Bitcoin Forum

I've not been here a year yet, so maybe I have no place to complain but I'm just wondering if other members are more than a little hesitant about clicking on links provided by other members.

I've seen posts warning about the possibilities of infecting your computer with all sorts of malicious code simply by clicking on a link in a post or signature. I know myself that I'm getting increasingly paranoid about the situation to the point of phobia. I've read that you shouldn't even trust links in Hero and Legendary Member posts because that account may have been sold to someone who would use that inherent trust against the unsuspecting curious.

Bitcointalk.org is the go to online community for all things bitcoin related. Is there any way that links can be vetted? I know that any post can be flagged, for any reason, but I don't know that anything is really done about malicious links. It's my understanding that links that were once valid and useful can and have been changed and still appear the same. What's a newb to do?

I know it's ridiculous to think that every link in the history of this forum be vetted for the safety of all members old and new. Let alone what malice intent awaits any one of us who clicks on a link that takes us away from this forum.

The internet is a scary and potentially dangerous place and even here, where techies rein supreme, there be monsters. 


fdyl

The forum(Staff and Moderators) can't handle this.
Of course, if someone suspects that it maybe dangerous, so him shouldn't click on the supposed link.
If someone PROVES it's malicious software, then he should notify/report.
And forum rank doesn't mean nothing, it's just how long he has been here, nothing else.

You just need to be careful with links posted in threads.
Whenever possible try to scan links with http://www.virustotal.com (http://www.virustotal.com)

Well lately those links are minimized by prompt staff, and (even more if i may say) members who report anything thats out of place by using "report to moderator" option.
Regarding links themselves, i doubt you will get infected if you only click on some link (i may be wrong, if there are some new exploits), but your safety also is impared if you are using no AV, and have auto-run enabled for java.
I highly recommend setting java to be click-to-run, and just dont run anything u didnt previously check on VT. Sandbox is also very hany program to use, but then again, there are crypters that recognize sandbox..

Most of malicious programs (bitcoin related) are trojans, and if you read up a bit about them, all it takes is little bit of caution, and you will never pick up one , since they are eazy to recognize, even FUD crypted.
If you have AV bundle, make sure proactive defense is activated, since vs. unknown (new) threats that is the only thing that can pick them up, as they are not yet marked by AV companies themself.

cheers

Jesus Christ dude - don't click on any links!  Are you crazy?  All your bitcoin will be gone in 3 seconds.  Just don't click things on the Internet - too dangerous.  You should turn your computer off now!  Go watch TV.

There are potentially harmful links that are being posted here, but before clicking links, it is advisable to run a scan on VirusTotal so as to minimize the risk of visiting an infected site. Also, try having an AV so that you will have an added layer for your pc against the threats of harmful scripts and codes that could run an exploit once you clicked that link.

Yup, there's no point in staying under rock out of fear; like i said, just some common sense and the chance to pick up something is near to zero.
If in the unlikely case you do pick something up, having a strong encryption on wallet will still keep your bitcoins safe. The problem occurs when you dont realize that you're infected, and the built in keylogger picks up
your wallet password while you are unlocking your wallet..

cheers

usually if you hover over it you can tell if it is malicious or not, just don't click blindly, also chrome is helping a bit with some malicious website that are redirected from those links

The forum does remove maleware links, however they cannot do so immediately because they don't know that something is maelware as soon as it is posted (they first need to receive a report and then have supporting evidence to backup such report).

You should exercise extreme caution when clicking on links posted by others. It would probably be best to only click on most links inside a VM environment to protect your computer.

There are of course a certain number of domains whose links are probably safe to click on

Please click here for a simple solution: https://darknet.web/viruses/extreme/deadly/stealth_infection_2015v1.11.exe

It may be a very small risk, but it's a risk I'm not willing to take.

I do not click unrecognized links in ANYBODY's posts, no matter how "trusted" they are or what their history is here at bitcoin talk.  There is nothing I'm going to gain from clicking on an unrecognized link that is worth the risk of encountering an unexpected exploit.

You pays your money, and you takes your chances.

This is pretty much where I'm at right now but I just don't like it. So I'm going to take some of the advice offered here and try to be less paranoid. Even though a few links posted here in this thread make me extremely nervous but I was expecting that.

And I've been here long enough not to not even take notice of obvious a-holes in the mix...but I'll make an exception this time. I think we all know which poster that is.  >:(

Thanks for the useful feedback folks, much appreciated.


fdyl

That was intended to be lighthearted humor. You know what they say about pleasing everyone.  :-*

I wasn't calling you an a-hole MicroGuy but I will admit your link was the scariest. Good to know it's just your sense of humour...but I still won't touch it.  :D


Maybe the poster that told me to turn off my computer and go watch tv is actually a nice guy/girl having fun at my expense as well. I retract that a-hole statement. Unless of course there's a general consensus that he/she is one.  :-\

"noscript" and some other firefox addons should u keep safe (but dont download and install something of course)

and a good antivirus prog of course.

Thanks for the clarification. I probably deserved it anyway. lol. I think I found the post now you were referring to... wow!  :)

I can understand what are you trying to say.If they think the site which they may open is malcious then he should not open it and he can  send it to antivirus for scanning it can be a good way

Hey LiteCoinGuy, it just so happens that I do run on Firefox so I will check out "nonscript". I used to use AVG (free version) some years ago until I got a screaming popup from something that looked like AVG telling me my computer was infected and to press this link to fix...well that was the end of a very expensive laptop.

Then I was quite happy with Avast until earlier this year my computer was doing weird stuff and grinding to a halt so I'd have to reboot. I learned about all the bundling going on with freeware while reading some thread here in bitcointalk and deleted it from my computer. Now I'm just using Window's Defender and Firewall along with my service provider's firewall. I also disable McAfee AV, I think it came with Window's 7 software but I heard something that made me not want it.

It's all this bundling crap 'n pups I don't know how to deal with me that's got me to strip my defenses. I must say that my computer is running much smoother now but I am worried about not having a good active VP program.

Is there something you could suggest downloading that I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for every year? Something free that I'm unaware of? Or should I just not download anything and scan for viruses and malware as suggested in this thread.

Again, Firefox, Windows 7 Pro, don't like Explorer or Chrome although they're still loaded.


Thanks again for all the help. I'm sure others are finding this thread somewhat useful too. At least I like to think so.



fdyl

Haha, not S.E.T.I. "Wow!" to be sure, these kind of comments are too pedestrian. I shouldn't have mentioned it really.


So...what's behind that scary link of yours anyway? Just curio.  :)

Yes you should be vary weary. If a link is cloaked or goes to an unfamiliar site you should err on the side of caution. I'd recommending using linux as well to cut down on the chance of viruses but also not surfing the web with the computer you use to store or send your coins is a good idea.

It's not only links from here you need to watch out for, it's all the links you ever see. There are phishing links in emails, instant messages, ads and you can't be sure which one is going to infect your computer with malicious code. You have to be extremely careful with USB sticks, freewares and website now because your computer now contains money. They will be gone if you are not careful. I think paranoid with links is a good thing.

I very rarely click on links that posters put up on this forum.
People on this place aren't to be underestimated, too many scammers & lots of people here are very advanced in tech.
You can usually tell if it's a dodgy link just by reading it but I personally don't click anything on here.
Just read what is posted, you don't need to start clicking on rogue links.

Dont go jumping in clicking on a new link when a topic/post has just been posted.  If you want to see the content give it some time for more expert members to assess the situation.  After a link has been up several hours with many replys and discussion around it then its a good signal it is safe.  

try to use your common sense and dont clock on suspects links, beleive me common sense is the best antivirus you will have ;)


agree that tool is very usefull.

I've to think twice before clicking on any link. I usually only click on blog links and news articles but still there is a doubt if it could be a malicious link or not as many such incidents have taken place. I guess the forum can add a restriction for newbies to post links as a safety measure or could use any software that could avoid these links from being posted. Usually on other forums, I have seen an ability to add *spam* or *url removed* type of warnings when anybody posts a malicious link.

not that useful actually, it detect plenty of false positive, it's better to copy past the link in a well secured VM, like vmware that can be encrypted too, or sandbox if you prefer

the temptation of checking a link is the main factor here, malicious coders usually play on this

you are in truth, also to use a VM is a pretty nice idea, good point, i forgot it ;)

Yeah well op is also saying that you can click accidentaly a signature link, but what can really happen for only clicking something, is it that bad?? I dont know about this kind of stuff, this guy made me scared now, i honestly clicked a lot of shit and nothing important happened to my computer so im just wondering if its that dangerous

Live and learn. I lost a thousand hours of music, not to mention pic files, personal projects, old contacts and almost my sanity because of an AVG lookalike scam that crashed my HD.

No, I wasn't smart enough to do a backup.  >:(   

Hackers are so sophisticated that they could probably sneak something into a normal link that you wouldn't EVER expect.

An example? A lot of Steam hackers buy a domain that seems trustworthy, like google-snapshots.com (that link right there is one of the sites. Seriously, don't touch it.). Then, they create a directory that is labeled something like "screenshot-11-9.png" so that the link to it looks like a normal download link. PNG files just CAN'T contain viruses, so you go ahead and download it. Well, what really happens is you download a .exe file that is RENAMED as screenshot-11-9.png. Looks legit! You open it, and BAM! GG.

So yeah, NEVER OPEN LINKS. :)

It depends on the user and account age if the underlying url is the same as the main one that's the basic test.
For news articles in the press section etc that have clearly known websites its not a big deal if its a regular.
For newbies with the hey I got a link for you PM me or some sketchy looking one then I scan it first.