Reported Attack Page

[DoubleDee]

When I got to this URL...

<snip/>

...I get this message in FireFox...

Reported Attack Page!

This web page at <snip/> has been reported as an attack page and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Attack pages try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system.Some attack pages intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners.

What in the world is up with that?!


Debbie

[dklynn]

DD,

To me, that says that your antivirus (rather than firefox) has received reports that there was illicit activity conducted BY THAT WEBSITE using that page. Hacker or a nefarious host, no way of telling from what was provided.

Regards,

DK

[SpacePhoenix]

It is a security feature built into Firefox from version 3 and onwards.

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox...ng-protection/ explains about it

[DoubleDee]

DD,

To me, that says that your antivirus (rather than firefox) has received reports that there was illicit activity conducted BY THAT WEBSITE using that page. Hacker or a nefarious host, no way of telling from what was provided.

Regards,

DK

David,

Remember that I am on a Mac, and that I don't have anti-virus...

I obviously didn't go any farther on that website, but since it was listed in Google as a site to learning about mod_rewrites, it seemed innocent enough?!


Debbie

[DoubleDee]

Last edited by Mittineague; Jul 2, 2012 at 22:03. Reason: please do NOT include links to sites with viruses

Mittineague,

Is there any way you can PM that URL, because I want to keep it as a working example of what NOT to do...



Debbie

[DoubleDee]

It is a security feature built into Firefox from version 3 and onwards.

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox...ng-protection/ explains about it

So does that FireFox feature actually work and do any good?!

Do other browsers (e.g. Chrome) have something similar?


Debbie

[spikeZ]

Remember that I am on a Mac, and that I don't have anti-virus...

oh the myth of Mac strikes again
DD - please get an anti virus for your Mac.
Just because you are using a system that doesn't APPEAR to get attacked much don't be fooled.
I recommend MacKeeper , cheap and very good.

[kennard]

oh the myth of Mac strikes again
DD - please get an anti virus for your Mac.
Just because you are using a system that doesn't APPEAR to get attacked much don't be fooled.

yep, totally agree

From the Daily Mail - "'Rude awakening' for Mac users"

'This once again refutes claims by some experts that there are no cyber-threats to Mac OS X.'

Many Mac users believe that the system is 'immune' to viruses and trojans - but in reality hackers rarely choose to write viruses that afflict Macs, simply because there are relatively few Macs compared to the huge number of machines that run Windows.

[TechnoBear]

So does that FireFox feature actually work and do any good?!

Well, it obviously works, since it alerted you to a potential problem. Whether it does any good depends on what you mean by that.

As you'll have seen from the link SpacePhoenix gave you, it works by checking the site against various databases. These are downloaded every thirty minutes, but there is nothing to say when they were last updated. In other words, the information could be out of date.

I would double-check the information - for example, through SiteAdvisor, Web of Trust and hpHosts. Of course, you have to use common sense here. People are more likely to report a problematic site than a good one, so even if the site has cleared up its problem, changed owner or whatever, it may still be listed as problematic because all the reviews are out of date. Check the date of the most recent review for an indication of how up-to-date the information is likely to be.

Another good check is by a site:www.domain.com search in Google, which will display results with an alert if Google has detected a potential problem.

Do other browsers (e.g. Chrome) have something similar?

I don't know whether it has a feature like this natively, but you can get a Web of Trust extension for Chrome or Firefox, which will do the same thing based on the WoT database. I expect there are other extensions, too.