If you got a "Warning! Malware!" message about my site...
 

Just to let you all know, it would appear that anything linked to the site I use to host my images, imaginatively called trollheart.com, is being flagged as being unsafe, a distributor of malware. As I'm sure you all know, this is nothing to do with me: I do not and would not distribute harmful code or programs (go on, have a virus!) --- I wouldn't even know how, much less want to.

So some dickhead has hacked my site and decided to use it to propogate his or her nasty programs. When I was made aware of this I immediately downloaded all my files, deleted them from the site and then scanned them, removing any malware I found. I have since reuploaded them and all should be safe now.

However, I know you may not want to take my word for it, and I wouldn't blame you. I can't guarantee it's clear. Maybe MalwareBytes missed something. So I've asked Google to rescan the site and once they give me a clean bill of health I will let you know, but at any rate once that's done you should no longer get the warning.

For now, let me assure you there is no danger. None of my images are clickable and unless you consciously go to trollheart.com there is nothing can be done to compromise your computer. Some pictures in my journal are now missing, as not everything reuploaded so for old entries I'm reupping them. For new ones, as mods are understandably wary of approving entries with a malware warning --- even if they know it's not anything to do with me -- I'm using a new, temporary host, so nobody will have to approve entries with images from my own site until it's clean again.

Thanks to all who have warned me of this problem, as otherwise I would have been totally unaware of it. Apologies to anyone who has gone through my journal and found missing images --- if anyone does and wants to report them to me please do, but I'm scanning through it at the moment and replacing any that don't come up.

Finally, to the bastard hacker(s) who screwed up my site, may you die screaming and be rewarded in hell with a lifetime of reinstalling Windows XP! :mad:

Dude, I'm sorry but...


http://www.gifsforum.com/images/gif/...7baf3-1658.gif

What? Some people might be concerned. Have to protect my good name. Oh. Wait... :shycouch: Look, I don't want multiple messages coming to me saying "Why are you distributing malware?" Best to be safe, and let people know I'm taking care of it.

finally an alibi for those chicks with dikcs pop ups ive been gettin on my moms computer

Yeah, sorry about those.

Could this please be moved to a more appropriate section of the forum or just preferably deleted?

God I love you.

:laughing:

Why is everyone just being straight up ass hats? I've had problems with people hacking into websites that i've worked on and it isn't fun, especially when it effects people that I know in person using the site i'm working on.

i was just goofin

seems like ppl learned to ignore the girl clique and hip hop bunny is always like that

Yeah I'm wondering why this is in the music section.

I'll move it to announcements and I am pleased you are sorting out this issue Trollheart, I appreciate the fact that I can go into your journal and not face the malware problems.

Yep, I was making fun of that issue in the shoutbox when it popped up but only Chrome would warn me. It happened quite often was I was trying to read your latest journal entries over the weekend.

Good to see you're on top of things TH. Maybe try Photobucket for image hosting/sharing, as they're pretty solid.

Yeah, I'm using a couple of different ones: Postimage seem to be good.

For those who thought it was funny, well I did this as a courtesy, as some people had advised me they were getting warnings and I wanted to let people know that I was attending to it and there was nothing to worry about. Of course, it's the usual suspects who decide to snigger at my efforts but that's fine; I feel sorry for you if you have to get your jollies by making fun of what is a serious attempt to update people. Some members do worry about this and as I think DJ said, it was causing problems for them reading my journal. But go ahead and laugh, doesn't bother me. I've far more important things to do than trade barbs with you. Just a sign of insecurity, after all.

Thanks for moving the thread, Jess. I put it on the front page because I wanted it to be seen as soon as people logged on, as to me and others it was something of an important issue.

That's it: the cool kids can go back to laughing at me now. I'm off back to my journal. Lots of work to do, can't stand around here all day... :wavey:

People who make fun of you Trollheart just want a reaction out of you. I'm certainly keeping an eye on these comments so play nice children.

Believe me I know that Jess, which is why I just responded and didn't rise to it.

How are you by the way? Been a while since we talked. Hope everything's ok on your end and that that Skype session might happen in the near future.

Take care.
TH

Trollheart, you need to go through all of your journals and at least for the last page of them switch out the pictures over to the new image host that you are using. I'm still getting that malware warning.

I went to read your TV journal and I couldn't.

I know DJ, I'm working on it at the moment. Bastard hackers! All this trouble they're causing me! I've deleted all html files and left only images up and am asking Google to do about the fifth review for me. In the meantime I'll get on reuploading those images to the image hosting site, though most of the stuff in "The Couch Potato" is not hosted on trollheart.com. Sigh.

Thanks for letting me know anyway: I'll try get it sorted by tomorrow.
Cheers
TH

OK, Pages 6-13 have been re-imaged, as it were. I'll do the rest tomorrow. 3 AM now so time for bed!

All pages on the Couch Potato have now been corrected. If anyone comes across any more warnings in that journal please let me know. I'm working on the other two smaller journals now, but my main one is going to take one hell of a long time to amend, so I'm hoping Google will ratify my site before I have to go through all of that.

I just thought it was funny that someone like Trollheart was associated with malware. It's like Pedestrian getting arrested for running a ponzi scheme.

Unfortunately it can happen to anyone mate. Nobody had my logins but even so hackers were able to, ah, hack their way in and now I've had to take my whole site down AND spend days going through my journals, replacing trollheart.com images with ones from other hosting sites, not to mention having to find each image and reupload it before linking to it.

I tell you one thing, it may be a funny situation from outside but it's damn not funny to me. :( I know you weren't poking fun, but you should see the scale of the work that's before me just because some bastard wanted to infect other computers and show how bloody clever they were! I also love how my hoster arent in the least bit interested and offered no help. None. Not a thing. After changing my password I've had to get them to unlock my FTP account at least six times. Gaaaahhhhh!!!! :mad:

Update: "Bitesize" is now totally scanned, as it were, all images removed and replaced. That makes it and The Couch Potato potentially safe for reading, and I think the Classic Albums journal is ok too: don't think I put any trollheart.com pictures in there (or any pictures at all!).

Playlist of Life now, that's a different matter! Bitesize took me all afternoon, Playlist could take me all month! :(

Again, any warnings you get please let me know.
Thanks
TH

Looks like Google have finally given me the all-clear.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...GaCWjkQ8RC-w-E
If anyone gets any further warnings could you please let me know? There should not be any more I hope.

Thanks for any support that was offered: it's been a tough week but looks like it's finally over. At last.

Does this problem also extend to your journal on Hacked ! (Free Online Music Forums - Music Chat - Music Boards Forum aka )?

The other alternative Trollheart is to add any images you want to include to an album here on your profile to keep it all in house. You can then insert the image as you would normally but it links back to your own album.

Does that keep it safe from being tampered with by hackers and malwareist?
And what about uploading images to Photobucket or ImageShack, does using those site prevent the problem Trollheart had?

Well as safe as your password I suppose. It probably also makes you less of a target. In order to do any real damage they would have to hack an admin account.


I imagine sites like that specialising in image hosting would want to make sure their reputation is upheld so I would think that they have measures in place to prevent hacking but that is just a guess on my part.

Oh well that is okay! It is rather strange I admit. You did well TH, everything is better.

Thanks all. In order then (ladies first of course!): thanks Jess; it was a tough week but after about six attempts I managed it. Every time I asked Google to check they came back with a DIFFERENT set of files that had been hacked. I'd delete those files, go "how about now?" and they'd come back with another set. Eventually I thought to hell with this, and just deleted every single HTML file. It upset me to do it, as I had been keeping a decent, very old website running, with one of my favourite subjects, mythology, one of the sections in it, but who knows if anyone was even reading it or knew it existed? Once the HTML files were gone, I reuploaded only images and finally got the all-clear. Thanks for your support through a difficult time. :)

Neap: I assume that now that trollheart.com is sorted there will be no comeback on the other journal, though I don't maintain it any more --- this is the only place for me! The problem was with my domain, and that then filtered through to my journal and anywhere else I used links to it, so at the time I would have said yes it would have been the same there. Typically, the silence from that quarter was deafening!

Stephen: Thanks for the suggestion. Postimage and the like look after the passwords as was mentioned, so whereas on my own site I was responsible for ensuring no unauthorised access, with the image hosting sites if it were to happen (and I'm not saying it wouldn't; where is safe these days?) I would assume the hoster would look after sorting it out. Hosting images here is a good idea, but I don't know where I'd do that or how much space is available. At the moment, trollheart.com seems to be working fine again.

Thanks again for all your help and hope it didn't inconvenience any of you too much.

TH
(With a clean bill of health!)

I wasn't laughing at your situation just the fact that someone decided to troll trollheart.com with a website name like that it's almost like asking for it.

It attracts trolls!

It's true. :rolleyes: But then, at the time I bought the domain I was using Trollheart as my internet handle anyway so it just seemed appropriate. I nevr realised the word troll had such negative connotations on the web. As I mentioned before, it comes from a character in one of my unfinished novels, a general in the troll army. Shoulda made him a goblin! :laughing:

I'm not sure what sort of space limits there are but you access it through your control panel.

User CP > Networking > Pictures & Albums > http://www.musicbanter.com/images/buttons/add_album.png Add Album

Yes Goblin Knight or Goblin King! Missed opportunity on your part.

Ah yes, but in my novel the goblins were the eternal enemies of the trolls... ;)

Your novel is strange. Goblins and Trolls are usually on the same side of things with an uneasy alliance but it's still there.

Yeah I hear you. But my trolls were based more on the Star Trek Klingon idea: proud warriors, big on honour, tradition, all that. I wanted to take them from the two-dimensional monsters they're usually depicted as and explore some real mythology and history, make them a real race like elves or dwarves in fiction. Mind you, would have helped if I'd finished the book and got it published!

Goblins? Well, there's no reforming goblins, is there? :shycouch:

I love me some Goblins though, well the way that they are depicted in the World of Warcraft series. They are a bunch of shady business men that will sell their own mothers for gold. They are super oppurtunistic. Also the way that you describe Trolls is how they are in World of Warcraft as well they just also happen to be in the same faction with goblins so they aren't mortal enemies.

Are you guys talking about Dungeons and Dragons?