Infected Fotkis?? or is the entire site infected?

peachfuzzz

peachfuzzz

Active Member
Hmm? I've been reading posts and trying to check out progress pics and hairstyle ideas on some of your fotki pages. I typically click through, but within the first minute of being on the site, I either get a message from my AVG(antivirus program) telling me the page is infected or I get that fake popup antivirus scanner . I think is called Personal Antivirus or something like that. I have to close my entire browser so it won't install a virus. Is it just me or have any of you been having this problem with fotki lately?

By the way, if your computer has been infected by this thing, Malwarbytes' AntiMalware program cleans it off!
 
I had the same thing happen yesterday.

I thought it was just me, whooo thanks for the knowledge. I don't know if it's everyone's or fotki as a whole, but I am steering clear for awhile.
 
Yes this has happened to me before many times. If you don't already you should install mbam (malwarebytes anti malware program) and run a scan to make sure there are no infected files on your comp.
 
I was wondering what that was all about. I noticed this a few weeks ago. I thought it was just a stupid error message. So do I need to use something on both my laptops to get rid of that message if I go to that site again?
 
It has happened to me...I have Norton AntiVirus, so I am protected, but I stopped going to the site completely. It is not worth it.
 
firecracker said:
I was wondering what that was all about. I noticed this a few weeks ago. I thought it was just a stupid error message. So do I need to use something on both my laptops to get rid of that message if I go to that site again?
Click to expand...

Like another poster said, MBAM (Malwarebytes' Anti-malware) is a great program. This type of pop-up happened on FB too and alot of my friends and my hubby were infected because they clicked one of the buttons. It took 1 hour for MBAM to clean it. The program actually deactivates your anti-virus program and puts itself in that position, if that makes sense. I typically use the "x" in the upper right corner to get out of mess like that. If it won't let me, I'll 'control-alt-delete' or restart my pc.

I'm just glad it isn't just me getting this stupid message. I'm bummed because I love lookin at the pics to get ideas and inspiration.
 
Don't care what AV or browser you've got running, you should still back it up with additional protection. Any web site/page is vulnerable to anything. Adblock, spybot S&D, etc. all provide extra real-time protection and can also warn and stop it from occurring.

Like someone else said upstream, never click on any thing that says "cancel" since it usually does just the opposite.

Sidenote: If you use Google, you can view any webpage from their cache and if you're paying attention, it will also warn you of a potentially dangerous webpage in your search results.

ETA: I've been using and viewing Fotki pages for over 3 years and have never experienced any problems whatsoever.
 
Last edited:
melissa-bee said:
Oh no. Can viruses get on mobile phones as well?
Click to expand...


I think so! Here's what I found with just a quick search.

Mobile viruses are little more than a nuisance today, but given our increased reliance on wireless communication, in the near future they could pose more risk than their PC based counterparts. Despite of the more than three hundred mobile viruses known so far, little is known about their spreading pattern, partly due to a lack of data on the communication and travel patterns of mobile phone users.

The spread of mobile viruses is aided by two dominant communication protocols. First, a Bluetooth virus can infect Bluetooth-activated phones within a distance from 10 to 30m. Second, an MMS virus can send a copy of itself to all mobile phones whose numbers are found in the infected phone’s address book.
 
Thank you all for posting! I feel better knowing that it's not just me. So that site must be like a nest or something!
 
peachfuzzz said:
Hmm? I've been reading posts and trying to check out progress pics and hairstyle ideas on some of your fotki pages. I typically click through, but within the first minute of being on the site, I either get a message from my AVG(antivirus program) telling me the page is infected or I get that fake popup antivirus scanner . I think is called Personal Antivirus or something like that. I have to close my entire browser so it won't install a virus. Is it just me or have any of you been having this problem with fotki lately?

By the way, if your computer has been infected by this thing, Malwarbytes' AntiMalware program cleans it off!
Click to expand...

***LONG RESPONSE BUT MAYBE THIS WILL HELP***

The same thing happened to me a couple of months ago! At the time I had ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite on my computer for antivirus protection and AVG and Spybot on it to catch any other issues. One day I went to a Fotki and when I clicked on a picture to expand it, that’s when a virus hit my PC! :bangdesk:

To fix this I had to:

1) shut down using the shut down feature in my task manager
2) Restart my PC in Safemode (with networking capabilities)
3) download Malware Bytes and run a scan.
Because not all malware protection are updated with latest infections, I also scanned it with 2 more to see if there was something that Malware Bytes overlooked. I found another one.

it was only after I wiped my computer clean did I -

4) go back maybe 2 restore points (a place and time when my computer was ok) and had it start from there. I would never advise anyone to just go back to some earlier date when their computer was ok without whipping the drive clean of malware though or else it will still be there. Just thought I’d mention that.:werd:
Also the reason I went back 2 restore points is because I noticed that the virus also attacked my last restore point and planted itself in there. That’s just how nasty that virus was!:nono:

Now I have PC Tools Internet Security so I feel a lot better about browsing Fotkis. The reason is because it’s a malware, spyware & virus removal utility all in one and because it's not made by big companies like Norton, McAfee and now Zone Alarm and for some reason can concentrate on discovering the latest viruses faster instead of the older ones. I also like it because PC Tools also puts this little icon at the top right of your browser that tells you the probability of whether you’re on a site that may infect your computer! Like if it’s Green then it’s ok…..yellow means that it may have some issues….orange means you probably need to back off the site because one more click will do you in and red means you’re about to get hit with it! :yep:

The other option for many of us is to start moving our pictures to as safer site. I’ve already moved my pics to Shutterfly and I actually think it’s much better than Fotki because it’s easy to post a bunch of pics at one time, the lay out is cleaner, it also has a blog function and it has templates. :yep:You can check my profile for an example (I haven’t completed it but it may give you an idea) but anyway, that’s what happened to me and even though it was a lot of trouble, it lead me to shutterfly (http://www.shutterfly.com/nav/signedOutShare.sfly) and a better antivirus so it all worked out in the end! :grin:

Hope this helps!


~Hera (aka Ms. Kain)
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this, I may relocate my pictures as well.

Thanks for all the information ladies.
 
this happened to me too and I shut the ish down for real. I have protection but these days alot of things tend to penetrate even the well protected.
 
Maybe it'd be a good idea for you ladies experiencing this problem to post some more information about your pcs and any software you're using over in the Science & Technology forums?

Perhaps there's some similarities you all share. If one web site is doing it then you're system is probably open to it happening in other places as well.
 
Ms Kain said:
***LONG RESPONSE BUT MAYBE THIS WILL HELP***

The same thing happened to me a couple of months ago! At the time I had ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite on my computer for antivirus protection and AVG and Spybot on it to catch any other issues. One day I went to a Fotki and when I clicked on a picture to expand it, that’s when a virus hit my PC! :bangdesk:

To fix this I had to:

1) shut down using the shut down feature in my task manager
2) Restart my PC in Safemode (with networking capabilities)
3) download Malware Bytes and run a scan.
Because not all malware protection are updated with latest infections, I also scanned it with 2 more to see if there was something that Malware Bytes overlooked. I found another one.

it was only after I wiped my computer clean did I -

4) go back maybe 2 restore points (a place and time when my computer was ok) and had it start from there. I would never advise anyone to just go back to some earlier date when their computer was ok without whipping the drive clean of malware though or else it will still be there. Just thought I’d mention that.:werd:
Also the reason I went back 2 restore points is because I noticed that the virus also attacked my last restore point and planted itself in there. That’s just how nasty that virus was!:nono:

Now I have PC Tools Internet Security so I feel a lot better about browsing Fotkis. The reason is because it’s a malware, spyware & virus removal utility all in one and because it's not made by big companies like Norton, McAfee and now Zone Alarm and for some reason can concentrate on discovering the latest viruses faster instead of the older ones. I also like it because PC Tools also puts this little icon at the top right of your browser that tells you the probability of whether you’re on a site that may infect your computer! Like if it’s Green then it’s ok…..yellow means that it may have some issues….orange means you probably need to back off the site because one more click will do you in and red means you’re about to get hit with it! :yep:

The other option for many of us is to start moving our pictures to as safer site. I’ve already moved my pics to Shutterfly and I actually think it’s much better than Fotki because it’s easy to post a bunch of pics at one time, the lay out is cleaner, it also has a blog function and it has templates. :yep:You can check my profile for an example (I haven’t completed it but it may give you an idea) but anyway, that’s what happened to me and even though it was a lot of trouble, it lead me to shutterfly (http://www.shutterfly.com/nav/signedOutShare.sfly) and a better antivirus so it all worked out in the end! :grin:

Hope this helps!


~Hera (aka Ms. Kain)
Click to expand...

This is very similar to what I had to do with our laptop and a friend's pc that got infected. Thanks for posting about shutterfly! Hopefully more ladies will use it.
 
I thought it was just me. I have the lastest version of Nortons and they blocked it. I am just not going back.
 
I'm so glad someone made a post about this because I've been having problems for a couple weeks. I hope they're able to clear it up.
 
I thought it was just me! I noticed the same thing last week, and this past Sunday it took me over 8 hours to delete this virus that was trying to download on my computer, it was taking over my weboot spysweeper.
 
Ok, this has been happening to me ONLY when I visit Fotki. Thanks OP for posting because I needed to hear that it wasn't just me. I thought it was my laptop so I switched to my husband's laptop. It worked wonderfully... or so I thought... then I went back to Fotki on his laptop... and BAM!!! Same virus, pop up crap! It only happens when I visit Fotki! So frustrating.

Is there another site that you ladies are recommending? I thought Shutterfly was in case you're ordering pictures, which I never do with my hair photos? Also, is there a site that allows you to store pics and print as cheap as Fotki, which is like 8 cents per 4x6 color print? I'm definitely open to move from Fotki, especially since I need to renew my family premium account on there within the next week... Wait, they already locked my account for non-payment so I guess I need to make a decision immediately.
 
Ladies experiencing this problem, here's something I found on Fotki's help page.

LINK HERE: http://help.fotki.com/help-full/

21.3 Why I See Pop-Up Ads on Fotki Pages?

Fotki does not use pop-up or any other ads or banners. If you see a pop-up ad on your screen while using Fotki, the possible reasons for it may be as follows:

* You have recently visited a website that uses pop-ups. Sometimes they are triggered when you leave such site.
* You may have on your computer some free music-sharing software (like BearShare, Audiogalaxy, etc.) that is popping up windows. Be careful, such "free" software can also spy on you and upload its findings back to their headquarters (after all, they have to make some money, too). The information collected may include the URLs you visit and the emails from your address books.

To prevent the appearing of pop-ups on your computer, we recommend using a web browser having a built-in pop-up blocking function, namely, Mozilla, Firefox, Opera or newer versions of Netscape.

If you strongly feel that pop-up ads are unfair, intrusive or in any other way annoying, you may choose to report a complaint. To see where a pop-up came from, click on it with the right mouse-button and then choose "Properties" from the menu.
Click to expand...

:blush:

Here's where to complain:

21.3.1 Where Report Complaints To?

For complaints about a company from the USA:

* visit the FTC homepage (when you get there, click "Have a Complaint? Click here!" to file a complaint)
* or call 1-877-FTC-HELP
* or write to Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240 Washington, DC 20580

For complaints about a company from another country, visit this site (click "Report Your Complaint" when you get there).

:blush:
 
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