#122946  by Tennessee Jedi
 
I noticed " hot links " are popping up in members posts
Is this something new or Spam ?
 #122950  by tcsned
 
I've noticed that too when I'm using my laptop and not the iPad.
 #122952  by Tennessee Jedi
 
Yeah man
On the PC at work I see them ......
I clicked on one in a post by Scoob and was like WTF
:|
 #122953  by tcsned
 
I've noticed that some news sites like Yahoo News does that same thing. Probably a new feature that needs to be turned off or something.
 #122960  by strumminsix
 
Gents, I suspect this is an issue with your PC or browser or something along those lines.

Besides actually spam, the only other thing that could look like spam is what's in folks signatures. And none of those are spammy.


Question -are you seeing spam for things you have googled for recently?
 #122962  by tcsned
 
Strummin - it would highlight words and hyperlink them to some web search. I just saw it the other day but didn't actually click on anything. You're probably right that it's a browser-side issue. I didn't think of that. I thought I had seen it on my Macbook Pro but I'm not seeing it now.
 #122983  by strumminsix
 
A few months back I had to install software on my work pc and found a *free* version.
Well, the installer put in a web browser type tool and realized it was logging my searches and adding into the oddest spots. Sadly, merchants pay them for routed traffic.
 #122986  by RiverRat
 
There have been many applications and browser extension that do keyword highlighting. Some websites even implement this feature using Javascript. I would check your browser and see which addons/extensions are loaded.

I use Firefox on Windows and Linux, my main go-to extensions are AdBlockPlus and Noscript. They filter out about 99% of the crap on most websites and prevent malicious droppers from loading extensions into you browser without your approval.
 #123017  by TI4-1009
 
I haven't seen any of those hyperlinks- Vista with Norton.
 #123031  by Rusty the Scoob
 
Tennessee Jedi wrote:Yeah man
On the PC at work I see them ......
I clicked on one in a post by Scoob and was like WTF
:|
I'm not seeing any, nor did I hotlink anything, for the record.

I'm just sitting here in limbo, waiting for the time to roll... to Albany to play with TGP! :cool:
 #123033  by Tennessee Jedi
 
TI4-1009 wrote:I haven't seen any of those hyperlinks- Vista with Norton.
Rusty the Scoob wrote:
Sarah Silverman wrote:I had read this book long back. Actually I have read the book ‘Searching for the Sound’ when I was in my college. I do remember the portion you are referring with; still I don’t remember who the original bass player for Warlocks was. I am also interested to know the answer now. 



___________________________________________
Thanks
go to this site"
This spam post is actually pretty impressive. How'd they do that?
Can you see that ?
 #123036  by strumminsix
 
Tennessee Jedi wrote:
Can you see that ?
You'll need to take screen shots. What I think you are seeing is a combo of:
1) spy-ware as described above
2) hyperlinks in signatures of spammers
3) spammers copying posts written by others, from old threads and on previous pages, and pasting it into their own so it looks legit at first blush. Then you realize the thread is 3 years old and it's word for word what a legit member here wrote years back and 2 pages back.
 #123039  by Tennessee Jedi
 
Rusty the Scoob wrote:I'm not sure what you're seeing, TJ. There's a link in the message that you quoted me quoting, but not in the part that I wrote. And thanks for explaining that, S6! I was impressed there for a little while!
yeah I guess its on my end ....
I didnt realize it was spam at 1st is all
:smile:
 #123055  by RiverRat
 
strumminsix wrote:
Tennessee Jedi wrote:
Can you see that ?
You'll need to take screen shots. What I think you are seeing is a combo of:
1) spy-ware as described above
2) hyperlinks in signatures of spammers
3) spammers copying posts written by others, from old threads and on previous pages, and pasting it into their own so it looks legit at first blush. Then you realize the thread is 3 years old and it's word for word what a legit member here wrote years back and 2 pages back.
About 2) and 3)

I had Gregg run a bunch of SQL database queries in 2010 and I used the results as the basis for a member list cleanup. I deleted around 2500-3000 bogus accounts created between 2004-2010. Since the new anti-spam features were add, I haven't done another cleanup. It might be time to do another one and clear out the bad accounts that might still be hanging around. Fewer accounts get created now versus before but it the number seems like it could be increasing again.

It is harder for them to do the Sig Spam, they need to have made a certain number of posts before they have the ability to create a signature. Most spammers opt not to wait and just put the links in the body of the message. This isn't as effective since the links will have a much shorter shelf life, since the posts inevitably get deleted within 24 hours of being posted.

The member accounts that have names that look like they pass the "sniff test" can quite often slip through unnoticed. The one that are like "neobukmutub" and "JakeLeroyJones" are easier to spot, accounts like "Sarah Silverman" aren't. There have been a few account names recently that looked like they were spammers but after a few post, you realize they are legitimate users. It's a tough call sometimes.

1) This is a local issue that you need to look at TJ. I'd scan the machine for viruses and spyware. If it a Windows machine, I'd go so far as to use a tool like ComboFix since it gets some of the really hard to detect/remove malware. Don't assume that the protection you have on that computer is working at this point. Most modern malware targets any protection software and disables it while leaving the user the impression it's still functioning.