for dealing with this issue. Happy Friday.

You're welcome Don Corleone,

Thank you very much for bringing this up, because ads are sometimes localised, which prevents me to see everything a banner campaign does. There are nice ads, acceptable ones, annoying ones and nasty ones. Nice and acceptable is the only thing we want.

[PanzerJaeger]

Just got sent to...

http://www.blackpeoplemeet.com/sign_up_free/index.cfm

[Crazed Rabbit]

Me too; http://www.blackpeoplemeet.com/sign_up_free/index.cfm

Whilst browsing a thread about Obama in the backroom.

CR

[Hosakawa Tito]

Same redirect for me.