scary spammer or hacker episode on ETSG

Col Mustard

Col Mustard

Ambassador of Perseverance
Country flag
I was just idly reading posts over on ETSG and I clicked on one of the
controls to take me back to the home page and something attempted to
take over my computer. Or at least it seemed that way.

the screen went dim, and a page or two that I didn't expect showed up, one
on top of the other, and then there was that annoying little pop up saying that
my Adobe reader was out of date, ...just click here and...

I immediately quit Safari, and I seem not to be invaded.
Weird... I don't know if it's ETSG's fault or if I picked up a worm
on some clickbait site that I visited. You never know when
something weird will pop out at you, these days.

I'm using a "new" old computer from 2015 that I recently bought at
University of Michigan's Property Disposal facility. I've done well buying
apple computers there, and had very little trouble with any I've bought
used like that. The University's I/T guys know how to wipe them down
before releasing them.

But I don't have "Malwarebytes" on this machine yet. So I'll have
to get that and get it working on my behalf, just in case. Malwarebytes
is a decent program, and I usually run "AdBlocker" too. My Macs
usually disallow pop-ups, as a preference. So I'm not really used to
this kind of shite.
 
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WOW-- that isnt good

You WILL NOTICE ETSG is NOT a secure site---it says so right there in the address bar "NOT SECURE/EVERYTHING SG"

MY suggestion --- hang out where the sites an HTTPS ----Wave went to extra lengths and a LARGE bit of work to make this place SECURE ---(or as secure as it can be it is the internet after all) but note in your address bar for TTR--- there is a padlock to the left of the name--- :)

ETSG has been handed over to the ad spams-- all the pop ups are spam of some degree--its all sending cookies and such I dont know all the terms--
but it aint good for your data or your system.....
 
I use Apple's OS 10.14, which is fairly current (I think).
I switched over in like 2000, right after Y2K (remember that boondoggle?)
and I had years and years of internet experience free from hacking, malware, virus attack
and spy bots. I witnessed all the grief experienced by my Microsoft burdened
friends, with genuine sympathy and no complacency.

It's not that Apple Computers are invulnerable, it just seemed that no one was writing
viruses for the Apple platform. Less than 10% market share, Macs just weren't very
interesting for Phisherman or spammers. I bought the Norton software in about 2002
and installed it and dutifully upgraded it, and then let it go. It wasn't necessary.

But that seems different now. Maybe the success of iPhones and iPads etc has made
the Apple platform more of a target. Anyway, I'm not sure if the episode I experienced on
ETSG was actually hidden on that site, or if I brought it with me from some other, I was on
the net a lot yesterday. I just wanted to start a thread on this subject and see what our
fearless leaders had to say, and what our members had to say.

Now I've installed Malwarebytes and swept my "new" machine, and I think I'm clean.
I've seen other spammy and mindless bot activity on ETSG in recent years, indicating some cracks in their
security big enough to haul a HiWatt amp into. Do other guitar sites have this trouble too?
 
Oh and I sure do appreciate all of the I/T expertise that we see demonstrated
on this site. I really appreciate our founders and admins, who actually seem interested
in keeping us all safe and focused on music. That makes this site into an island of refuge
in stormy seas of divisiveness, propaganda, hype and marketeering. Well done.
 
I run an IT consulting business. I've been working in the field since 1981. No system is safe from hacking and browsers are simple to hack. It doesn't matter what you do if you get on an infected page you will be hacked. The most effective defence is a firewall that uses DNS blocking of known bad sites but even that is usually hours or days behind the hackers. In the ETSG case it was most likely an ad that infected your browser. Usually quitting the browser will get rid of it. Sometimes you have to disconnect from the Internet, restart your browser, then reset your home or startup page. It is common for hacks to change your startup page to a page that will reinfect you. Starting the browser while not connected to the Internet will allow you to reset your startup page without being reinfected.
 
Kerry Brown said:
I run an IT consulting business. I've been working in the field since 1981. No system is safe from hacking and browsers are simple to hack. It doesn't matter what you do if you get on an infected page you will be hacked. The most effective defence is a firewall that uses DNS blocking of known bad sites but even that is usually hours or days behind the hackers. In the ETSG case it was most likely an ad that infected your browser. Usually quitting the browser will get rid of it. Sometimes you have to disconnect from the Internet, restart your browser, then reset your home or startup page. It is common for hacks to change your startup page to a page that will reinfect you. Starting the browser while not connected to the Internet will allow you to reset your startup page without being reinfected.
Click to expand...

Also avoiding sites like 'Down On The Farm - The Nation's Leading Bestiality Website," will help... :-)
 
WavMixer said:
Greetings Col. I must admit that I'm weak in the Apple/Mac area. My area of expertise is in the Windows/Linux arena. I work on Windows boxes at home and work, while this site resides on a Linux box. Using a good anti-virus program, I use AVG and Malwarebytes on my computers
Malwarebytes for Mac

Download Free AntiVirus for Mac | Mac Virus Scanner | AVG
Click to expand...

The Apple platform's core language is Unix, so if you're into Linux
you're more of a colleague than you think.

And yes, the Malwarebytes software works for me, and along with Onyx maintenance software
has enabled me to use fairly antiquated machines for years. Up to about three months ago I was
doing all my home 'puta work on an iMac from 2008. Yes, it was a little slow. But only a little,
and I was happy to be able to function it. Here's the old iMac, connected to an even older Power Mac G4
from 2001 (with an ethernet cable) loading important old files off the G4 and onto a HUGE
storage drive I bought for this purpose (next to the lamp). I hope to remove the hard drives from
all my aulde machines, and put them all into a rack of some kind, and keep using them.
G4 to iMac@100.jpg

Hating to buy the newest hottest (and most untested) computer hardware, I've done
well with others' cast offs. Similar to playing almost my whole career with used
guitars I bought for reasonable money. Used guitars usually have most of their
issues addressed, except whatever made the guy sell it. Identify that issue
and fix it, and you're on yer way to performer heaven.

NONE of the issues we see on NGD posts where guys find fault with their
expensive new Gibsons... none of these have much meaning in the used guitar market.
You pay less, and you use the money you saved to make your guitar play the
way you want it. You don't fuss about QC or flaws in the finish, or stains in
the binding. You get it set up, and rock.

It's the same for computers IMHO. I've done well with used Macs, and am
currently lining up all my old and beloved machines, getting my personal files
off them before I send them to the HELL that awaits aging 'putas. I think it's
amazing that they all still work fine. They are just too slow to function on the
internet, or load big sites into RAM. That's about their only flaw.
eMac to MacBook@100.jpg
At this work station, I have my beloved old eMac (from 2005) off loading its files using my home's
wireless network. The eMac still remembers the password, even though it's been shut off for
years. I loved that machine, it was the last one Apple made with a CRT monitor. I bought it used,
and it gave great service for about eight years until it just was too darn slow. All its software works
perfectly, and it runs Microsoft "Office for Mac" (albeit an older version).

And yes, that's a Mac mini waiting its turn to plug in and give up its treasures.
That's another of Apple's excellent ideas... a CPU in a little box for guys who already
have all the peripherals, like a mouse and a keyboard and a monitor. That little mini
still works too, it's from about 2007.

And YES, that's a Tone Rooms page on the monitor hooked up to the Mac Book on my desk.
That's this thread, before I took the picture. *grins

Is that enough techno-babble for a Wednesday evening? I thought I might get other gearheads
on this thread who wouldn't mind.
 
whats a computer again? :)

NIce RIG Col.!!

I used to be ALL MAC all the time-- (for the printing and advertising biz they were (and still are) all the rage in design and artsy fartsy stuff-
Miss my old RUBY
and I had one of the FIRST ones of these to hit Mobile Alabama--
30198

but alas--- I wondered away and am now staunchly stuck in Bill Gates Hell----lol
 
Kerry Brown said:
I run an IT consulting business. I've been working in the field since 1981. No system is safe from hacking and browsers are simple to hack. It doesn't matter what you do if you get on an infected page you will be hacked. The most effective defence is a firewall that uses DNS blocking of known bad sites but even that is usually hours or days behind the hackers. In the ETSG case it was most likely an ad that infected your browser. Usually quitting the browser will get rid of it. Sometimes you have to disconnect from the Internet, restart your browser, then reset your home or startup page. It is common for hacks to change your startup page to a page that will reinfect you. Starting the browser while not connected to the Internet will allow you to reset your startup page without being reinfected.
Click to expand...

thank you, Kerry... I was hoping I'd get advice like this (for free... *grins)
I've now gone into my system preferences and turned on my 'puta's firewall.
That ought to help.

I also turned on "stealth mode" which stops my computer from responding to pings
and other fishing lures from outside. "Nobody here but us chickens..."
Do you know if this is effective?

If you've seen other posts of mine, you know that I'm trying to get rid of all my unused and
obsolete equipment, reduce my footprint on this earth, and be ready to take to the road as
care giver to my best beloved, who is seriously ill. I've sold off a number of guitars, sold my
collection of guns, thrown out huge loads of gawd knows what, and I intend to sell my house
and maybe rent some apartment in Tucson for the end game we face. So I don't need all
these noble old machines. Just the pictures and songs and writings that they contain.

I'm hoping to reduce my computer stable to the laptop on the desk above, and get rid of
most of my other technical stuff. It was easy to keep all the stuff I've jettisoned, when I thought
my house was The Place. But now we're older, and we need someplace with no stairs. Who
knew?
 
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eSGEe said:
whats a computer again? :)

NIce RIG Col.!!

I used to be ALL MAC all the time-- (for the printing and advertising biz they were (and still are) all the rage in design and artsy fartsy stuff-
Miss my old RUBY
and I had one of the FIRST ones of these to hit Mobile Alabama--
View attachment 30198

but alas--- I wondered away and am now staunchly stuck in Bill Gates Hell----lol
Click to expand...


It's YOUR HELL, you burn in it... (sorry)
oh and what's a computer?
--"it's a big hole in the water, into which you pour money..."

Oh wait, no, that's a boat.
or a motor home.

For me, computers are allies, servants, sidemen, assistants,
even facilitators. I have had very little trouble or frustration.
lucky me, eh?

As a pro photographer and a working musician, my computers made my
career possible. The first one I ever tried to use was a "Commodore Pet."
The language was "basic," which predates DOS if I remember right.
The Commodore Pet was a startling innovation at the end of the '70s.
We used it to run our mailing list, so we could sort our fans by zip code and
pay less postage to send them notifications of upcoming gigs.

Priceless for a struggling band in those days. Ridiculous in hindsight. *grins
But useful, and a foreshadowing of things to come.
 
Col Mustard said:
thank you, Kerry... I was hoping I'd get advice like this (for free... *grins)
I've now gone into my system preferences and turned on my 'puta's firewall.
That ought to help.

I also turned on "stealth mode" which stops my computer from responding to pings
and other fishing lures from outside. "Nobody here but us chickens..."
Do you know if this is effective?
Click to expand...
That will stop someone from directly hacking into your computer. It won’t help with attacks through your browser or other software. I use very expensive firewalls that use several methods to block malware. They are not very cost effective for home users though. A firewall device with a three year license would be around $3,000 depending on the features. For home use turn on your firewall like you have done and use a DNS service like

Home Free by OpenDNS

signup.opendns.com signup.opendns.com

I am not a fan of antivirus programs that run all the time in the background. They often cause more problems than they solve, especially the free ones. Windows 10 has quite a good antivirus built in. For a Mac I would recommend Malwarebytes in manual mode. Run it once a week or so then turn it off. You could also run a scan whenever you suspect suspicious activity.
 
Col Mustard said:
It's YOUR HELL, you burn in it... (sorry)
oh and what's a computer?
--"it's a big hole in the water, into which you pour money..."
Click to expand...
Well played very well played--- Point set and MATCH to the COl! ;) and I laughed/snorted and choked on my sleepy time pre bed tea........EXTRA CREDIT FOR COL....woulda been a over the wall homer had I spit tea on this infernal Gates contraption! :pound-hand: :pound-hand: :pound-hand: :pound-hand: :pound-hand: :cheers::cheers::cheers:
 
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