Malware on this site

Asia Outback · Post by **Asia Outback** » December 31st, 2010, 6:28 pm

Are others now getting pop-ups, redirects, and browser hijack attempts when using this site?? If so, Winston better get on it. Its a hassle.
Winston???

Jake

jamesbond · Post by **jamesbond** » December 31st, 2010, 6:37 pm

I am getting pop ups when I visit this site, this started within the past week.

The_Adventurer · Post by **The_Adventurer** » December 31st, 2010, 10:30 pm

Yes. I am not getting them on this computer I am sing now, but on my own compter at home it is becoming difficlt to enjoy surfing this site because of the popups stealing focus when I am in the middle of reading something. I am steps away from giving up on Happier Abroad altogether.

Grunt · Post by **Grunt** » January 1st, 2011, 9:53 am

I stopped checking this page on a Windows machine a LONG time ago. Now I only visit, rarely, on my Linux / Ubuntu netbook computer. This site simply isnt safe for Windows users or other newbs.

Post by **Winston** » January 1st, 2011, 10:36 am

It looks like the Bidvertiser Ads are causing them. See here:

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=e ... fc6f926f13

I guess I'll have to remove them and contact Bidvertiser Support to see if they can fix this problem or not. I don't know why these ad companies can't fix such malware problems in their ads permanently.

Thanks for letting me know.

Winston

YoucancallmeAl · Post by **YoucancallmeAl** » January 1st, 2011, 10:56 am

Yeah, it's happening to me too. And even worse, I keep getting these weird Windows pop-up messages saying "Are you sure you want to navigate away from this page?" that leave no yes or no options, so I close them. And then everything freezes and it doesn't allow me to go back or forward or even close the main page.
So I have to keep shutting down my computer and starting all over again. Very annoying.

Post by **Winston** » January 1st, 2011, 11:27 am

Hi all,
I've just disabled the pop-ups in Bidvertiser (which I didn't know were enabled automatically by default) so they should be gone now. Let me know if they come back.

Are any of you getting viruses or other kinds of malware BESIDES the popups?

I did some research online and found out that Bidvertiser claimed to have fixed this problem months ago.

Plus, a Google diagnostic of this site reveals no viruses. See below.

http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diag ... abroad.com

Safe Browsing
Diagnostic page for http://www.happierabroad.com

What is the current listing status for http://www.happierabroad.com?

This site is not currently listed as suspicious.

What happened when Google visited this site?

Of the 938 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 0 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2011-01-01, and suspicious content was never found on this site within the past 90 days.

This site was hosted on 1 network(s) including AS26496 (PAH).

Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?

Over the past 90 days, http://www.happierabroad.com did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.

Has this site hosted malware?

No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days.

Next steps:

* Return to the previous page.
* If you are the owner of this web site, you can request a review of your site using Google Webmaster Tools. More information about the review process is available in Google's Webmaster Help Center.

Let me know if you guys get any other malware. The popups should be gone now. Are they?

Post by **Winston** » January 4th, 2011, 7:03 am

Has anyone gotten any maleware or popups again?

McAfee told me today that my site has now been given the green rating after review. See below.

Hello,

We are Pleased to inform you that your site happierabroad.com has got the green rating and is currently reflecting on our website.

The link for the same would be http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/happierabroad.com.

Thanks for your patience during the process.

Sincerely,

Rajesh
Avert Services
McAfee SiteAdvisor

So you guys can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » January 4th, 2011, 2:08 pm

Yes, I got one last night browsing this site. If you keep this page idle for a few minutes, it redirects you to another site. It is annoying.

jamesbond · Post by **jamesbond** » January 4th, 2011, 3:49 pm

As of yesterday I kept getting redirected to another page when I visited the happier abroad discussion forum. Today, when I check this forum out, the page takes a while to load and the screen freezes for a little while. This happens every time today I have visitied this site.

FreeYourMind · Post by **FreeYourMind** » January 4th, 2011, 5:33 pm

I'm getting periodic malware advisories. Sometimes the site goes to something called Buddy TV. And when it doesn't do that it's taking a LONG time to download, sometimes never does finish downloading.

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » January 4th, 2011, 7:11 pm

I use Chrome and Firefox and this is the message that comes up now when I come here (this is from using Chrome browser).

Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer!
The website at http://www.happierabroad.com contains elements from the site http://www.gossipcenter.com, which appears to host malware â€“ software that can hurt your computer or otherwise operate without your consent. Just visiting a site that contains malware can infect your computer.
For detailed information about the problems with these elements, visit the Google Safe Browsing diagnostic page for http://www.gossipcenter.com.
Learn more about how to protect yourself from harmful software online.
I understand that visiting this site may harm my computer.

Asia Outback · Post by **Asia Outback** » January 4th, 2011, 7:28 pm

administration is negligent to allow this situation to fester. This is not a new topic if you look back into the archives. It is usually negligence or if not, then ignorance. Who wants to visit a site that is a hazard ?

From 2008 and 2009: viewtopic.php?t=6584

Protecting those browsing your site is an obligation.

Mr S · Post by **Mr S** » January 5th, 2011, 12:25 am

I'm so glad I use a Macbook! I almost never have to worry about this malware crap...

Post by **Winston** » January 5th, 2011, 12:39 am

The malware only affects US users it seems. It might be coming from the TrafficRevenue ads. I have no link that goes to gossipcenter.com. Let me remove them and switch back to Bidvertiser and see if this problem continues.

Asia Outback, I am not negligent. I've done all I can, from contacting Godaddy and having their team investigate and scan this site, to having McAfee re-evaluate this site and giving it a green rating again.

If I was negligent, would I be asking people here everyday if they're still getting malware, in order to try to isolate the problem? A negligent person doesn't do that. Think about it. Negligent people do not check and recheck to see if a problem has been fixed.