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My browser has been hijacked

RPG Advocate

Critical Thinker
RPG Advocate
Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Messages
281
The default "not found" page that Internet Explorer uses when a URL is typed incorrectly has been hijacked by a company called "VeriSign". Spybot, Ad-Aware, and HijackThis can't seem to find any spyware that is causing the problem.

Anyone know where the spyware/malware that could have caused this came from?
 
Actually, this is not a browser hijack. It's more sinister than that.
Verisign has actually implemented a wildcard search that captures any mistaken URL that you typed in and redirects it to their site. There ain't nuttin to be done about it (on a personal level), as far as I can tell.

You can read more about it here and here
 
roger said:
Actually, this is not a browser hijack. It's more sinister than that.
Verisign has actually implemented a wildcard search that captures any mistaken URL that you typed in and redirects it to their site. There ain't nuttin to be done about it (on a personal level), as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...


Not on a personal level, but if you run your own DNS you can update your BIND.

Or complain to your ISP and see if you can ge tthem to update. With a small service it shouldn't be much of a problem, but there more people you have using the DNS the messier it can become, so some ISP's may shy away from any upgrades unless it's absolutely required.

It's not really going to be "sinister" to most folks. Instead of getting a "not found" error they will be redirected to a Verisign web site that lists names that are close. The web site also has paid advertisements on it, which generate revenue for Verisign, which seems to be the biggest point of contention.

For the *average* user it's not going to make a bit of difference, other than some folks being initially concerned (such as the original poster).
 
Well, the IAB has posted an extensive list of problems that this can cause. I'm not knowledgeable enough in this area of computers to judge all aspects of it. I stick to C++, and don't dabble in networks much.
 
ShowMe - for the average user, it can cause quite a few problems, notably a) that spam with a forged domain will resolve, bypassing a method that antispam software uses, and b) any mail that you send to an incorrect domain can potentially be 'harvested' by Verisign's servers.

Things that are bad for admins are usually bad for end users.

I now consider Versign's site certificates worthless. They are very, very bad people.
 
LFTKBS said:
ShowMe - for the average user, it can cause quite a few problems, notably a) that spam with a forged domain will resolve, bypassing a method that antispam software uses, and b) any mail that you send to an incorrect domain can potentially be 'harvested' by Verisign's servers.

Things that are bad for admins are usually bad for end users.

I now consider Versign's site certificates worthless. They are very, very bad people.
Click to expand...

The average user (ie, my mom) will never notice this.

Don't get me wrong...from a technical perspective what Verisign has done is incomprehensible. It's no wonder they did it in secret.

But my Aunt Patricia will never notice any difference in her day to day using of the Internet.

I'm willing to bet Verisign is going to get slapped pretty hard for this.
 
I posted a link for my site for my daughter's pictures, but it was missing something. I posted it on a mommy site. Everyone got directed to porn :eek:

:o I fixed it right away, but I think the other ladies were wondering what I was up to for a few minutes.
 
Not enough porn pop ups you mean? :D

I don't remember the exact mistake that lead to all the porn spam.
 
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