PH page hijacked and redirecting to malware
Discussion
So in a somewhat ironic situation, I browsed to the 'Do you use adblock on PH?' thread on the only device I don't use adblocking on only to be promptly redirected to a malicious site:
This then redirected me to here:
and finally it hijacked the vibrate function and would not allow me to exit. The only way out was to crash the phone to restart. You can see the sequence of PH pages I browsed here:
yeah.youmadethedeal.com, play.leadzu.com and specs.appmobi.com are nothing I've browsed to myself. Thinking back it's not the first time I've had this happen when browsing PH but I brushed it off and it wasn't as malicious as this event.
This is on Android 5.0.1 on an unrooted HTC One M8. I'm running Lookout Premium along with Belarc Security Advisor. There are no apps on the phone which were not downloaded from the Play Store.
This 100% came as a browser hijack from PH within seconds of loading the page. I'd suggest you guys sort this st out pronto, it makes you look like amateur hour and is NOT the sort of experience I expect from a site the size of PH.
I shouldn't have to root my device and install Adblock to avoid this kind of crap.
This then redirected me to here:
and finally it hijacked the vibrate function and would not allow me to exit. The only way out was to crash the phone to restart. You can see the sequence of PH pages I browsed here:
yeah.youmadethedeal.com, play.leadzu.com and specs.appmobi.com are nothing I've browsed to myself. Thinking back it's not the first time I've had this happen when browsing PH but I brushed it off and it wasn't as malicious as this event.
This is on Android 5.0.1 on an unrooted HTC One M8. I'm running Lookout Premium along with Belarc Security Advisor. There are no apps on the phone which were not downloaded from the Play Store.
This 100% came as a browser hijack from PH within seconds of loading the page. I'd suggest you guys sort this st out pronto, it makes you look like amateur hour and is NOT the sort of experience I expect from a site the size of PH.
I shouldn't have to root my device and install Adblock to avoid this kind of crap.
Edited by Funk on Friday 25th December 00:14
Glad to see it's not just me...
No doubt the PH response will be to point the finger at the '...company that supplies the ads..' and it '...being outside the remit of what PH allow...' and that '...they'll ensure it doesn't happen again.'
PH - if you can't trust the company you currently employ to handle your ads, you need to SACK them and find a way of monetising the site which doesn't redirect your users to sodding malware.
No doubt the PH response will be to point the finger at the '...company that supplies the ads..' and it '...being outside the remit of what PH allow...' and that '...they'll ensure it doesn't happen again.'
PH - if you can't trust the company you currently employ to handle your ads, you need to SACK them and find a way of monetising the site which doesn't redirect your users to sodding malware.
Hi Funk,
The issue has not been able to be replicated, and unfortunately I am told there is a limited amount that can be done to mitigate this issue without having steps to replicate the problem.
I have been assured that all our ads are scanned regularly, and if any are found to be associated with any invalid/blacklisted URLs they would be disabled automatically and flagged as malware.
We are hoping this is a rare occurrence and that it was an odd rogue ad that got through for a small period of time. However, if this is still happening to you or happening to anyone else, please let us know and we will investigate this again.
Thanks,
Dom
The issue has not been able to be replicated, and unfortunately I am told there is a limited amount that can be done to mitigate this issue without having steps to replicate the problem.
I have been assured that all our ads are scanned regularly, and if any are found to be associated with any invalid/blacklisted URLs they would be disabled automatically and flagged as malware.
We are hoping this is a rare occurrence and that it was an odd rogue ad that got through for a small period of time. However, if this is still happening to you or happening to anyone else, please let us know and we will investigate this again.
Thanks,
Dom
It's going to st mate. They'll pump the golden goose harder for eggs until it croaks.
To be frank, it's probably not the fault of the devs - there are some management wkers somewhere that need hauling over the coals for presiding over such a clusterfk.
I've just replaced my One M8 with a Nexus 6P and debating whether to root it or not specifically so I can install ad-blocking.
To be frank, it's probably not the fault of the devs - there are some management wkers somewhere that need hauling over the coals for presiding over such a clusterfk.
I've just replaced my One M8 with a Nexus 6P and debating whether to root it or not specifically so I can install ad-blocking.
Ollie_M said:
Dom is one of our developers so he his better to respond to this than I.. I'll ask him to jump on line again and see where we are with this.
Ollie
I admire your attempts Ollie and I can imagine you guys are as frustrated at things as we are. Keep kicking this up the line until someone takes note and actually does something about it.Ollie
It's not good enough for a site the size of PH to be serving up 'malvertising' and then going all slopey-shouldered and saying it's not PH's fault, it's down to 3rd parties - if that's the case, fk the 3rd parties off and boot them out.
The changes that have happened with PH over the last couple of years are like death by a thousand cuts. As has been mentioned before that the forums aren't considered 'important' to Haymarket as part of the PH brand, perhaps hive it off and let people quietly enjoy it without all the bullst that seems to happen as a result of the relentless pursuit of monetising the site as a whole.
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