Things dumped on my computer

"Anthony Blunt" <anthony DeleteThis @blunt.ru> writes:

> Hi,
>
> Some website has dumped stuff on my computer to block me from accessing
> it. It's not in cookies nor in history so I'm scratching my head as to
> where it might be. It can't be my IP address as that's dynamic.

How dynamic is it?

Do you know for a fact it's different now than when you think it
allegedly blocked you?

> My concern is not that I was blocked from the site as it was a
> pretty worthless site anyway.

What kind of site was it? Did you do anything to elicit the blocking?

> My concern is more that something has been dumped on my computer
> without my knowledge. Any idea where it might be found?

If it's a web board where you didn't play nicely with someone, they
probably blocked you by IP address. And just because your broadband
connection uses DHCP doesn't mean your IP changes all that often. In
fact, it's normal for an IP address to remain unchanged for weeks on
end.

http://whatismyip.com/ can be an easy way to check your IP as seen by websites.

But I also stand by what I said about the ease with which Internet
Explorer users could have things dumped on their computer in the past
weeks, especially on sites like bulletin boards where users are
allowed to post html code.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Fleeing from the madness of the Road Runner High Speed Online
http://www.rr.com jungle
Anthony Blunt <anthony RemoveThis @blunt.ru> stumbled into news:alt.www.webmaster
and said:

> Hi,

How do you do?

> Some website has dumped stuff on my computer to block me from accessing
> it.

Sure it's actually on your computer?

> It's not in cookies nor in history so I'm scratching my head as to
> where it might be. It can't be my IP address as that's dynamic.

Could be your entire class-C/B/A

> My
> concern is not that I was blocked from the site as it was a pretty
> worthless site anyway. My concern is more that something has been
> dumped on my computer without my knowledge. Any idea where it might be
> found?

perhaps in file: hosts

Do you run a local dns server?

What are the symptoms?
--
William Tasso

http://williamtasso.com/words/what-is-usenet.asp
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Three computers have been used to view the domain. Each one has the
same problem. I've used both Internet Explorer and Firefox. The
symptoms are the same for all of them. All computers are networked via
a wifi hub. The hub is a D-Link DI-524 and the copy of Zone Alarm
installed has not been upgraded or paid for since all computers are
firewalled and have their own antivirus. O/Ss on the machines are XP
Home, XP Pro, Windows 98.

I did find a copy of an image file - one of my photos in the root
directory on the Windows 98 machine which had the bottom of the image
blacked out and the website name held within the file somewhere (when I
did an all text search for the website on my 98 box).

I have just cleared out all the stored information (history, cookies,
temprorary files) on Opera and get the same result - the computer seems
blacklisted somehow.

As 3 computers are involved, is the website accessing the mac address
of my router and working with that? Surely the website can't be
recording all computer mac addresses and blocking by mac address?


Todd H. wrote:

> "Anthony Blunt" <anthony.TakeThisOut@blunt.ru> writes:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Some website has dumped stuff on my computer to block me from
> > accessing it. It's not in cookies nor in history so I'm scratching
> > my head as to where it might be. It can't be my IP address as
> > that's dynamic. My concern is not that I was blocked from the site
> > as it was a pretty worthless site anyway. My concern is more that
> > something has been dumped on my computer without my knowledge. Any
> > idea where it might be found?
>
> Are you an Internet Explorer user?



--
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

"Anthony Blunt" <anthony RemoveThis @blunt.ru> writes:

> Three computers have been used to view the domain. Each one has the
> same problem. I've used both Internet Explorer

I asked about Internet Explorer because of the seriousness of this
issue for which a patch was just made available yesterday:
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1727

So, if you've been out browsing around the general 'net in IE for the
past couple weeks, you could've been very easily owned via the VML
exploit which has spread across the web rather far and wide. The
exploit would circumvent AV and firewalls especially early on.

If you got compromised by anything, any number of things could be
wrong with your machine preventing you from seeing a given site, or
any number of other things.

If there is any question about the integrity of your computer,
flattening and rebuilding it from original media is the only way to be
certain.

But, you should run Adaware SE, ewido, and perhaps webroot spysweeper
to see what known stuff might be on your machine.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Anthony Blunt wrote

> Three computers have been used to view the domain. Each one has the
> same problem. I've used both Internet Explorer and Firefox. The
> symptoms are the same for all of them. All computers are networked via
> a wifi hub. The hub is a D-Link DI-524 and the copy of Zone Alarm
> installed has not been upgraded or paid for since all computers are
> firewalled and have their own antivirus. O/Ss on the machines are XP
> Home, XP Pro, Windows 98.

Maybe they're spying on you Mr Anthony Blunt!

--
Charles Sweeney
http://CharlesSweeney.com
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

"Anthony Blunt" <anthony.TakeThisOut@blunt.ru> writes:
> Hmm. I'd not thought of an IP range being blocked. What are the ways
> around that? I did think of making a webpage with the site as a frame
> within that page. I can locat ethat page anywhere.


If you wanted to be a persistent pest, an anonymizer product like
Ghostsurf ($) or Tor+Privoxy (free) could get you around IP based
bans.

But if you're violating their terms of use or being annoying and such,
just stop it ok?

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Anthony Blunt wrote:

> Surely the website can't be recording all computer mac addresses and
> blocking by mac address?

No -- it can't. MAC addresses don't cross the Internet. It could only find
out your MAC if it were connected directly to your LAN.

It's almost certainly blocked your IP address, or a range of IP addresses
which encompases your IP address.

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me ~ http://tobyinkster.co.uk/contact
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Todd H. wrote:

> If it's a web board where you didn't play nicely with someone, they
> probably blocked you by IP address. And just because your broadband
> connection uses DHCP doesn't mean your IP changes all that often. In
> fact, it's normal for an IP address to remain unchanged for weeks on
> end.
>
> http://whatismyip.com/ can be an easy way to check your IP as seen
> by websites.
>
> But I also stand by what I said about the ease with which Internet
> Explorer users could have things dumped on their computer in the past
> weeks, especially on sites like bulletin boards where users are
> allowed to post html code.

Lol. I do normally play nicely on web boards and when I state opinions
then it's always IMHO blah blah. I have met a few online wierdos on
boards and found myself inexplicably banned from the boards - generally
by the time they do that I've moved on and don't visit the board that
often. I recall FredMiranda banned me. I had no communication from them
to say there was a problem and had largely been reading the debates
rather than posting. That puzzled me but then as their interesting
debates had largely become flame wars the interest I once had, had
fizzled. It's something that happens. I haven't a clue why - maybe
dissent is not permitted in the free world? And by dissent, my form of
dissent is: "I'm sorry - I don't agree with that. I believe <whatever>"
and in the best acadmic tradition I never address people directly.

It could well be a blocked IP address. I'll have to eradicate the
website from my laptop and try with my wife's verizon connection to see
what happens.
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

> Some website has dumped stuff on my computer to block me from accessing
> it. It's not in cookies nor in history so I'm scratching my head as to
> where it might be. It can't be my IP address as that's dynamic. My
> concern is not that I was blocked from the site as it was a pretty
> worthless site anyway. My concern is more that something has been
> dumped on my computer without my knowledge. Any idea where it might be
> found?

check your hosts file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc ... could have been
spyware editing it ...
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

I finally figured out what happened.

On the site in question, there's a charleston-based photography
discussion group.

The site administrator and I had a difference of opinion during which I
stated publically that we were of different opinions and that we would
just have to agree to disagree - which I thought was a nice way of
exiting from a debate that might otherwise have ended in a flame war. I
really don't see any point in arguing with somebody when their opinion
seems cast in stone as it's more than likely to end in harsh and
regrettable words.

Anyway, I found myself blocked from accessing the site. It did turn out
to be an IP block. When I found I'd been blocked, I emailed the site
admin and they replied that two IP addresses had been blocked - neither
of which were mine or in my range. Then I sent a further email with a
cut and paste of what came up on the screen. No response was ever
forthcoming. At the same time I found a conduct warning that had found
its way into my spam box - which amazed me since I don't indulge in any
anti-social postings. I leave arguments as soon as they look like
they're going to escalate from fact and honest debate into raw emotion
(as I did on the point on which we disagreed).

Using an IP masking site I entered the Forum. My account is still
there. My posts are all still there. It looks very much as though I've
been banned but not banned - in other words - the site admin seems to
be hiding the effective banning. It seems to me to be a very
underhanded way of winning a debate. What do you think?

Anyway, the upshot is that since that particular forum was fairly
spartan in terms of posts and members (I had been invited to join that
forum by the administrator), it wasn't one of my favourites. That being
so and the underhanded way in which the administrator appears to seek
to win his arguments I'm feeling more of the opinion that the forum
just wasn't for me in the first place.

Thanks for everybody's assistance thus far. I did try Tor but it
wouldn't run on the machine I reserve solely for web use. I guess a
Dell L600CX and Windows 98 might be a bit too low-spec for it!


Todd H. wrote:
> If you wanted to be a persistent pest, an anonymizer product like
> Ghostsurf ($) or Tor+Privoxy (free) could get you around IP based
> bans.
>
> But if you're violating their terms of use or being annoying and such,
> just stop it ok?



--
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

"Anthony Blunt" <anthony DeleteThis @blunt.ru> writes:

> I guess a Dell L600CX and Windows 98 might be a bit too low-spec for
> it!

By the by, if you're concerned with infections getting dumped on a
computer by way of browsing and internet use, Windows 98 is definitely
NOT the OS of choice!

It's fairly robust to network based attacks because it has so little
interesting going on in the way of services but as a client machine
for web browsing, it's pretty wretched. I'd definitely be using Opera
on that box and never touching IE.


--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Thanks for the advice. I'm way ahead. I've used Firefox for years. I'm
playing occasionally with Opera too now.



Todd H. wrote:

> "Anthony Blunt" <anthony.RemoveThis@blunt.ru> writes:
>
> > I guess a Dell L600CX and Windows 98 might be a bit too low-spec for
> > it!
>
> By the by, if you're concerned with infections getting dumped on a
> computer by way of browsing and internet use, Windows 98 is definitely
> NOT the OS of choice!
>
> It's fairly robust to network based attacks because it has so little
> interesting going on in the way of services but as a client machine
> for web browsing, it's pretty wretched. I'd definitely be using Opera
> on that box and never touching IE.



--
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer 

Fleeing from the madness of the Road Runner High Speed Online
http://www.rr.com jungle
Anthony Blunt <anthony.RemoveThis@blunt.ru> stumbled into news:alt.www.webmaster
and said:

> ...
> On the site in question, there's a charleston-based photography
> discussion group.

that's gotta be a little niche - fast shutter speeds required I'd imagine

--
William Tasso

http://williamtasso.com/words/what-is-usenet.asp
 >> Stay informed about: Things dumped on my computer