Malicous Links

[jbrnt]

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.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

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.

[WhatTheGox]

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

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.  

[okae]

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

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

agree that tool is very usefull.

[erikalui]

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.

[Amph]

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

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

agree that tool is very usefull.

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

[okae]

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

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

agree that tool is very usefull.

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

[GannickusX]

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

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

agree that tool is very usefull.

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

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

[fdylstyx]

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

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

agree that tool is very usefull.

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

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.     

[Athertle]

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.

[freedomno1]

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.