Opera browser is trying to visit a harmful website everytime I open it

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a recurring issue with the Opera browser on a Windows 7 desktop, where users encounter a pop-up warning from Quick Heal about a potentially harmful website (tudap.ru) every time they open the browser. Participants explore possible causes, including browser extensions, home page settings, and the effectiveness of antivirus software.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports that Quick Heal warns about the website tudap.ru when opening Opera, but not when using Chrome, raising concerns about a possible virus.
  • Another participant suggests that the issue might stem from a browser extension unique to Opera.
  • Some participants note that the home page URL in Opera should be checked, as it might not be what the user expects.
  • There is speculation about the validity of the tudap.ru site, with some participants finding no reports labeling it as harmful.
  • A later post identifies a specific extension (All-in-All Downloader) as the source of the problem, which was removed to resolve the issue.
  • Participants discuss the process of elimination used to identify the problematic extension, emphasizing the importance of disabling extensions one by one.
  • There are comments about the lack of a Quick Heal plugin for Chrome and its operation across all browsers as a firewall.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the issue is related to an extension in Opera, but there is no consensus on the initial cause of the pop-up warning. The discussion reflects multiple viewpoints on the nature of the tudap.ru site and the effectiveness of different antivirus measures.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention that the problem began around a specific date without recalling any new installations that could have triggered it. There is also uncertainty regarding the safety of the tudap.ru site, as opinions vary based on different sources.

Who May Find This Useful

Users experiencing similar issues with browser pop-ups, particularly with Opera, as well as those interested in troubleshooting browser extensions and antivirus software interactions.

Wrichik Basu
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On our Windows 7 32-bit desktop, we have two browsers: Opera (default) and Chrome. Both are updated to the latest version.

Every time we open Opera, we get this message from Quick Heal:

1600360790297.png

This pop-up is not shown when Chrome is opened.

I cannot understand who is trying to access this website: tudap.ru. Is there some type of virus in the system? I conducted a full system scan with Quick Heal and also with the Malwarebytes tool, but nothing was found. This problem has started very recently; maybe only some weeks old.

Any idea how this can be solved? Is an extension causing this problem?
 
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What is more disturbing is that Chrome did not find it?

It could well be a virus that is doing this popup. I did check and Quick Heal is a valid provider of internet security from India. So perhaps a Quick Heal chrome plugin isn't installed.

How about trying Firefox?

More on tudap here:

https://rankchart.org/site/tudap.ru/

Seems safe from Google's and Semantics perspective, hence not being flagged.
 
I would take a look at the home page URL that is set in Opera. It's probably not what you expect.
 
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It's possible that Opera has a browser extension installed that Chrome does not.
 
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jedishrfu said:
What is more disturbing is that Chrome did not find it?
Yes.
jedishrfu said:
So perhaps a Quick Heal chrome plugin isn't installed.
There is no Quick Heal plugin. The software works on all browsers on the system. It acts like a firewall.
jedishrfu said:
How about trying Firefox?
The pop-up is coming only with Opera.
 
Borg said:
I would take a look at the home page URL that is set in Opera. It's probably not what you expect.
It is set to the Opera Start Page, and that is what we had set it to.
DaveC426913 said:
It's possible that Opera has a browser extension installed that Chrome does not.
True, Opera has two extensions that Chrome doesn't have. But they have been there for ages.

I checked the Quick Heal report page, and it seems the problem started from 26/8/2020. I don't remember installing any new software/extension during/before that time which can cause this problem.
 
I checked online and could find no reports related to the tudap website as a bad site to visit perse although it does come from the Russian Federation.
 
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jedishrfu said:
I checked online and could find no reports related to the tudap website as a bad site to visit perse although it does come from the Russian Federation.
The fact that it is not a harmful site lowers the worries. But one question remains: why is Opera trying to reach this site every time it is opened? I can configure Quick Heal firewall to allow access to this site, but I can't see any application installed on my PC that would normally want to reach this site.
 
  • #10
Found the cause of the problem: it was this extension: https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/all-in-all-downloader/

It was installed for many years, so I never suspected it. Removed it, and now everything is fine.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions/advice/help.
 
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  • #11
How did you discover it? process of elimination, or some scan of code?

EDIT: Okay I see a user comment on the link you provided flags it as spam.
 
  • #12
jedishrfu said:
How did you discover it? process of elimination, or some scan of code?
Yes, simple process of elimination. I disabled all the extensions, and restarted the PC. On opening Opera, the pop-up was no longer coming. So I started enabling the extensions one by one. As soon as I enabled this extension, the pop-up came up. I verified it by disabling and enabling it again. After i removed the extension, the problem is gone.
jedishrfu said:
EDIT: Okay I see a user comment on the link you provided flags it as spam.
I have put that comment.
 
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  • #13
Ahh, I didn't catch that you were the poster of the comment. Good job to warn others.
 
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