AVG Anti-Virus 2012 Starting to Block TUGBBS webpages!

[Ken555]

Also wondering, are Mac users getting this also?

------------Zach

I'm not on Mac or iPad.

 

[DeniseM]

I'm not getting it on my MacBook Air.

 

[Picker57]

Please try it again now.

Doug - It was clean this time. Thanks; stay tuned. On another subject, I posted some comments & queries to your North Shore website.

Mahalo nui loa,
-----------------Zach

 

[Jaybee]

Ahh! At last! No more red flags from AVG!

 

[Htoo0]

Everything good here. Thanks so much!

 

[pammex]

seems okay now...yeah!

 

[MichaelColey]

So, was this a real virus then?

 

[TUGBrian]

something was certainly on the server that shouldnt have been...but given all the people that reported the warning...and the fact so many others had no effects...(although one person did report actually getting something on their pc)...id have to say "I really dont know" lol

 

[timeos2]

So, was this a real virus then?

There apparently was some type of script that, while in itself wasn't a virus or malware, was redirecting (or attempting to) requests to some type of malware source. As it evolved I am sure that it took two parts to actually work. One was logging on to the TUG BBS but the other was local. IF your computer was already compromised by an underlying script or setting change by a malware or virus - not removed by your anti-virus or malware/spyware protections - then you got the warning (the otherwise benign script/program wasn't active until triggered by the login script) as your protections hopefully protected you from an ill-intentioned process running that would actually trigger an infection. If you weren't so lucky then it actually would install the payload & now you have a completely compromised computer doing who knows what.

It appears some products (such as Trend Micro, Avast! or Bitdefender & others) blocked the process or had never let it install as standard procedure and, unless you visited your log, it wasn't presenting any outward signs of an issue. Others, Norton, AVG etc were raising the flag and then blocked it but may have left the trigger on your computer. Both results are OK but the second is more troubling to the user. Only those with no anti-virus (or an out of date one) were really at risk.

At least that appears to be what occurred. There have been other sites with similar issues in the past that weren't as quick to respond & correct it as TUG. Kudos to the administrators that managed to track it down & correct it. Everyone is safer with it out of the system. As for those that got the warnings I'd run the best cleanup software you can to try to identify any remotely questionable files / scripts on your computer. Something may be in there and waiting for the chance to be activated. It can't hurt to run a complete check to be sure. One that is very effective, and free, is the Security Tango found here. Just be ready to let it run for a few hours if you start it.

 

[Makai Guy]

It can't hurt to run a complete check to be sure. One that is very effective, and free, is the Security Tango found here. Just be ready to let it run for a few hours if you start it.

Some other malware finders/fixers:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
• SuperAntispyware
• AdAware
• Spybot Search & Destroy

Trying more than one is always a good idea, as no single program finds everything.

If you know you are infected and these programs don't find it or can't clear it, post in one of these forums for specialized malware removal help:

• http://www.spywarewarrior.com/index.php
• http://forum.aumha.org/
• http://bleepingcomputer.com/
• http://www.spywareinfoforum.com/

Thanks to Daifne, Moderator on Mozillazine forums, for this list.