Yes, you heard me! Before I go on, let me point out that I am awfully paranoid about the hidden dangers of the internet. I don't know why, I just am. And this happened not half an hour ago.
Now read on...
I'm a fairly conscientious type of guy when it comes to internet security. I have my ZoneAlarm, my SpyBot, my Firefox w/ Adblock Plus, etc, etc. I don't open suspect e-mails (I hardly ever get any), and I don't install software I don't need.
But none of this matters when you're surfing the web and you click on a link that's really a re-direct to a porn site or a phishing site or some other seedy shenanigans. Phishing sites or domains that are really just ad page things I can handle, but I have serious misgivings about being redirected to pornography.
I'm not a torrent user, but I do download from rom sites (old SNES and Genesis roms and the like), and I'm generally picky about the ones that I visit. Unfortunately, links sometimes go out of date, and the domain you get re-directed to isn't the one you thought you were clicking on.
I usually right-click a link in Firefox to check where it's going. Of course this is useless in cases such as the one I'm about to describe.
The link was obviously out of date, but someone had purchased/registered/whatever the domain on the other end. The address was the same alright, but it was now just a redirect. And redirect it did!
I ended up with a logo on my screen that said "ChrimataCo.com". That was it, nothing more. No ads or anything. So I figured it was just a domain park or something. Then I noticed the the domain name in the address bar was contained the words "pinkkittygirls".
Bollocks, I thought, my worst nightmare has come true and I've been re-directed to some underage porn site and the FBI have been notified and the police are on their way!
So I went to the old Whois thingy and started investigating.
ChrimataCo is an expired domain registered to something called Avalanche Services LLC. So I googled them and got listings for such things as CherryPimps, the aforementioned PinkKittyGirls, and others. Which made me feel worse. There was no way I was clicking on any of them, so I read the google site descriptions.
They mostly contained copyright notices for Avalanche Services LLC, so no help there.
Then I noticed that the one under PinkKittyGirls said "All models on this site are over 18 years old". So it is a porn site, I thought, but apparently not the illegal kind. Panic over, annoyance reigns.
And that's it, really. Nothing earthshattering, just an annoyance and a paranoid reaction on my part.
And I crawl an inch closer to total net paranoia. :-X
Okay, end of rant. Similar stories are welcome.
never look in your gmail spam folder then..
I'm like you when downloading roms- I'm really picky about which sites they come from. Most rom sites are crap because they require you to 'vote' in order to download roms. I haven't been to a single site where the voting doesn't take you to some kind of porn.
Another thing I hate about the internet is those banner ads on pages with those annoying games like 'Shoot 10 ducks and win a free iPod', and similar things. Playing those games actually gives you free spyware.
Is you windows updated?
Usually when checking out any "illegal" sites (yes rom sites are illegal) you run the risk of coming across popups like that. Generally if your windows is up to date, you are relitivly safe, but i still get things coming through now and then. Just last month i had a small problem with a recuring popup. Windows update fixed it in the end.
Just be glad you were only redirected to some dodgy site and didnt have some malicious software installed. For the record, i really doubt the FBI would be on the way over a 1 min look at some popup.
I took it upon myself to visit that website and it was all bog-standard 100% legal (even in the USA) internet pornography. The FBI might bust down your doors for downloading illegal ROMs but I doubt they care about your porno pop-ups.
I doubt that the FBI really care about someone downloading a 20 year old ROM of Mario Bros.
Quote from: Steel Drummer on Sat 05/05/2007 05:40:01
I doubt that the FBI really care about someone downloading a 20 year old ROM of Mario Bros.
My point is -
looking at porno on the internet: not illegal
downloading a 20 year old ROM of Mario Bros: technically illegal.
downloading Mario Bros porn: fun for the whole family. "Luigi! It'sa time to'a clean your pipes!"
No one is gonna bust you for ROMS. It's all just some stupid fairy tale. Yea it's illegal, but no one cares if you download a few every now and then. Selling them would be another thing though.
Quote
No one is gonna bust you for ROMS. It's all just some stupid fairy tale. Yea it's illegal, but no one cares if you download a few every now and then. Selling them would be another thing though.
Actually, I don't think they'd
ever bust you for downloading ROMs. The news always has a bunch of headlines about music piracy and P2P, but never anything to do with ROMS.
Yeah well in some countries you can get away with raping babies, does that make it right does it? If everyone else was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?
Quote from: modgeulator on Sat 05/05/2007 06:25:11
Yeah well in some countries you can get away with raping babies, does that make it right does it? If everyone else was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?
Raping a baby and downloading a rom is different. And it depends on the bridge as some people like to swim.
Quote from: Fatal Fury on Sat 05/05/2007 06:36:51
Raping a baby and downloading a rom is different. And it depends on the bridge as some people like to swim.
I've heard some horror stories in the press that beg to differ. It all starts innocently enough, stealing a few old ROMs never hurt anyone right? Then it progresses onto mp3s and movies, then bigger crimes, then next thing you know BAM! you're raping babies.
Quote from: modgeulator on Sat 05/05/2007 06:42:15
Quote from: Fatal Fury on Sat 05/05/2007 06:36:51
Raping a baby and downloading a rom is different. And it depends on the bridge as some people like to swim.
I've heard some horror stories in the press that beg to differ. It all starts innocently enough, stealing a few old ROMs never hurt anyone right? Then it progresses onto mp3s and movies, then bigger crimes, then next thing you know BAM! you're raping babies.
Somewhere inbetween you forgot to put downloading beastiality. ;D
Worst thing on the internet: Those ads with the smiley faces that yell, "HELLOOOO!???" in the most aggravating, and taunting way they possibly could.
WHY would I want to download your fucking smiley pack now you've gone and pissed me off so much?!?!?
Worst bit is, they're rife on Myspace, and I use myspace for listening to music at work. So I have my fucking volume turned right up and then.... "HELLOOOOO!??"
Quote from: modgeulator on Sat 05/05/2007 06:25:11
If everyone else was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?
No, I would film it and post it on Youtube.
Quote from: Meowster on Sat 05/05/2007 09:51:24
Worst thing on the internet: Those ads with the smiley faces that yell, "HELLOOOO!???" in the most aggravating, and taunting way they possibly could.
WHY would I want to download your fucking smiley pack now you've gone and pissed me off so much?!?!?
Worst bit is, they're rife on Myspace, and I use myspace for listening to music at work. So I have my fucking volume turned right up and then.... "HELLOOOOO!??"
Those things freak me out sometimes. I'll just be browsing and then I hear this loud 'Hello!!11!', and I nearly jump out of my seat in surprise.
So I browsed through one of these 'OMG we are teh H3xxorZ!!!11'-kind of sites once. It had ads. This is a screenshot of how Firefoxes 'Do Not Load Graphics From These Pages' list looked afterwards.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23/FAMILIAR_QUEST/blockidy.png)
'Nuff said, I guess.
Also, these smilies ARE really annoying. They are probably the only thing I can find remotely wrong about HotU - these annoying smily ads.
Yes, those HELLO things are highly irritating. Especially when you have your headphones on. It's like someone sneaking up behind you and yelling in your ear.
I don't have any problem downloading roms, morally, which is weird because I generally don't approve of people torrenting games/music/whatnot. Roms seem like a lesser evil, but I'll admit to that sounding a little hypocritical.
The porn thing annoys me on two levels.
One: If I wanted porn, I'd just get some. There's plenty of perfectly above-board outlets for such, and if an adult decides to peruse some adult material then that's fine. Go nuts. But don't sneak it onto my monitor by automatically redirecting me from a domain whose name is totally unrelated. I know this kind of practice is as common on the internet as chavs in a burberry store, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.
Two: Worst of all, you don't have any control over where the redirect will take you. That's the scary part. Videos of grannies being mounted by shetland ponies is not something I want to have traces of on my harddrive, regardless of innocence on my part.
While I was whois-ing the site I mentioned earlier, I came across a site (in Somoa, of all places) that seemed to poach and list expired domain names. In among all the, obviously sexual, expired domains were innocuous names such as "tractors" or "kitchensink". It's the seemingly mundane nature of these, and similar, that the opportunity for subterfuge exists.
The internet is full of horrible, horrible people. :(
If it WAS a child porn site, and you were afraid of FBI-ownage, then would you really want to add that into your search history on google? :P
They still have those annoying HELLLOOOOOOO banners do they? I don't miss them at all! Having a blank space where those annoying adverts were is far more preferable. (Amen Firefox and plug-in!)
I've forgotten what advertisements look like.
Adblock Plus actually blocked the game download banner on my website. Probably because it was called Banner.jpg. ::)
Silly me.
Yes, the internets it a horrible place and people should not be allowed in there :-\
After being toughened by all those links I opened from IRC I have little or no reaction to some porn-ads or new wannabe tubgirls. I just see that "oh, yet another ad" and click it away like it's a reflex.
Pop-ups and the like can at least be avoided. Redirects from "expired" domains are what catch you unaware.
The sneaky bastards. >:(