unknown web address within FireFox browser

Discussion in 'Software' started by Oooops!, Apr 4, 2007.

  1. Oooops!

    Oooops! MajorGeek

    Appears in FireFox 2.0.0.3 Browser
    Something called "transferring data from amch.questionmarket.com" appears at the bottom left of my Firefox browser screen. My homepage is with Sympatico.
    What is this and how can I get rid of it?
    My Firefox browser looks like it's loading, the circle at the top right of the page is going around like as if I was loading a new webpage. My refresh/stop button are the same, normally on a loaded page, it appears as "refresh", but it shows as "stop". When I click on stop, the page doesn't seem to stop trying to load or something????

    No change after running the following......
    AVG AntiVirus - checked for updates and scanned
    Adaware - checked for updates and scanned
    Spybot - checked for updates and scanned
    Spyware Blaster - checked for updates
    Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal - checked for updates and scanned
    Windows Defender - checked for updates and scanned
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Apr 4, 2007
  2. hopperdave2000

    hopperdave2000 MajorGeek

    Maybe un-install and re-install FireFox? I don't use FireFox very often, but I'm sure there's a way to clean the temp files, purge the history cache, and delete the FF equivilant of cookies. If that doesn't do it, maybe the uninstall/reinstall route is your best bet.

    hopperdave2000
     
  3. Bogus283

    Bogus283 Private E-2

    amch.questionmarket.com is a link to an advertisement firm. they're responsible for one of the adds on the sympatico page. i think its the flash animation on the right hand side. Note that i could only see the ad if i loaded the page using ie7.
     
  4. Bambo

    Bambo Private First Class

    Nothing to do with Firefox. Install Adblock Plus http://adblockplus.org/en/ and see for yourself - subscribe to a filter http://adblockplus.org/en/subscriptions Easylist is a popular one. Or make your own. Very easy to use.

    Lots of hidden stuff runs in background on many sites - nothing to worry about.

    If you get hooked on blocking, or cleaning up sites, but dont really want to spend time maintaining Adblock Plus (there is some even with subscription) consider Admuncher http://www.admuncher.com/ Does what it says. No effort required, well maintained = no broken sites. Like with Adblock "good" sites, like I guess Majorgeeks, can be excluded/whitelisted.
     
  5. Oooops!

    Oooops! MajorGeek

    Thanks everybody for your help. This advertising website thingy has disappeared today. Sympatico changes their page daily, so it must've went away when they updated their page.

    Thanks so much for your explanation!
    :)
     
  6. greenknight32

    greenknight32 Sergeant

  7. studiot

    studiot MajorGeek

    Related comment for those wh owish to avoid spoof sites

    Type the following line into your browser address bar and press return if you are suspicious of the web apge you have reached. It will display the true address of the loaded page.

    javascript:alert("Real Web Address"+location.protocol+"//"+location.hostname+"/");

    Studio T
     
  8. chookers

    chookers Staff Sergeant

    I'm a little confused... I thought that what was in the address bar was exactly what it said it was?? You split up the sections and you can see what domain you're on. Is it possible for a site to put false information into the address bar itself? Am I missing something here? confused
     
  9. studiot

    studiot MajorGeek

    If you can type something into the address bar, so can a hacker or a segment of code.

    That's how these fake bank sites work.

    Please post your bank account details via the private messages wink wink.


    Studio T
     
  10. Bambo

    Bambo Private First Class

  11. studiot

    studiot MajorGeek

  12. Bogus283

    Bogus283 Private E-2

    most of the commands in java to insert false data into the address bar have been removed for exactly this reason. it's really only an issue when using online stores and banks, and it's quite a lot of work to reconstruct an online store with enough stock to be believable and most banking sites have multiple verification methods that cannot be faked. I'd not worry much about it.
     
  13. Bambo

    Bambo Private First Class

    Well I can tell you phishing works just fine. Ive had some webspace invaded by a copy of Barclays Bank. Took a bit of explaining to get out of that. In 24 hours there were something like 2000-3000 hits, most from Israel for some reason.

    Hard to believe but plenty fall for such tricks, all it takes is a fake email with a fake link. Anyone who have basic understanding of web security (like having read advice from Bank!) should not need filters. I guess logic behind is yes of course most dont buy it but 1 out of 500 is plenty for us. Same logic as with spam.

    I think there is more to those filters than just phising - Googles connection with stopbadware.org might show up in Firefox filter, should be easy to share. http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2006/08/malware-warnings-on-google-search.html
     
  14. studiot

    studiot MajorGeek

    I get a steady stream of phishing email from
    'Wells Fargo Bank'
    or 'First National bank of America'

    All to a webmail account I keep exclusively for Ebay. They started appearing 2 days after I joined PayPal, I had not received whilst with Ebay before this. Coincidence?

    Yes the pigs are flying by again. It's not only bank sites, as Asus and that Yankee marketing outfit recently found out.

    Typing something into the address bar of a browser is an instruction to run some code. This code is usually an instruction to fetch and display a certain website. If the user can be enticed or redirected to an different site then further code can be entered here. The simplest example are those toerags who change your home page.


    Studio T
     
  15. chookers

    chookers Staff Sergeant

    I'm still a bit confused. I was under the impression that what you saw in the address bar was where you were. I understand that clicking on a link which claims to go, for example, to ebay.com doesn't mean that you will go there - I know html code to use to send you to a spam site while the link reads ebay.com but I thought that what you see in the address bar is where you are.

    I also realise that just because it looks like you're on a banking site, you may not be, even if the address sounds similar to where you should be.

    E.g. http://wwww.ebay.com is eBay in America but http://www.somewebsite.com/ebay.com/ebay.html is not. However, you WILL see the fake web address in your address bar, won't you?

    I am really trying to get a very clear answer about whether what is in the address bar is where you really are or whether it could look like one place and be somewhere else. I know the information in the status bar can be faked, but I didn't think the address in the address bar could be somewhere other than where you really are.

    I know I sound like I'm labouring the point - just trying to make sure by the end of this post, I won't have left people still unsure what I'm actually asking.
     
  16. Bambo

    Bambo Private First Class

    Most important transfers will be encrypted SSL and what not. Address bar will change color for same reason, you are also alerted with icons in statusbar. Such you dont see on phishing sites. On top of that my bank use some Java protection when punching in password plus it requires to be pointed to a file from my harddisk with a special key generated with I signed up.

    Im pretty sure if I get tricked it will not be through the known sites, like my bank, pay pal but will happen if I start to use plastic card 10 times a day, here and there. I think security is very high if you end up the right place, being stupid and delivering key numbers on random trick site is where it goes wrong. Whatever address bar says is of no concern to a person doing that, damage is done.

    Well, Im only guessing but I doubt you can manipulate address bar so it does not match current page. May be Im wrong but recently there were some talk about Firefox exploits and the guy who found those also have a long standing bug report about being able to hide address bar in Firefox - by evil coding. That is under circumstances where it is not supposed to. Why hide if it can be manipulated? I would assume what you talk about would be much more relevant and high priority. Even the slightest flaw can get (misleading) headlines so I doubt you cant trust what it says.

    You can go to Bugzilla and do some searching, much more than on Secunia :cool Im so relaxed about this I dont bother doing it myself (go there and see reason no. 2...) , search/Google for "Michal Zalewski" and see what you find. Remember there is a world between what is possible under lab conditions and what you are likely to run into in real life. Talk about flaws is on levels above normal peoples web experience. Anyways, as with me providing space for phishers real problem did not start with the bad guys - was me experimenting with an upload script. A very weak one! I was trying to learn php on the internet, heh. They took advantage of my stupidity and lack of respect. Web hotel was about empty, no visitors, no nothing and still attracted their attention - through a bot or whatever. Server security is another matter and Asus and other examples show exploits can kick some axx if broken. Add some imagination and you have world dominance ;) In this light these possible locale problems are very minor - if you are on top of things with email, dodgy site, what to do and what not to do. In the end all about using what is between ears, I think Opera, IE7 and Firefox have done their part. Next week new flaws and new fixes. Overall just about zero risk. If you travel on the side roads to internet motorway of course risk is multiplied many times...
     

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