Sir Fondlebottom Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Not sure where else to post this, but here we go. www.arcforums.com drops me off at a blank page, so I googled for arc forums, giving me http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?act=idx Clicking on that drops me off at a url4short redirection. Going back and using the google link again takes me here as it should. I have tried this on several of my devices and they all show this behaviour like clockwork. Your servers are or have been compromised. Googling the url4short gave me lots of people trying to resolve this assuming it is their machines that are infected, but I found this very useful link that should help you out http://peter.upfold.org.uk/blog/2013/01/15/cleaning-up-the-ip-board-url4short-mess/ Oh and please fix www.arcforums.com dumping me off at http://www.arcforums.com/defaultsite ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
streetstream Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I have the same problem for months now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 as in here. Just of late it seems to have reared its ugly head again after being awol for a bit. Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChippyWho Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Not sure if this is relevant, but I get the 'url4short' thing when I use old ARC bookmarks (for referencing build threads, etc.) that pre-date the server change in 2013. I wonder if the url links returned by the Google engine are old ones that have not been updated since that event? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 I only get it when there is no cookie set for the forums. I would think (assuming the forums are patched as they should be) that this injection has been here for close to a year. Having googled around it seems to always hide in the cached skin_global.php and piggyback on that being decoded to be hard to find once people go looking for it. It seems to only do this redriect and nothing else but the damage done in reduced visitors from google alone, and over so long time, makes it really really nasty in addition to all the other implications... It is why I use disposable passwords for forums especially Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I get this problem when accessing from my phone both on the go and through the home wi fi router, no problems from the laptop at home?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) It has nothing to do with your IP (hence router at home or on the go does not matter), it has to do with the way (url/address) you use when accessing ARC. Using a bookmark like I normally would completely sidesteps the redirect, I only noticed because I am visiting my parents and browse on a Windows Surface tablet. It also only seem to display once, using cookies to make sure you only see it once, which I guess is for hiding purposes. So if you clear cookies it seems you get it right away, at least that is how I get it to redirect again on this device after having seen it once. Can also be javascript being disabled that blocks it from redirecting in one of your browsers Edited December 29, 2014 by Sir Fondlebottom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ReccePhreak Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I have been geting that problem for months, and only when I am doing a google search for something, and I click on an ARC link in google. It ONLY happens for the ARC links, not for any other forum. I thought it was just bad links, now I know what the problem is. Larry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Adam Baker Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Glad to know I'm not the only one having this issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer 30 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I have this issue as well. Nice to see someone mention it. Thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 url4short is a malare. It piggy backs on your browser. Sone ppl also get safe search witch give you grenn links on your goigle search. Check in your cp/orograms and see if its on the list. If so first disable system restore then remove reboot and re enable sys restore. Superantyspyware is also an excelkant tool for cleaning. The system restore pas should always be done when removing serious malware Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 How to Get Rid of/Remove Url4short.info Redirect Virus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 I am sorry but url4short is the url you end up at, not the virus nor the problem. This forum is running Invision Power Board and it infected as outlined in the OP Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Well, as far as I can remember, I never entered www.arcforums.com by hand. Instead, I went to the ARC web site and from there via the link to the forums. The forum's URL changed a few time since that, and I just bookmark the forum's main page after accessing the forums from the ARC main site. Never had any problems exept my cookies expiring which requires me to re-enter my login once a year. Now, when I type www.arcforums.com into my browser, I end up at the blank default page. Not url4short or anything else. Also, clicking on Google search results brings me to the correct forum page. The only thing I can see could cause problems is that the forum's default page is not set up for direct access. Helps keeping some of the bad guys out. So no problem for me. Oh yes, maybe I shoud say that my browser is blocking off anything which I don't authorize. No unwanted ads, no automatic scripts, and so on. Edited December 30, 2014 by Lancer512 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 I am not sure having a not-working default page should be considered a feature The redirect is javascript called by the html generated by the php, which has been tampered with by the php injection, so blocking scrips globally will stop that. Implying this is not a problem is like going "oh I have tapeworms, but it helps me slim my figure, right?" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Yeah the defaul page is a bug that needs to be fixed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KursadA Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Sir Fondlebottom is right (I always wanted to say something like this in a technical discussion) : the url4short problem has nothing to do with a client-side virus or your browser settings. Steve (SBARC) should fix this on the server side. Steve: You are losing valuable site traffic (and ad impressions) because of this. It has been ignored for too long - I would suggest fixing this as soon as possible Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SBARC Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Not sure where else to post this, but here we go. www.arcforums.com drops me off at a blank page, There is no webpage at www.arcforums.com...this is probably why when you go there you get nothing. The forums URL is http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php There is also a link on the www.arcair.com ARC homepage go there and click "Forums" so I googled for arc forums, giving me http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?act=idxClicking on that drops me off at a url4short redirection. Going back and using the google link again takes me here as it should. I have tried this on several of my devices and they all show this behaviour like clockwork. Your servers are or have been compromised. I also got the redirection when I searched the forums on google. I will look into this further. Thanks for the link you included. Googling the url4short gave me lots of people trying to resolve this assuming it is their machines that are infected, but I found this very useful link that should help you out :cheers:/>/>/>/> http://peter.upfold.org.uk/blog/2013/01/15/cleaning-up-the-ip-board-url4short-mess/ :wave:/>/>/>/> Oh and please fix www.arcforums.com dumping me off at http://www.arcforums.com/defaultsite ;)/>/>/>/> The forums URL is http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php I have never had anyone mention this issue to me regarding the URL www.arcforums.com not taking them to the forum homepage. It is a good idea and I will make this change. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) Not sure if I'm the only one thats noticed the change in this, but url4short has been replaced by a rather lurid page wanting me to go to Adultfriendfinder, & I don't thing the adult friends especially want to discuss global warming with me but they're probably feeling hot cause they're not clad in much. :( Only happens when I come here from a google link & only with ARC, as soon as I go back to the google link page & select the ARC link again its OK then. :unsure: Steve. Edited March 8, 2015 by stevehnz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
streetstream Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Not sure if I'm the only one thats noticed the change in this, but url4short has been replaced by a rather lurid page wanting me to go to Adultfriendfinder, & I don't thing the adult friends especially want to discuss global warming with me but they're probably feeling hot cause they're not clad in much. :(/> Only happens when I come here from a google link & only with ARC, as soon as I go back to the google link page & select the ARC link again its OK then. :unsure:/> Steve. I have exactly the same problem. I'm used to it now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 This is still happening Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jfmajor60 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Starting today I've been getting this bogus security warning with links to click on, just happening on ARC sites and no where else and a full system scan with my AV reveals nothing, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 It's the same old php injection, who knows what else is compromised. I get it when searching for images on Google Images and it links to a thread here, as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I opened an ARC page off a google image search the other day, watched the URL load up as the ARC one when whoosh, all of a sudden it became adult friend finder. It is irritating but I guess I've learned to cope with it. A corruption in the forum software I'm guessing as its only ever ARC & others seem to get it so unlikely to be this computer. I could do without it though. Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 I'm often taken to url4short.info whenever I open the main page. Surprisingly, it sometimes happens when I'm browsing from the mobile phone, too. So now I've bookmarked a subforum such as "Aircraft" and just make my way in from there : ) http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showforum=59 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.