Internet question for the gurus

[wroughtn_harv]

Many of you know I have a website. Almost all of it was derived from posts here on TBN. It was converted over to the website by Leo Frisk who passed away almost a year ago from cancer.

I haven't done anything with it even though Leo gave me all the passwords etc. Bobby Goodwin and myself have talked about bringing it back current but life happens and we haven't done it.

Occasionally I'll go to the website and check the visitor numbers from the bravenet visitor counter that Leo installed. This morning I clicked on the "view site stats" bar as usual. As usual there was the pop up bravenet puts on there to pay for the service. I clicked on it to close it and instantly was looking at a **** site. I closed it.

Then I repeated the process step by step over and over to see if I could duplicate it. I couldn't. What I'm worried about is a hacker is using my stuff to push or enable a **** site.

I view **** as a necessary evil I guess. I accept that it's probably the biggest force improving the internet for the rest of us. A lot of the stuff like videos etc came together online to service the needs of the **** industry. I just don't have any use for it personally. And I never visit any **** sites that I'm aware of so I don't see how the **** site link could have occured this morning. There are no kids or anyone else in the house using this computer either.

A little help here if we can. I'd like to know if I'm being used. If I am how I can put a stop to it. And how can I make sure it won't happen again.

 

[EddieWalker]

Harvey,

Do you or Glenda download music off the net, or open emails from people you don't know?

Years ago, the **** sites where how the hackers were getting into the computers, but like you said, not everyone goes to those sites. From what I was told by the guys who fixed my computer the last time I was shut down form spyware, is that the music websites are where they are getting into peoples systems now.

They attach programs to songs that people download and when they are in your system, they do what they want. The trick for them is to get thier programs into your system.

I don't know if this has any relevance to you or not. Somehow I don't see you sitting in front of the computer downloading music to an Ipod. hahaha

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[PBinWA]

I think the first step would be to see if it happens on someone else's computer. If your computer is infected with Spyware then it could just be the spyware that is sending you to the **** site.

I went to your site and clicked around but didn't seem to be directed to any **** sites. If someone else figures out the magic steps to get the **** then maybe we can figure out how it is happening.

PB

 

[MossRoad]

.... Then I repeated the process step by step over and over to see if I could duplicate it. I couldn't. ....

Good! Hopefully it was just a fluke. To be sure, have someone else test it from another computer in another location.

 

[MossRoad]

To explain a little further...

You know how the internet works by associating names with IP addresses, right? There are devices on the internet that keep these names associated with the correct IP address, kind of like a phone book, but electronic and dynamic. Sometimes these tables get messed up for any number of reasons. They are usually self correcting. So, occasionally you may get sent to an incorrect number when you type in a name. Knid of like dialing a wrong number. Let's just hope that was the case.

 

[TrippleT]

If that is the site Harvey, I clicked on it and I didn't find anything on there but you and your business, your grandson. I didn't look at all the links but went to several. It may well be spyware on your computer. Since I am not a guru I don't know.

 

[Inspector507]

Sounds more like an issue with the Bravenet pop up that he clicked on instead of something in his computer.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Thanks guys.

I went to the control panel. There I found a help page that I'd never accessed before. Between it and rotr I figured out that it looks like nothing has been going on, it was a glitch like has been suggested.

However, looking at visitors I noticed a ton of them from a traction forum that appears to be from across the pond. They were viewing a picture in my RVN section of a real deal steam roller I took in 1966. According to rotr their visits evidently were a hot link to the picture. He suggested activating a hot link stop feature available to me. I did. It has something to do with bandwidtch which I think I understand and but I've thought I understood things before and was real wrong, just ask my wife.

If that has offended anyone here and there needs to be an adjustment please let me know.

Again, thanks, harvey

 

[Bird]

Like the other guys, I wandered around your website a bit today (found a bunch of pictures I'd forgotten all about), but nothing unusual happened, wasn't directed elsewhere, or anything like that.

 

[beagdog]

<I clicked on the "view site stats" bar as usual. As usual there was the pop up bravenet puts on there to pay for the service. I clicked on it to close it and instantly was looking at a **** site. >

I just did exactly as you described above and had the same thing happen. This has got to be an issue with the Bravenet sight that someone has linked their **** site to. I also had several alerts from SpySweeper as soon as the sight came up. Don't know who you'd report this to with Bravenet, but I'm sure they would like to know about it. Who knows how many other sights they are on that its happening to as well.

No offense taken here, but you may want to try to remove the Bravenet counter.