OT: Be careful surfing RealGM (viruses/malware)

[dillio]

There was a thread created here (I believe) that got moved to the Feedback/Suggestions forum:
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=974259

Since casual posters won't see that thread I thought it would be helpful to have a thread here about this. If mods disagree they can lock.

Basically some RGM advertiser(s) have been putting scripts in their ads that infect users' machines with rootkits and very nasty malware. For me personally, it started with a fake popup that said "your computer has been affected my malware, press OK to do a scan now.". I closed it and it popped up several more times, then fake Windows Defender and Windows Security Center popups followed and the next thing I knew I was infected. I have an up-to-date Symantec Antivirus with auto-protect enabled and it still got past that. Over the next few hours IE, Firefox, Windows Defender, Symantec, Malwarebytes, etc, etc all stopped working and it wouldn't even let me do a system restore. The worst part is it was my WORK laptop that got infected and it was preventing me from doing real work. Finally I had to boot using a recovery disk and do the System Restore that way in order to solve the problem. I've since switched to Firefox and installed AdBlock Plus to try to fend off the advertisers scripts. I've also installed MalwareBytes and updated Windows Defender.

Based on the thread above, this is a known issue and it's still ongoing. I urge ALL RealGM lurkers/posters to be very careful with surfing this website.
- Use FireFox (less security holes than IE), and install the AdBlocker add-on.
- Do regular Virus/Malware scans.
- If you ever encounter the "You have spyware, click OK to do a scan now" popup. Immediately disconnect your ethernet cable and do a Task Manager -> End Task on your browser instead of clicking "OK" or "Cancel" on the popup. Then do a full virus/malware scan using your AV program and MalwareBytes

[Gruel]

This happened to me too. Sucks so much.

[Exar Kun]

Mozilla Firefox + Adblock Plus

You won't regret it. I haven't seen an ad on here in years.

[ReekDaVill]

Sounds pretty bad I tend to just ignore those pop ups or click another tab to see if its still there to see if it is in fact legit.

[uniballer]

yeah got the antivirus live ... was a pain in the ass to get rid of! that and my wife thought I was surfing for pron!


2 x's because of my addiction to real gm!

[ROBBS]

Honestly you don't even need Adblock for FF. FF or Chrome on its own doesn't seem to even get affected by it---in my experience anyways.

^ Yeah I also got that antivirus live thing from browing ThePirateBay using IE. lol, pain in the ass to get rid off indeed

[YogiStewart]

while i cannot suggest that you turn all ads off (RGM needs ad revenue to operate), i strongly suggest MalwareBytes' anti-malware combined with Kaspersky.
those both stop everything dead in its tracks.
i can't use Firefox at work, and lo and behold, my computer was infected via (likely) RGM.

the best was when www.porn.com and www.viagra.com start popping up along with the fake virus scans along with every .exe being crippled by AntiViru Pro (the malware). so much fun when your computer is completely disabled. yay.

[dillio]

Honestly you don't even need Adblock for FF. FF or Chrome on its own doesn't seem to even get affected by it---in my experience anyways.

In the thread I pasted above, someone there posted that they have Chrome and also got infected.

[YogiStewart]

Honestly you don't even need Adblock for FF. FF or Chrome on its own doesn't seem to even get affected by it---in my experience anyways.

^ Yeah I also got that antivirus live thing from browing ThePirateBay using IE. lol, pain in the ass to get rid off indeed

you literally cannot get rid of AntiVirus Pro. reformatting doesn't always get rid of it (in my case, it did not). any attempt to remove it on your own with other software may seriously rape your computer system.

Chrome, from what i understand, has its own security issues.

[cram]

Yep -- i visit lots of messageboards that have advertising, and this is the only site i get viruses from.

I know its the ads....but maybe realgm can use a different ad network that doesn't load up viruses? I mean, based on the traffic i have to assume someone at realgm is making substantial $$ from the site. Why not clean it up a bit.

If i owned a whorehouse and all of my whores got a VD, i'd probably hire different whores.

Why can't realgm just use a different ad network?

[ghuytro]

Damn that is some crazy, crazy stuff.

I think I'm ok on my Mac using Firefox/Chrome???

[lobosloboslobos]

Yep -- i visit lots of messageboards that have advertising, and this is the only site i get viruses from.

I know its the ads....but maybe realgm can use a different ad network that doesn't load up viruses? I mean, based on the traffic i have to assume someone at realgm is making substantial $$ from the site. Why not clean it up a bit.

If i owned a whorehouse and all of my whores got a VD, i'd probably hire different whores.

Why can't realgm just use a different ad network?

This post seriously deserves a serious answer.

[Exar Kun]

Honestly you don't even need Adblock for FF. FF or Chrome on its own doesn't seem to even get affected by it---in my experience anyways.

^ Yeah I also got that antivirus live thing from browing ThePirateBay using IE. lol, pain in the ass to get rid off indeed

you literally cannot get rid of AntiVirus Pro. reformatting doesn't always get rid of it (in my case, it did not). any attempt to remove it on your own with other software may seriously rape your computer system.

Chrome, from what i understand, has its own security issues.

If you formatted your computer and it didn't get rid of Antivirus Pro, you did it wrong.

[Exar Kun]

while i cannot suggest that you turn all ads off (RGM needs ad revenue to operate), i strongly suggest MalwareBytes' anti-malware combined with Kaspersky.
those both stop everything dead in its tracks.
i can't use Firefox at work, and lo and behold, my computer was infected via (likely) RGM.

the best was when http://www.porn.com and http://www.viagra.com start popping up along with the fake virus scans along with every .exe being crippled by AntiViru Pro (the malware). so much fun when your computer is completely disabled. yay.

Does RealGM get paid by just having the ads in place? or they get paid when people click on the ads? Because whether I have the ads showing or not, I have absolutely no intention of ever clicking on any of them.

[Candide]

Yep -- i visit lots of messageboards that have advertising, and this is the only site i get viruses from.

I know its the ads....but maybe realgm can use a different ad network that doesn't load up viruses? I mean, based on the traffic i have to assume someone at realgm is making substantial $$ from the site. Why not clean it up a bit.

If i owned a whorehouse and all of my whores got a VD, i'd probably hire different whores.

Why can't realgm just use a different ad network?

depends on your cost-benefit analysis and how much customer loyalty is valued. you'd have to reestablish rapport between your clientele and their preferred purchases, which would probably diminish your returns as consumer satisfaction wanes.

if i were a customer, i'd probably prefer to ask for a discount or just deal with the present conditions than have to familiarize myself with a new product before reaching optimal utility.