Firefox 4 - how can I prevent it?!

[Sketcz]

Bloody hell! I got hit yesterday with this ****!

I was Google image searching for a Falcom logo and one of the results was a map of Faxanadu on the NES, so I thought I'd have a look because I like a nicely drawn map. As I clicked on it Eset popped up with a red box saying it had quarantined a redirection trojan from that site!

You're not safe whatever you look for.

[Number45]

Can you PM me the link that screwed you up? Want to see if it'll do anything to my PC (I'll take it offline and connect through my phone).

[nakamura]

I don't even bother clicking with google images anymore, it is miles too risky.

[Sketcz]

Sure, will do. Haha! Just seen how these bastards did it. They're actually linking to VG Mapper, but when you click the image it takes you to their site instead.

Question is:
Can I trust you Number 45? Maybe you run this hacking site, will cross reference the URL I give you with a table of access times from yesterday, work out my IP and the designated trojan I was sent, activate it and then TAKE OVER MY CYBERNETIC BRAIN!

Ahem... Been watching the sci-fi channel recently. You'll have to excuse the paranoia.

[Number45]

I can't promise anything.

Unfortunately I won't be able to test this. Connecting my laptop to the internet through my phone causes a blue screen. :'(

[Sketcz]

Kinda depressing really, I used to love using Google images.

[112]

Doesn't google images have a filter though, where you can limit the content?

Might be worth switching the security up on that? Or does that just filter out content based on word association? IE swearing, etc...

Gotta admit though, my virus scanner has been finding random trojans recently, which it seems to get rid of, but from time to time they pop back up, must be a site im visiting or something... Might hafta start browsing sites with allowing images to load up from now on... boring, but hey, keeps the 'puter happier...

112

[abigsmurf]

Nope the filter is porn and violence related. Most of these compromised image sites are work safe.

[Number45]

Chrome is not much better at memory management than Firefox, it's just more transparent with its handling of the problem.

[Sketcz]

I've been using this for many new sites I visit:

http://safeweb.norton.com/

It's not perfect, but it has snagged a couple of really bad ones. Thing is, this Faxanadu thing was on what seemed to be a blog.

edit:

ntsc-uk.co.uk
Summary
This site has not been tested yet.

[Number45]

I'm actually thinking of installing Norton for the parental controls.

[djjimbob]

I uninstalled FireFox on all my work and home PCs since downloading Chrome for the first time a month ago. Chrome is soooooooooo much better and works very well in all environments.

[Ady]

You guys who are catching nasty stuff with Firefox - are you using NoScript?

Exactly. NoScript is absolutely essential with Firefox. Coupled with AdBlock Plus, it's pretty effective.

I learnt this after I picked up some weird piece of malware MONTHS back that made Firefox run slowly. (I'd go to a site and it would never finish loading and I'd have to kill it with Task Manager). Obviously, a dodgy script had sneaked in somewhere and screwed Firefox.

In the end, I uninstalled and reinstalled and used NoScript as an added layer of security. It's been fine ever since.

The best thing about NoScript, of course is that you can use it to find out which sites are safe or not.

I'm thinking of switching to Chrome though because I use it at work (I'm writing this via a Chrome browser session) and it is very quick and efficient. The only thing stopping me is the plugins like AdBlock Plus and NoScript that I use with Firefox.

Oh, and I recommend http://deletemalware.blogspot.com which is great for those fake antivirus things. I've had to use this at work a few times on some PCs in a standalone classroom as students keep panicking, accepting those fake warnings and infecting the computers with malware which I then have to remove.

[Mayhem]

Yeah, I've advised my mother not to use Google Images for searching for archive pictures she is after, given the actual website loads in the background. Their desktop PC was attempted to be infected a few weeks back by one of those fake antivirus programs, but Comodo kept it out thankfully.

[Sketcz]

Hmm, this NoScript thing looks like the way to go.