Complaint Ad Problem: PF Page Hijacked, Block It Now!

  • Thread starter Thread starter AlephZero
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AI Thread Summary
Users are experiencing a hijacking issue on the PF website, where clicking links leads to a full-screen window promoting a fake prize, such as an iPad. This problem appears to be linked to sponsored advertising software, as it replaces the PF page entirely. The hijack occurs even when users are logged in, with the normal banner ad replaced by this intrusive pop-up. Attempts to close the pop-up require shutting down the entire tab, although re-clicking the same link often restores the normal experience. The issue is not unique to PF, as searches reveal that it affects other sites as well.
AlephZero
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Twice in the last 24 hours, clicking a link to open a thread on PF has produced a full-screen wnidow claiming to be http://testables.net/d/juicyru.com with a message like "congratulations, click here to win an ipad" or similar.

NOTE: THE ABOVE LINK IS MERELY TO REPORT THE PROBLEM - CLICK IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Whatever this is, it appears to be hijacking the actual PF page completely. If it's coming from your sponsored advertising software, please block!
 
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You are logged in when this happens? The only ad you should see is a banner above the nav bar.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
You are logged in when this happens?
Yes.

The only ad you should see is a banner above the nav bar.
That's what I do see normally, except when this takes over the entire tab in my browser (IE). The only way to kill it seems to be to close the tab. Re-clicking the same PF link works fine, with a different "normal sized" banner ad.
 
AlephZero said:
That's what I do see normally, except when this takes over the entire tab in my browser (IE). The only way to kill it seems to be to close the tab. Re-clicking the same PF link works fine, with a different "normal sized" banner ad.

Could it have been a flash ad that you hovered over and it popped out?
 
I suppose that's possible, but the IE/MS popup blocker is on, and I sometimes get messages from other sites saying a popup was blocked. But I don't think I clicked on anything.

Whatever it was, it was intrusive enough to replace https://www.physicsforums ... in the browser address bar with its own address.

FWIW, googling "juicyru.com" suggests it's not specific to PF.
 
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