ANA Discussion Forum

AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: Kate B on August 29, 2009, 08:35:50 pm

Title: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: Kate B on August 29, 2009, 08:35:50 pm

Today I got a malware warning for visiting this site?  This is what it said. ....Can anyone help?

Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer!
The website at anausa.org contains elements from the site www.mustangmods.com, which appears to host malware – 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 www.mustangmods.com.
Learn more about how to protect yourself from harmful software online.
 I understand that visiting this site may harm my computer. 

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: CHD63 on August 29, 2009, 08:43:01 pm

I'm not a computer guru like Steve, but it sounds like a phishing attempt to me.  I hope you did not click on the link to mustangmods.  I have never gotten this message.

Clarice

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: Kaybo on August 29, 2009, 09:01:28 pm

I have never gotten this or any other message - I have a Mac now & since they are not as susceptible to viruses we have different coverage...

Let us know...I'm sure Steve will have an answer.  Oh Steve...where are you??

K

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: sgerrard on August 29, 2009, 10:35:47 pm

Googling www.mustangmods.com (not visiting it) reveals that mustangmods is an image hosting site, and also is now considered to be a site that hosts malware.

I suspect that somewhere in our 100,000+ posts is a post with an image that is stored on the above site. In that way I can see how Google, or your browser, or some software, might inform you that anausa.org/forum contains image links to a site which in turn contains links to malware.

I don't think there is any risk to you, as long as you don't go to mustangmods, or download anything from there. This is an interesting issue, though. Should the ANA Forum block posting image links to such an image host, because some one has determined that they also host malware? Is that done retroactively as well? What would happen if Photobucket suddenly got rated? I don't know the answer to that question.

Steve

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: sgerrard on August 29, 2009, 11:02:38 pm

A little more information: while visiting the site may be questionable, it is okay to visit the Google page about that site, which describes why it got listed. This is the link:

http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=http://www.mustangmods.com/&hl=en

The status is pretty mild. The site doesn't host malware directly, but does contain links that can download malware. Google has encountered two instances in the last 90 days, the most recent on Aug 27 2009. If it is a fairly publicly accessible site, someone may have merely posted a malware link on the mustangmod site somewhere.

So that would mean our forum contains a link to an image on another site, and the other site contains a link to yet another site, and that one is hosting malware.

(And it lays in the house that Jack built. :) )

Steve

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: sgerrard on August 29, 2009, 11:12:17 pm

One last note: the same safe browsing diagnostic site at Google gives anausa.org a clean bill of health.

http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=http://www.anausa.org/&hl=en

"What is the current listing status for www.anausa.org?"

    "This site is not currently listed as suspicious."

Steve

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: Joef on August 30, 2009, 05:32:40 am

I just tried that site... from a new install of firefox ... and give me a stern warning about a malware site too ..

Kate , is there a posting here to a image on that site?

update: I did find some old images from that site... last one was from a May posting...

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: ppearl214 on August 30, 2009, 05:56:01 am

thanks Kate and Steve and Joe for the heads up on this.....

Phyl

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: Kate B on August 30, 2009, 08:16:30 am

You can imagine my SURPRISE to get that message ???

Steve: Thanks for the quick research and the clean bill of health for the forum. I have been on this site for all these years without that pop-up warning.  


Joe:  I copied the text exactly as it popped up. It was inside a red box.  It did not show me any other image or direct me anywhere beside what was written in the box and unlike you two brave souls, I did not click on the link.  How were you able to track back to images from a May posting?  Are they things like clip art?


The good news is that members don't need to worry if they get that pop-up.

Title: Re: Does anyone else get a malware warning?
Post by: Jim Scott on August 30, 2009, 02:11:23 pm

I have a relatively new (less than a year old) PC and McAfee virus protection - and I've never received a malware warning for this website.  Because Steve and Joe, our computer-savvy mods, have investigated and explained the malware warning Kate received, I think we can all relax, now.  My thanks to the guys for their rapid response and intrepid investigation.

Jim