Possible security risk?

[onime_no_kai]

I was going to report this at the security center, but I’m not entirely sure if it directly resulted from being on the Neopets site. So I thought I’d post it here instead to see if it’s happened to anyone else while on Neopets, and to warn anyone who isn’t already aware of this scam.

 

While playing Sakhmet Solitaire – I didn’t click any of the ads, even accidentally, and I run my scans often enough that I know it wasn’t due to a preexisting thing – I got redirected to a WinPro variety “antivirus†site. For anyone who doesn’t know, any site of this kind is a total scam (kind of an obvious one, this time, but I’ve seen much more subtle attempts too.) Basically, they’ll tell you that they’ve detected major viruses, etc. on your computer and that you need to download their program to scan and get rid of them. Problem is, the program not only doesn’t work, it will download all kinds of malware and other crap so it can “detect†it! They’ll then tell you that you need to buy their full program to get rid of it, which is also complete garbage. They tend to be quite aggressive about it, too. Anyway, like I said, this time it was pretty clearly suspect; but I’ve seen incarnations that really looked like a legit program, and the name itself obviously makes it sound like it’s connected to Windows. It’s one of those things that can catch people who aren’t expecting it and don’t know it’s a scam, so I just thought I’d mention it in the hope that it might help someone.

[Matt]

So, what, on a Neopets site? Well, if anyone else gets this, they can shine more light on it. Tell us if you lot do get it, though. :)

[HappyInsomniac]

I've gotten it and I agree that it is ridiculously aggressive. If you hit cancel, it takes you off to their site anyway and then you basically have to completely close the window to get rid of it. :grrr:

It is massively annoying; almost as much as that bubble ad that I click on constantly by mistake while playing Pyramids.

 

As far as a security threat, people just need to be aware that it isn't true. It is made to look like a window that your computer would pop up to tell you when something's going on, and that's SO misleading to those who aren't so savvy. Maybe just pass the word along to close the window and ignore it.

 

I guess as long as you don't pay for Premium, that's what you have to deal with. I think I'd be less inclined to go with a service that annoyed the heck out of me though!