PcTalk Advert

[Ben Last]

Hi, I've just come to the forum via the index page and saw note about the advert, and indeed the advert itself.
How is it possible for someone to add popup adverts to your site, unless they have access to the site or was done by the hosting service?

Any updates Spock?

[Spock]

... Any updates Spock?

No updates of note yet. I am still actively seeking the culprit. Once I do, I will not only remove his garbage from my site but will do my best to remove certain capabilities from this scum.

Unfortunately, I have noticed that it pops up any time the forum is entered, no matter where from.

Hackers gain access to major sites all the time. We have just been lucky so far.

I have been working with a major source of Spyware information, http://spywareinfo.com/ and have been asked to do specific things with the idea that the infection is on my computer. Since you are also seeing the ad, it has to be on the website.

I have also contacted my host and asked them to look into it but not much luck there either.

[Added]
For anyone wishing to follow our efforts, this forum topic link may prove useful.

[Spock]

OK, the problem has been resolved, at least as far as my system. Anyone who reads this should please go to spywareinfo.com and read the topic where I was given help to remove this slime from my system as you will probably have to do the same.

I still haven't gotten my host to admit there is any problem.

[Spock]

NOTICE

The pop-under ad has been totally resolved now. The culprit turned out to be an old statistics javascript I had added called Nedstat Basic code. It was supposed to help keep track of website statistics so anyone who visited the site could keep track of site usage. It has been there so long that I had even stopped referring to it.

I removed all the Nedstat Basic code as my host, iPowerWeb, indicated, tested the website, and found that, in fact, the pop-under is now gone.

I can only assume that either they have become infected or that their primary purpose has changed. In any case, I will not be using their scripts any more.

I would highly recommend all visitors to this site go to the SpywareInfo forum topic where I received the help necessary to remove the ad spam. You may find you need to go through the same cleansing steps as the Pop-under was active for some time before my host was able to isolate the problem. It was not necessarily their fault though, as I didn't notice the problem right away myself.