IS IT JUST ME

[coach]

Has anyone had ads show up when the forum is open? I have noticed several lately.
The most recent,,,,http://www.shopwhiz.net/search.aspx?b=&d=&title=&k2=shopbottools.com&val0= 1155603&val1=1&val2=cnc+machine+tools (http://www.shopwhiz.net/search.aspx?b=&d=&title=&k2=shopbottools.com&val0= 1155603&val1=1&val2=cnc+machine+tools)
I don't figure shop bot running ads for other cnc machines.....but what do I know.
I also noticed hi-lighted words in posts that are links to web sites.

[mitch_prest]

you may be infected with something.... likely a virus picked up while surfing...

[shoeshine]

Sounds like malware/adware to me, run a virus scan. also download and run spybot search and destroy. make sure you update the definitions before first scan (you will be prompted) Some malware does not trip virus checkers as they use browser addon holes. spybot should clear these.

[bruce_taylor]

nothing like that on my mac!

[dana_swift]

Nothing like that under my Windows XP either.

You have malware.

Strong suggestion, run Firefox and then use the add-on "NoScript". It almost completely stops that from happening. Only allow scripts to run from web sites that you must use. It is the scripting that is being used to take over control of your computer.

Also purge your browser cache of everything. Only accept cookies for the duration of a session. And disable all automatic downloads and installs.

I'm sure other folks have other useful ideas, but nothing is foolproof - because fools are so ingenious..


D

[harryball]

David - Malware. Get Anti virus/malware program.

"nothing like that on my mac!"

Nothing personal Bruce, but that's one phrase that irks me.

Your mac has "nothing like that" because the virus coders go for the big market. Mac's share is growing, more and more security holes are being found and exploited all the time. Even the iphone had a serious vulnerability that would allow someone to take over your phone.

Mac users need to wake up and smell the coffee. I know several Mac owners that do not run Virus protection because they "don't need it on a Mac". Nothing makes the Mac invulnerable to viruses and malware.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=4870

Note "another mega-patch" in the opening paragraph. This is dated November 9th, 2009.

Again, no offense intended... you just pushed a button this morning. :-)

/RB

[bruce_taylor]

None taken, David Asked if anyone was having these issues, I just answered his question, If it was the website doing it it would show up on the mac too. Thought it was pertinent what system I using. Didn't want to irk anyone just help David out.He has helped me and we live in the same area. I had a lot of problems with my pc before switching, Its been 6 years without any problems "knock on wood". My shopbot system is stand alone and I networked all of my old computers together and keep it off line always and haven't had a problems with any of them since I had them cleaned up originally. I'm no computer whiz but the Mac works for the internet with no problems, your experience may differ.

[harryball]

Bruce, I see how your comment could be read both ways. Sorry to get irk'd but in general, Mac users seem to be in denial over viruses.

I'm in no way Mac bashing. They work well for many people and they work well for me. I simply do not appreciate Apples restrictions which eventually get in my way. Even my iPhone, while a very nice tool, has limits imposed for no practical reason other than Apple wants it that way.

I only wanted to point out, just because you have a Mac does not equal immunity to viruses. Mac users should have virus protection software just like the PC users.

I attended a techno forensics seminar last year complete with a days session on Black Hat threats. Uhhh... I wanted to come home turn everthing off and cut all my data and powerlines with an axe.


/RB

[courtney2018]

I have a PC and I don't have any popups going on when I come to this forum. I use Google's toolbar, which is excellent for blocking popups. So, maybe they are there, but my toolbar stops them from popping up.

[rb99]

A printer told me years ago that Macs do have viruses, but they are really really destructive.
He said if you get one it kills your Mac and all the info on it. You don't just run a scan and repair like PCs.

Can anyone confirm this?

RIB

[rlt]

I might be able to shed some light here. I was in charge of internet security at a couple of large dot-coms in the late 90's. Ultimately, even the best security is at the mercy of the user and whatever dumb things he may do. I have Macs and XP machines, and I don't run any kind of anti-virus or anti-malware products on either of them, at all. And I've never been infected. That's because I know how to configure and use my systems so that I don't get infected. But I realize that most people don't have that skill, and (rightly) don't want to be bothered with having to learn it.

Having said that, Macs are based on UNIX, which has some very good and very mature file-level security. Windows doesn't have that, and the security on Windows is much less mature and more like a bolt-on feature than built-in from the start like UNIX is.

It's way too technical and complex a subject for this short post, and it has nothing to do with market share. Yes, there are ways to exploit Macs, and the older pre-OSX versions were much more vulnerable, but from a strictly technical point of view, Macs with OSX are much harder to crack than XP machines. Orders of magnitude harder.

Oh - Here's the easiest way to protect yourself. When surfing "dangerous" web sites, open a copy (have a backup of it too) of a virtual machine running Windows XP on your main machine, whether it's a Mac or something else. Insulated it from the main OS's file system (turn off filesystem sharing). Then, if the virtual machine gets infected, just delete it and make a fresh copy. Takes about one minute. For any files I want to save or share, I use an on-line (free) service, like dropbox.com. And when it comes to executables, don't share. Just don't. Or test in a secure environment (like a VM) first.

Good luck!

[rcnewcomb]

Good post Ron.

I run Windows, Mac, and Linux. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Sort of like the Shopbot. I do a lot of stuff on it, but sometimes I still use other tools.