Contact Staff for me
-
I have an inappropriate ad on my site advertising vaporizers for drugs. I have uploaded a PrintScreen of it to my media files. The Clicks section of stats calls it popcash.net. Thank you for getting rid of this for me. Much appreciated.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
-
Hi Supernovia,
When I finished writing my post for tomorrow this morning, my uploaded PrintScreen was no longer in my media file. But, I checked it again just now, 8:10 p.m. my time, and it is there again. When I saw it was gone for awhile I thought the staff was working on it.Just now I also saw the “Clicks” link related to the ad. It is: popcash.net/world/go/163714/354067.
Sending in a PrintScreen is some advice Timethief gave a couple years or so ago in these forums. Following her advice this morning, I googled “contact WordPress staff”, and got a page opened on my site, on which I explained the problematic ad.
Years ago, WP said they would be careful about having appropriate ads. This is the first one that is really offensive to me. I don’t want to promote pot smoking. sigh!
Hope you can check to see that this is being taken care of and let me know about it. Have a great day! Good hearing from you.
-
Also check your computer for malware. Popcash.net ads are mostly caused by a malware infection, https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-popcash-net-redirect/
-
@96isaiah we’re still careful about ads. The screenshot you sent did not seem to show an ad from our system – it seemed to show what would happen if you clicked through.
If you can get a screenshot of the ad on your site, though, in context, that would definitely help us get to the bottom of this.
-
Hi Supernovia,
I’ve read through all the tips that Staartmees provided at malwaretips.com. Thank you, Staartmees! That looks like a good way to find any sort of malware. I’ve only completed the first step in going through all my Programs and Features to spot any sort of odd program. I found nothing suspicious. Everything is what belongs to software I’ve had for years, Windows, and my hardware.96Isaiah
I’ve been posting since 2009 and really don’t think I could find the Popcash.net ad. I’m glad to hear that WP is still careful about ads.
And, yes, I did click that ad link in my stats out of curiosity. So, that makes me wonder, how could it have gotten in my stats in the “Clicks” section in the first place? Might that malware have penetrated WP somehow or another? I’m a real dummy on this techie stuff and am not sure if I’m able to do anything else about it, except to occasionally go to my “Programs and Features” and check for anything that has been added to my old list of programs. I’ve had updates in the last month or so, but they are all from legitimate programs.
All in all, thank you and let me know if you come across anything else I should do.
-
I’ve only completed the first step in going through all my Programs and Features to spot any sort of odd program.
Please follow the rest of those steps. Most malware hides itself on your computer, so it won’t appear under Programs and Features. This is especially the case if the malware lives in your browser as a toolbar or extension.
how could it have gotten in my stats in the “Clicks” section in the first place?
The fact that it appears in your stats tells me it’s possible a visitor to your site saw the ad on the site because their computer is infected. When they clicked the link, our system recorded the click. Browser malware changes the code of a website at the moment it’s loaded to inject links or ads into the site. So both to our stats tracking pixel and to that visitor it would appear as if the ad/link is part of the site, even though it’s coming from outside.
Still run the malwarescan on your computer to be safe, but if you don’t see the ad for yourself, it’s likely not your machine that is infected.
-
Hi Kokkieh,
It is all done. Malwarebytes found nothing; HitmanPro found 93 tracking cookies that it removed; and Zemana found 4 suspicious browser settings that it removed from Edge, IE and Firefox. That changed a few things! Google.com wanted to become my home page in IE and Firefox search engine took the place of my home page in its browser. Losing some settings seems troublesome, but should be for the good in the end. I did not do Step 5 in the instructions because I do not use Google Chrome.I sometimes wonder if I need to privately contact a WP tech regarding a particular reader, who might not be actually reading. It might be something that needs checking into.
Thank you for all your info. I’ve been looking into these sorts of things and it’s all baffling to a non-techie like me. All the malware possibilities are based of greed and supremacy over others. They must not be very happy in life.
I don’t think there’s anything more I can do at this point. Maybe WP will have some clues to think about. Have a great day, and thanks to you all for everything.
96Isaiah
-
If your machine is clean, then it’s most likely that a visitor to your site saw the link and clicked on it their end, as I explained above. So the malware is on their computer. But your site itself does not have any malware, so you don’t need to worry about that.
If you get reports from readers about strange links or ads on your site that you can’t see, even when logged out, ask those readers to please contact us direcly.
All the malware possibilities are based of greed and supremacy over others. They must not be very happy in life.
You hit the nail on the head here. Malware is all about getting people’s information, or in this case, trying to advertise a product without going the normal route and paying for advertising space.
-
-
No, it is not. We block the types of code that are used to create or inject malware into a site by default on WordPress.com. If anyone were to try and paste malicious code into a comment, it would be deleted automatically.
If your site was infected, everyone would be able to see the ad responsible for that link, including you and me. Neither of us are seeing that ad. We just see the link in your stats which indicate that someone else did see it, and click on it. The malware is on the computer of the person who clicked that link.
-
Kokkieh,
Thank you very much. All this techie info might be starting to penetrate my thick skull. I think I’m starting to get the picture. But, I still wonder about the interests of someone who seems to be a rather unlikely reader, but puts a like on most all my posts lately. It just makes me think.
Again, thank you and all of the WP staff for keeping us safe in this blogger world.
96Isaiah
-
But, I still wonder about the interests of someone who seems to be a rather unlikely reader, but puts a like on most all my posts lately. It just makes me think.
There are many people who follow sites and like posts only in the hope that you’ll click on their user picture and visit their site in return. There’s no way to prevent this, but you are also under no obligation to follow or like them back, or even to visit their site, so I’d recommend just ignore someone like this. In my experience they eventually give up if they see their likes aren’t generating any views in return.
Again, thank you and all of the WP staff for keeping us safe in this blogger world.
It is our pleasure :)
-
Hi Kokkieh,
Yes, in my 8 1/2 years of posting at WP, I’ve seen how it has been very necessary to ignore a lot of likes and follows. Many just want to become popular — or appear popular. Most give up in a very short time. This one is more persistent.
Guess we can take a break now that the dust is settled. Thank you for your patience and have a great day.
96Isaiah
-
Maybe it’s a genuine reader who just really likes your posts. No telling what people are interested in :)
Glad I could help.
- The topic ‘Contact Staff for me’ is closed to new replies.
WordPress.com Forums 