About:Blank Virus here?

Is something goofy happening right now at ATS?

Suddenly the button images are not there, and when I view "noscript," on Firefox, the "about:blank," virus wants to gain entry, which is one of the worst virus-trojans I have ever encountered. It does not go away easily, taking over your browser with an awful search engine.

Administrators, please check ATS fully!

SkipShipman, can you open a different browser and see if the same thing happens?
If you have IE, see if the same thing happens.

Sanc'.

Are you sure this is a virus? I don't know your computer usage level, but about:blank means you arent connecting to the site. Its built into windows. If its replacing your home page, you probabaly have a browser hijack.

I had the about:blank virus about a year ago, maybe a little more.

Thought i had it licked 3 different times but the nasty bugger kept coming back.

I do know my way around a computer and even with running regedit in safe mode and deleting all associated files it still came back.

what i did learn is that it creates a randomly named .dll batch file every time you reboot.

the quickest way to get rid of it is format your drive and reinstall windows.

hope that helped.........

Or you could go to

www.trendmicro.com and do their free online scan. That should fix your spyware issue.

Yeah I really doubt this is anything to with ATS's end.

Download Spybot S&D from here detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer.

Then you can use Ad-Aware which is designed to provide advanced protection from known Data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components.

If all else fails try a format and fresh install of windows. Always does the job for me.

Originally posted by Kalapadea
Are you sure this is a virus? I don't know your computer usage level, but about:blank means you arent connecting to the site. Its built into windows. If its replacing your home page, you probabaly have a browser hijack.

I am talking about the "noscript," option viewer on Firefox, which fans out and shows "about:blank," as being blocked from ATS. If you do not have the blocker, or some anti-spyware installed in real time, my question is whether any unprotected internet surfers here are getting any problems.

I do not have the virus, because it is being blocked by "noscript," but it detects that "about:blank," wants to install itself. Someone reply who also has Firefox "noscript," installed and check for yourself, otherwise we are flying blind without instruments here.

No other website I have recently visited wants to assume to install it in my "noscript," in Firefox, that is also why I am asking the board question here. It is not my problem right now, unless I click on "allow about:blank," but also there is a problem right now with ads and images that also happens in MS Internet explorer, which does not have "noscript." I am running McAfee anti-spyware, as well as spywareblaster, so one or the other catches that problem for now in real time.

Naturally this is more a concern for others here right now than for myself.

[edit on 5-10-2005 by SkipShipman]

Ohh ok, its just noscript popping up to say its blocked an ad basically. That's my best guess on the situation, it might be having issues with the frames. I don't think its a problem, just a glitch.


EDIT: When I come to this site on IE I usually get 2 pop-ups. It might be reacting to those as well.

[edit on 10/5/2005 by Kalapadea]

Everything has been slower yesterday and today but I have noticed nothing really unusual about the site. A couple of us mentioned the slowdown yesterday.

Some of us ran antispyware and cleaners and found nothing on our machines. Last night Jan (somehow) got an appleby's pop-up. I still haven't figured that one out. But that's Jan.

I usually get two random ads when I connect, then while browsing the boards I get one every hour. They're always random. Usually I don't see em because the blocker just makes the sound that they came up.

Who is jan?

We're using premium banner ad network providers, so the probability that they've allowed malicious ads into their network is near-zero, at best.

As many members pointed out, the about:blank hijacker can be a tough trojan to remove. Pieces of it can even lie dormant in your system for a time.

It would be helpful if you could identify the specific page in which you believe you're receiving these attempts... and if you have any other windows or tabs open.

I just tried to post a thread about this and was met with an automated response that such a thread exists already. I will re-submit:

Why am I being met with insipid tickle me or casino pop-up ads upon entry when I have enabled an ad blocker? And why is my browser since this started approximately two weeks ago, so slow at times navigating this site? Just days ago I received a notice upon entry, not once but twice, that some German site, the name of which I cannot recall, was trying to attack me with a trojan. My IT manager advised me that this site is a domain name registrant but well known for introducing spyware.

I recognize that these pop-ups defray the costs in part for the server and software which the site host initially decided s/he was willing to foot the bill for. But I also understand that income comes from those who are not members or logged in as members and as such are subject to the numerous embedded advertisements within each thread, just as I understand that the advertisements on the periphery of the forum are income producers. More importantly, what I do understand is that the more ads there are the more excess of revenue over expenses and the more profits for the shareholders, that is capitalism after all and the reason for any going concern. But my God, are profits so ultimately important that a user's acceptance of the site's cookie require the user see these annoying ads and slow their computers by attempted infiltration of spyware?

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
It would be helpful if you could identify the specific page in which you believe you're receiving these attempts... and if you have any other windows or tabs open.

Dear Skeptic,

I've been out all day long in Hawaii, going to the doctor, and doing other things. Apparently if there is any consolation right now in real time, the earlier conditions may have had something to do with time-warner road runner, which was having router problems for different sites all over the internet. I am not entirely sure if that was the factor of it this morning Hawaii time when I posted.

There is no problem right now with my "no script," in Firefox as stated above for what happened earlier. It was apparently in this "no script," jargon "global," meaning specific to any page on this site to answer your question.

In having begun this commentary, my alarm was about having had to repair a computer of a friend who was paying me to do it, some time ago. Having not been familiar at that time with "about:blank," it took me over a week to fix it, and after giving up and reformatting everything. Upon reinstall my first inclination was to put McAfee Suite, including its anti-spyware function as well as the highly useful "spywareblaster," that removes nothing but as "noscipt," prevents selected spyware from getting an entry at all.

I hope these discussions have been useful. But please keep going if anyone observes the "culprit," in the Firefox add on "noscript."

Sincerely,

Skip Shipman

[edit on 6-10-2005 by SkipShipman]

Originally posted by SomewhereinBetween
I have enabled an ad blocker?

Why do you feel it is fair to enjoy our significant suite of member services while blocking the only means we have to receive compensation for providing those services?

And why is my browser since this started approximately two weeks ago, so slow at times navigating this site?

We have had some code performance issues related to the massive size of our database. These have been repaired two days ago and performance should be much better.

some German site, the name of which I cannot recall, was trying to attack me with a trojan.

It may be attached to a member avatar. This has happened in the past and we often consider limiting avatars to hosting from our member upload section.

My IT manager advised me that this site is a domain name registrant but well known for introducing spyware.

Your IT manager is wrong. We have several systems in place to prevent malicious code from reaching our members.

But my God, are profits so ultimately important that a user's acceptance of the site's cookie require the user see these annoying ads and slow their computers by attempted infiltration of spyware?

The demands of traffic for AboveTopSecret.com have required us to utilize four dedicated servers (two of which are clustered "enterprise" class machines in a fully managed installation), this is not inexpensive. And as stated before, we are not the source of any attempts to install any malicious spyware of any type.

We've constantly maintained that if any member or guest brings any specific concern over the content or performance of any ad on our domains, it will be swiftly addressed. There have been occasions of inappropriate ads that, once we were informed, they were quickly blocked. These generalized "complaints" serve no purpose and accomplish nothing.

Of the five or six occasions in the history of ATS where malicious code was discovered, it was always part of a member avatar, signature, link, or inline graphic in a post... not the advertising that appears here.

: My IT manager advised me that this site is a domain name registrant but well known for introducing spyware.

Your IT manager is wrong. We have several systems in place to prevent malicious code from reaching our members.

Are tracking bots, spyware?

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Are tracking bots, spyware?

"Tracking bot"?

What do you mean?

Ad-Ware calls them tracking-cookies. (sorry for using the wrong term)

IM pretty sure it has to do with google ad-sense.



[edit on 6-10-2005 by SpittinCobra]

4 popups on this page so far, fresh machine, just built it about 20 min ago, First site I've come to.

Tracking cookies are cookies that monitor your browsing habits that then send information back to the website they were originally take from when you visit that site.

I didn't think ad-sense did popups but its worth checking into.

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Ad-Ware calls them tracking-cookies. (sorry for using the wrong term)

IM pretty sure it has to do with google ad-sense.

Cookies are not malicious. The myth that they are is a fallacy perpetuated by virus/malware scanning companies. We use up to ten total cookies to validate our logged-in users across different areas of the ATS services and domains.

Originally posted by Kalapadea
4 popups on this page so far

They didn't come from us. Logged-in members don't get any pop-ups, and guests have a frequency cap of two pops.

I See, Thanks for setting me straight. I will never know if I don't ask.