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Thread ID: 137613 2014-07-29 05:11:00 Advertising bug... Guillaume (16361) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1380311 2014-07-29 05:11:00 Recently I have noticed that whenever I open a web page random words in the text have become hyper links and when clicked they either open a small square advertisement or another window – also invariably an advertisement. I suspect that I have inadvertently picked up a bug that activates this annoying addition. If this is so, I have been unable to spot any suspicious entries in "all programs" or "uninstall" in the control panel. I wonder if anyone has any ideas on this and possibly hard to get rid of it. Thank you.

When I submitted this post I found the bug at work!
Guillaume (16361)
1380312 2014-07-29 05:46:00 Have you tried scanning for malware?, if not give MBAM a whirl and see if it finds anything www.malwarebytes.org

Also there are several good add blocking add-ons depending what browser you use. I use firefox and adblock plus myself.
dugimodo (138)
1380313 2014-07-29 12:55:00 Is there any of these names in add/remove programs?

If so, uninstalling them would be a good start - then reset your browser and as Dugi says - malwarebytes the next step

flash-Enhancer, SafeSaver, DP1815, Video Player, Convert Files for Free, Plus-HD 8.9, BetterSurf, Media Player 1.1, SupTab, RemoveTheAdApp, ValueApps, Lollipop, PassShow, LyricsBuddy-1, YutubeAdBlock 1.2, Media Player 1.1, Savings Bull, Feven Pro 1.1, Websteroids, Savings Bull, HD-Plus 3.5, QuickShare, Lightspark, Surftastic, Software Version Updater, Media Viewer 1.1, Re-markit
bevy121 (117)
1380314 2014-07-29 22:36:00 Think it is part of the web page design, have seen some of these and thought they were links to related pages but were only advertising or word definitions. Whenu (9358)
1380315 2014-07-29 22:38:00 Thank you gentlemen. I ran Malwarebytes and Zone Alarm Extreme Security scans when the issue first arose about a week ago, both reported no infections.
None of the programmes listed by Bevy appears in the add/remove list, but I did find one, WinPcap 4.1.1, which I hadn’t noticed before. I certainly had not installed it. I checked Cace Technologies and cutting through the jargon it does seem that this might be the culprit. So I have uninstalled it and rebooted with no apparent deleterious effect. I’ll watch today.
Guillaume (16361)
1380316 2014-08-01 22:09:00 Some days have now passed since I uninstalled WinPcap 4.1.1 and this removal seems to have solved the problem -- no more unwanted hyperlinks. Thanks for your help guys... Guillaume (16361)
1380317 2014-08-01 22:38:00 Thanks for reporting back. I was going to suggest that you edit your Hosts file - it's a wonderful built-in Windows tool to speed up websites and stop adverts. Greg (193)
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