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I hadn't clicked on anything! This script had been activated simply through me visiting
page. There were no warnings on page that this was going to occur. What javascript had done was to reset my "home" page and added entries to "My Favourites"! I examined script that had caused it occur and while I won't publish it here for obvious reasons, I can assure you that it would qualify as a "scumvertising" tactic.
When restarting IE I found that via an ezine site and another marketing company (from where script was called), I was being redirected to a very well known software companies' home page. In total, there were 4 companies involved in this particular incident - I look forward to responses to emails I will send them.
If you have had this happen to you, I'd like to know about it.......
The JS.IEStart trojan is also known as VBS.Passon (CA), VBS.PassOn (NAV) VBS/IEstart.gen.
While it is not destructive, I object strongly to other companies adding sites to My Favourites and altering default home page without my permission or knowledge. If I hadn't had my AV program running in background, I probably never would have figured out where this script came from. I have since then copied scripts, along with appropriate screenshots pending further action.
It is an invasive, disgusting marketing tactic that only serves to irritate visitors; and it helps give web marketing industry a bad name. I am sure company I was redirected to will be interested in knowing that their advertising cash is being spent on a marketing firm who uses, in my opinion, illegitimate means to send visitors to them. It is a waste of their money as they are recieving traffic that is not targeted - what is known as "garbage traffic".
To companies that incorporate this type of ploy as part of their "bleeding edge" marketing technology - "may you live in interesting times"! You will be caught out!
It's bad enough that we have to travel 'net with our AV programs and firewalls on "paranoid" mode - do we now have to have "pop up killers" running all time as well?
Michael Bloch michael@tamingthebeast.net http://www.tamingthebeast.net Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community. Web Marketing, eCommerce & Development solutions. _____________________________________________
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Michael is an Australian Information Technologies trainer and web developer. Many other free web design, ecommerce development and Internet articles, tutorials, tools and resources are available from his award winning site; Taming the Beast.net (http://www.tamingthebeast.net)
