Is wowhead promoting malware?

Discussion:

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p***@gmail.com

2014-01-02 03:39:06 UTC

I just tabbed back to my Firefox from wow; the only tabs I had open were for
Google Groups and wowhead.

I found a popup telling me to update my FF to the 'latest version', with a big
'OK' button.

I killed the popup, and then checked that FF 26 (which I was running) was indeed
the latest version. It was.

Some site (I suspect wowhead), was the source of this bogus request to update
to a (presumably malware-filled) version of FF.

Anyone else seen this?

pt

Catriona R

2014-01-02 13:44:36 UTC

Permalink

Post by p***@gmail.com
I just tabbed back to my Firefox from wow; the only tabs I had open were for
Google Groups and wowhead.
I found a popup telling me to update my FF to the 'latest version', with a big
'OK' button.
I killed the popup, and then checked that FF 26 (which I was running) was indeed
the latest version. It was.
Some site (I suspect wowhead), was the source of this bogus request to update
to a (presumably malware-filled) version of FF.
Anyone else seen this?

I run adblock, so no I haven't, but I'd guess if it was wowhead, it
would've been a dodgy advert - going on their feedback forum, they've
had a few ad problems lately (although more obnoxious noisy ones than
malware), maybe worth posting to bring it to their attention if you
have an account. If it happens again, there's a feedback link on each
page to report a bad advert, which lets them find out which it is and
to deal with it faster:
http://www.wowhead.com/forums&topic=142&p=3370978 for more info.

Pretty sure it won't have been intentional on their part; they don't
come across that way. But their ad providers do seem to let stuff slip
through far too often (which is why I use adblock; don't care if they
need the money frankly, if they can't keep the content of their ads
safe, I won't let them show, and it never seems to go more than about
a month before there's another complaint about the ads...)

Blackheart - US - PvP

2014-01-06 04:38:15 UTC

Permalink

nope. stopped using that site years ago. Just like Allkazam, they sold out to gold sellers years ago.

Nevermind that the site is shit and run by incompetents and shills.

Lewis

2014-01-06 12:08:38 UTC

Permalink

Post by Blackheart - US - PvP

nope. stopped using that site years ago. Just like Allkazam, they sold out to gold sellers years ago.

I've not gotten spam on my wowhead email. I don't get weird pop-up ads
either, but I run Adblock at its highest settings on wowhead.

Post by Blackheart - US - PvP
Nevermind that the site is shit and run by incompetents and shills.

Wowhead is the best source of quest and item info out there.

--
When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?

Polarhound

2014-01-07 02:01:10 UTC

Permalink

By the same line of thinking, because you have a gmail address, I can
blame you for any infection I might get by clicking on a link received
from their search engine.

p***@gmail.com

2014-01-07 14:38:21 UTC

Permalink

Post by Polarhound

By the same line of thinking, because you have a gmail address, I can
blame you for any infection I might get by clicking on a link received
from their search engine.

I don't think WH is actually trying to infect me, I'm sure its one of
their ads. I've reported the experience to WH's staff, along with the
html from the popup.

pt

Catriona R

2014-01-07 14:58:25 UTC

Permalink

Post by p***@gmail.com

Post by Polarhound

By the same line of thinking, because you have a gmail address, I can
blame you for any infection I might get by clicking on a link received
from their search engine.

I don't think WH is actually trying to infect me, I'm sure its one of
their ads. I've reported the experience to WH's staff, along with the
html from the popup.
pt

http://www.wowhead.com/forums&topic=225993&p=3595451 makes me think
yes; while the thread is about Java update popups, the last post
mentions Firefox too, so likely a dodgy ad is the issue for you as
well. While Wowhead always puts the guilt-trip "please whitelist us"
messages if you use adblock, I'm afraid their track record with ads is
bad enough that, however much I like the site, I won't unblock it.

Fantastic site, but they really need a better ads provider, since it's
far too often that there's problems with it. Shame their premium
no-ads option costs so much; I'd pay for it if the 3 month price was
for a whole year instead... I don't often pay for free websites but
for a site I use so much I'm happy enough to give something back; but
that something has to be at a reasonable cost.