SPAM VIRUS WARNING

[wayfarer]

I don't know if everyone 'sees' the same info on the screen, but on mine, within the thread listings,

there is a large banner that says, "you have 1 new message"

This is a ransom virus...stay away from it or have your finger on the power switch...

[plymouthcranbrook]

I never click on ads like that. If I want information on something I search for it. Hopefully the Webmaster will kill  it.

Edited September 14, 2016 by plymouthcranbrook

[P15-D24]

First, if you can, get a screen shot of it and send to me. Don't click on it. (I will then contact Google Adsense)

I doubt it is actually a virus ad because those ads are delivered from Google Adsense and they are pretty religious about keeping thing like that from happening. Think about it, Google's whole business model is based on delivering "safe" ads. I know they do check for potential download threats and ban any advertiser who tries to sneak one in. You may see similar ads delivered by other ad providers on other sites that are potentially dangerous. 

[Don Coatney]

GTK, Just sent you an e-mail with the link. Hope it comes through. Of interest it appears twice on this page.

[P15-D24]

Sending me the link doesn't help.  Send me a screen shot of the ad, then I can contact Google.
And you can ignore the PM I just sent you. 

[Bingster]

Actually, there are other annoying ads where I have checked the boxes and reported them but they keep coming back, like the aging lady.  Why are these ads popping up between posts?

[JerseyHarold]

I accidentally clicked on that one a few days ago.  I couldn't get out of it so I hit the breaker and then restarted my computer.  So far no ill effects.

[rb1949]

Hope luck continues.......I'm not seeing any of these. Will follow advice and send a pix if need be.

[wayfarer]

...if I knew 'how' to do a screen shot........and yes, it is here today but now I have "3 new messages"....

 

I 'accidently' clicked on it yesterday...thought it was part of the new layout...my bad.

IT IS Ransom ware. Immediately upon clicking on the banner a female voice come on and says that I must call a certain phone number because my computer is at risk...there is NO way out of the ad except for killing the power.

[P15-D24]

27 minutes ago, wayfarer said:

..if I knew 'how' to do a screen shot........and yes, it is here today but now I have "3 new messages"....

Windows: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-take-a-screenshot-in-any-version-of-windows/

Mac: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201361

[P15-D24]

31 minutes ago, wayfarer said:

..and yes, it is here today but now I have "3 new messages"....

The site sends PMs and you will see a notification at the top of the page. If enabled you will see a pop up at the very bottom of the page also. And if enabled you will get a notification email to your registration email account in your regular email client. If the notification is in an ad, it's an ad trying to sell you something. Don't click on it expecting PMs or your regular email.

[wayfarer]

...so that's the key...! except that now I get a warning from this site about removing 'formatting' .... 

Sorry, but I am NOT a computer guy so I'll quit at this point and let someone else more qualified take if they so choose.

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by wayfarer

[plymouthcranbrook]

I have found that signing off on my computer breaks the chain. I also automatically have my history deleted upon closing and that seems to help.

[_shel_ny]

For those that may not have seen this Google Adsense banner here is one that I occasionally see.  Not sure if it is the same one.

I did not see it here.  Popped up on my ebay today. Not the 1st time. Caught it in the act, and snapped a pic today.

[DonaldSmith]

I woud be carful of anything wher they cant spell mesage.

[TodFitch]

2 hours ago, DonaldSmith said:

I woud be carful of anything wher they cant spell mesage.

I believe you intended to type "spel" instead of "spell" in the above.

[wayfarer]

The banner is still here today and on my system the word 'message' is correctly spelled. My 'view' does not have the envelope icon so there are a couple of spammers at work.

[Desotodav]

I had a 'pending alert' message appear whilst accessing the forum on my iPhone (see attached screen shots) which turned out to be a spam message... but I don't see it anymore so I assume that it has been fixed. Thanks GTK

Edited September 21, 2016 by Desotodav

[P15-D24]

Let see if we can clear this up.
First off you won't get any email notices on the site. If you see one it's an ad from Google.
Second you will see Private Message (PM) notifications if you have them enabled. First in the header (envelope  icon) and if enabled a notification at the very bottom of the page (single line). Also if you have them enabled, you will get a email notification in your regular email client.
Third, the site has specific locations defined for ads to appear. They are top of the page, bottom of the page, top right hand column on the home page, after the first topic listed in a forum and after the first post in a thread.
IF YOU SEE AN "EMAIL NOTIFICATION" IN THOSE LOCATIONS ITS AN ADVERTISEMENT FROM GOOGLE.  

On mobile devices it's the same story, if a "email notification" appears in an ad location it is an ad from Google.

Lastly, Google's primary business is advertising, and Google Adsense takes delivering safe, virus free ads to customer very seriously. (Think about it if they didn't, it is Google's primary revenue generator) . Granted some of their advertiser may use fear or trickery to get you to click on a link and then make it difficult for you to exit the page that loaded, that aren't delivering a virus. If you suspect something, don't click on it, get a screen shot and PM me and I will contact Google. To date nothing has proven to be a virus.