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SameOldStory · 03-24-2011, 10:50 PM

Real rant time again.

This is about images and browser takeovers.

While searching images for another thread I clicked on a Google thumbnail. And guess what? It tells me that it has detected a virus/hard disk/ operating system problem/ etc., and needs to scan my computer to "whatever".

SAMPLE

SAMPLE
SAMPLE
Note that it says "Message from webpage".

No, this didn't come from a porn site. I've gotten similar pop-ups from many different, and normal looking, pictures.

So with a brave heart (and an updated virus checker) I tried the same site with the latest Chrome and Firefox browsers. I haven't tried it with the latest Internet Explorer because I simply don't care for it.

Both Firefox and Chrome had to be forced into a shutdown. When these sites take over the browser they don't let you click on anything but "OK". And that is something I NEVER do.

So I reboot the computer and switch to the latest Ubuntu linux which is on a separate drive and Google image the same words. Click on the same image (from within Google Chrome) and guess what.

I now see that I have won a $1,000 Wal-Mart card and all I have to do is to type in my email address and click "OK".

But the same problem exists. You can't exit the website.

Not being familiar with linux I tried CTL-ALT-DEL. Apparently linux doesn't use that to let you force programs to end, so I just hit the off switch, and went back to Windows 7.

I thought linux was supposed to be better than Windows?

PS - It also doesn't matter what anti-virus is running. Scripts are disabled too.

03-24-2011, 10:50 PM	#16939
SameOldStory My True Self Posts: 3,126 Karma: 66242098 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor, Galactic Center Device: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	Real rant time again. This is about images and browser takeovers. While searching images for another thread I clicked on a Google thumbnail. And guess what? It tells me that it has detected a virus/hard disk/ operating system problem/ etc., and needs to scan my computer to "whatever". SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE Note that it says "Message from webpage". No, this didn't come from a porn site. I've gotten similar pop-ups from many different, and normal looking, pictures. So with a brave heart (and an updated virus checker) I tried the same site with the latest Chrome and Firefox browsers. I haven't tried it with the latest Internet Explorer because I simply don't care for it. Both Firefox and Chrome had to be forced into a shutdown. When these sites take over the browser they don't let you click on anything but "OK". And that is something I NEVER do. So I reboot the computer and switch to the latest Ubuntu linux which is on a separate drive and Google image the same words. Click on the same image (from within Google Chrome) and guess what. I now see that I have won a $1,000 Wal-Mart card and all I have to do is to type in my email address and click "OK". But the same problem exists. You can't exit the website. Not being familiar with linux I tried CTL-ALT-DEL. Apparently linux doesn't use that to let you force programs to end, so I just hit the off switch, and went back to Windows 7. I thought linux was supposed to be better than Windows? PS - It also doesn't matter what anti-virus is running. Scripts are disabled too.