Ship of Fools: X-rated ads on SOF

Thread: X-rated ads on SOF Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by IconiumBound (# 754) on :

I'm posting this here because I don't know of another point of entry.

I have been getting ads on the side of my SOF board pages that are blatant sexually posed photos with a link that I wouldn't dare try. Is it just me and my computer or are SOF hosts aware of this?

Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :

It is just you and your computer, probably the result of a virus or malware. Most likely someone using that computer has been insufficiently careful when browsing pornography online.

Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :

Well, it's 'just you' in one sense, as the ads are not static but are generated when you view a page.

I'm not sure exactly what factors the code uses to decide which ads to display, but location is definitely one factor that it uses. As I'm in Australia, I get a lot of ads with links to Australian sites.

[x-post with Rook. And where's my gay porn ads then? Unfair. I'm currently saddled with insurance quotes.]

[ 20. April 2013, 14:10: Message edited by: orfeo ]

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

And I'm getting worldwide shipping quotes and ads for international movers. What are you after, orfeo? [Paranoid]

Posted by Taliesin (# 14017) on :

i get rather nice ads for holidays! not that i've ever had one. so hardly tailored to me or my browsing history.

Posted by Joan Rasch (# 49) on :

I'm wondering if thread titles might set off some ads - there's one which is titled with 4 x's in a row, which was used to be private about an individual's name. It might be worth renaming the thread in question with a string of n's, and see if that sorts the ad issue.

cheers from Boston - Joan

Posted by FooloftheShip (# 15579) on :

AdBlock is my friend in this respect. I only ever get the SoF adverts at the top.

Posted by basso (# 4228) on :

I promised Erin a long time ago that I'd exclude the Ship from my AdBlock rules. The ship works on those things and I'll accept the annoyance of seeing the ads. (Which I don't really see anyway; my Mark I tunnel vision works just fine, thanks.)

Posted by duchess (# 2764) on :

Whenever you browse the internet and you automatically accept cookies from sites, they* in turn start generating ads they think you might like, like others have alluded to above. Also spyware could be planted on your computer from browsing. If you have not read up on the topic, here is a quick link short explanation of tracking cookies
*they = cookies tracking info back to some company that monitors you for marketing...whatever and plants ads

[ 20. April 2013, 21:14: Message edited by: duchess ]

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

The Ship uses, possibly among others, google syndication.* Google syndication pulls from browser history, possibly other sources. From what I recall, I have seen ads generated from thread info as well.

*Rather, the banner service the ship uses.

[ 20. April 2013, 22:42: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :

quote:
Originally posted by IconiumBound:
I have been getting ads on the side of my SOF board pages that are blatant sexually posed photos with a link that I wouldn't dare try.

I don't think I've ever seen any graphics associated with the non-Ship side bar ads. It would surprise me if the set up we have supports graphic ads, ads for sexual sites, let alone graphical ads for such sites. My first guess would be some form of malign software on your computer.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I just get many and varied travel ads - maybe the internet thinks I need to broaden my horizons? [Paranoid]

Posted by Pyx_e (# 57) on :

All my adverts are about Stoats.

Fly Safe, Pyx_e

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

I've accessed The Ship over the years on a range of browsers, platforms and computers, without seeing anything even mildly racy. Baffling, yes (what's a torque and how do you transduce it?)

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

quote:
Originally posted by basso:
I promised Erin a long time ago that I'd exclude the Ship from my AdBlock rules. The ship works on those things and I'll accept the annoyance of seeing the ads.

Yes, I changed my ways on that, too.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:

quote:
Originally posted by basso:
I promised Erin a long time ago that I'd exclude the Ship from my AdBlock rules. The ship works on those things and I'll accept the annoyance of seeing the ads.
Yes, I changed my ways on that, too.

Am I right in thinking that the Ship only gets income if the Ads are clicked on?

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

Don't know the Ship's deal, but AFAIK, no one pays for clicks anymore. They pay for click-thru and purchase.

Alan, just below the Ship relayed sidebar links is a banner that generates ads based, at least in part, by SOF threads one has recently viewed. For instance, I was reading the wedding thread in Purg directly before reading this one and there is currently an ad for local weddings. This is not to say malware could not leave traces the ad service then also reads.

Posted by the giant cheeseburger (# 10942) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
... This is not to say malware could not leave traces the ad service then also reads.

There are numerous forms of malware that work by redirecting traffic intended for Google servers to other targets. They also affect other domains, but the ubiquity of Google advertising and the amount that Chrome phones home means that Google is the fattest target for redirection malware.

Embarrassingly for Google, the one I came across on a computer owned by a person at church (a rootkit that even TDSS couldn't kill, leaving only the nuclear option of a format and reinstall) was far worse off in Chrome than even Internet Explorer was. Their browser might be more secure if they set it up to phone home less, which is why Chrome is coming nowhere near any of my systems.

quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:

quote:
Originally posted by IconiumBound:
I have been getting ads on the side of my SOF board pages that are blatant sexually posed photos with a link that I wouldn't dare try.
I don't think I've ever seen any graphics associated with the non-Ship side bar ads. It would surprise me if the set up we have supports graphic ads, ads for sexual sites, let alone graphical ads for such sites. My first guess would be some form of malign software on your computer.

I agree with both parts of this answer. The setup on the side below the SoF linked pictures is AdChoices which generates text-only ads with an arrow link button at the most. If it's generating graphics, my guess would be a traffic redirection rootkit which will be insanely hard to completely remove.

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Alan, just below the Ship relayed sidebar links is a banner that generates ads based, at least in part, by SOF threads one has recently viewed.

AdChoices reads cookies on your computer as well as the content on the page, and if you're using Chrome it actively phones home on top of even that, even in Incognito mode (the outgoing connection logs don't lie).

In answer to the OP, my guess (based on there being obscene graphics) is a redirection malware. Get a professional to look at it, or save the cash and back up your data before doing a format and reinstall at home.

[ 21. April 2013, 16:30: Message edited by: the giant cheeseburger ]

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