http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/15/opera_blackhole/

Opera site served Blackhole malvertising, says antivirus firm

'No need to issue a press release', firm tells press
Opera has suspended ad-serving on its portal as a precaution while it investigates reports that surfers were being exposed to malware simply by visiting the Norwegian browser firm's home page.

Malicious scripts loaded by portal.opera.com were redirecting users towards a malicious site hosting the notorious BlackHole exploit kit, said a Romanian anti-virus firm BitDefender

"The hidden and obfuscated piece of code in the Opera Portal homepage inserts an iFrame that loads malicious content from an external source," BitDefender explains. "If the Opera user hasn’t changed their default homepage, active malicious content is loaded from a third-party website whenever they open their browser."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/paranoia-anonymous/

Par:AnoIA: Anonymous Launches WikiLeaks-esque Site for Data Dumps
Frustrated by the lack of impact from Anonymous’ otherwise famous hacks and data dumps, and the slow pace of material coming out of WikiLeaks, participants in the Anonymous collective have launched a WikiLeaks-like site called Par:AnoIA (Potentially Alarming Research: Anonymous Intelligence Agency).
Paranoia anons say they don’t gather the data themselves; like WikiLeaks, they take submissions,
“The reason no one cares about these leaks, as a general rule of thumb, is that they can’t do anything with [them],” said a Paranoia anon volunteering on document processing for the project in an online chat with Wired. “Basically, [we're] making it accessible to anyone that wants to do something with it, in a proper usable format.”

“So far we publish images and texts… which is absolutely legal.
servers and domains are hosted in a way that they are DMCA-proof.

http://www.spywareblaster.net/sb-link/geckositeprefscleaning.html

About Site Preferences
This information applies to Mozilla Firefox, and related browsers (ex. Pale Moon).

The Problem: Mozilla Firefox has an option to clear/remove "Site Preferences". This option conflicts with SpywareBlaster's protection, and may result in SpywareBlaster showing unprotected items.

Background: What Firefox calls "Site Preferences" are actually the exact settings that SpywareBlaster, and even Firefox itself, use to configure per-site restrictions or policies.

They are not: cookies, history, the actual "preferences" or data that a site may have stored about you (ex. your e-mail address, your favorite color), etc.

Some examples of Firefox features that set "Site Preferences":

if you allow pop-ups on a banking/ecommerce site
if you allow cookies from a forum site

There is very little reason to ever clear these particular settings.

how to fix take the top link & allso don't click clean on CCleaner untick

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46404138/ns/technology_and_science-security/

Microsoft mistakenly flags Google as malicious site
Accidental blacklist for some stems from this month's software 'Patch Tuesday'

If you're using Internet Explorer to browse the Web and wondering why you can't access Google, there's a reason — your computer might think it's harboring malware.

Two of Microsoft's anti-virus programs, Microsoft Security Essentials and its business-market sibling Microsoft Forefront, have been mistakenly flagging Google.com as malicious, leaving millions of customers unable to get to the world's most visited website

This isn't the first time Microsoft has locked horns with Google by accident. Last September, the software titan's anti-virus programs not only marked Google's Chrome browser as malware, but actually removed it automatically from about 3,000 Windows machines.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/02/microsoft-av-flags-google-com-as-malware/

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/01/microsoft-worm-author-worked-at-antivirus-firm/

Microsoft: Worm Operator Worked at Antivirus Firm
In a surprise filing made late Monday, Microsoft said a former technical expert at a Russian antivirus firm was the person responsible for operating the Kelihos botnet, a global spam machine that Microsoft dismantled in a coordinated takedown last year.
he was a senior system developer and project manager for Agnitum, a Russian antivirus firm based in St. Petersburg. One of the company’s most popular products is Outpost, a free firewall program.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/03/microsoft-warns-of-internet-explorer-0day/

If you depend on IE for browsing the Web, upgrade to IE8 if possible. Otherwise, consider switching to an alternative browser, particularly something like Firefox with an add-on that blocks scripts by default, such as Noscript or Request Policy. Yes, these add-ons take a bit getting used to, but from where I sit, allowing Javascipt and Flash to load unrestricted as you browse the web is simply unsafe on today’s Internet.

Hi, Art Kns, you wrote:

There should be a way to turn it off.

go to the other topic, there are some tricks to get rid of that annoyance:
Stickr Feature Removal

graylox

Unfortunately, the feedback here has not had any impact on management.

For me, these "stickrs" are a distracting annoyance - a real PITA. The few that I have read are just valueless trivia which gets in the way of the regular info. There should be a way to turn it off.

Again IMHO, it's an annoying open door for non-moderated bad-mouthers and show-offs just wanting to use it as a way of saying anything they want.

It does not add anything new (or even worthwhile) to the site!

And it looks that almost all the comments by people that answer in the blog are negative.

it seems to me that the guys behind the GOTD concept have lost their steam in the past two months and the supposedly helpful things they offer cause problems.

They push something like this Stickr on us without prior consulting causing IE engines to fail (and even if it has been corrected since, consultation could have prevented it ever happening), the offers they have are at most very bland and seems like clones of each other (except for a few gems along the way even if they are mostly newer versions of already offered programs) and the forum (although having its inner workings renewed and overhauled) is not the place it used to be.

Aside from the games discussions, the word associations and the Italian threads which are very much alive, the rest of it is starting to look dormant and some look dead.

But the worst part of the forum is that it is beginning to look like the external world and that is not good.

There are some people that seem to gather here just to talk to a select few and ignore the rest of us, there are some that just respond negatively to some threads offering "free legal promotions" outside of GOTD by saying things like : "It has already been offered here in the past" OR " This site's WOT ratings is not 100%" instead of saying "Thanks" and then, there are some who don't even acknowledge your researched posted response to their problems when you offer to help.

I am not only speaking for myself here but I have observed this sad development in many threads where other respond to help.

I myself always thank the people that have helped me by showing me how to troubleshoot a problem or by telling me of programs that are worthwhile.

As Christmas approaches, I feel we should help each other by thanking the ones who help, by being open to others and by accepting that we each have something to contribute.

After all, this is what the definition of a "community" should be!

Happy Holidays to one and all !!!

@GMMan Yes this stickr is annoying and pointless. However, it's just a widget and all the messages are being stored on Stickr's website. So it's not really a waste of server space...but still a waste of time lol

Looking at the stickrs for the spelling program, one of them is plugging out on the program, a couple of yo momma jokes, a couple commenting on stickr, and the rest are spam/useless crap. I have to say stickr is quite useless the way it's being used right now, and if this continues, it'll just be a big waste of time and server space.

http://blog.giveawayoftheday.com/stickr-feature-at-gotd/

is that it, Firefox ABP Blocked 0, NoScript not block can not see it? Only Block Google.
is it the small box ?

Yes, it's working for me in IE now.

I have just tried to get onto the main giveaway page with IE7 and I did not encounter the problems that I had yesterday. I don't know if the stickr problem has been solved or if it is only my machine that has changed in some way, but it would appear that (for me) all is not lost. I won't say everything is ok yet, though. I will have to give it a few days of consistent access before I am confident that all is well.
I would encourage others who have had problems to keep on trying.

If you haven't already done so, check out GotD's blog about this new "feature." There are other helpful suggestions on it.

Perhaps you people should upgrade to IE8. The old IE7 is outdated and buggy. I have IE8 and the site, with the new stickr, never crashes for me.

The new feature is a bit intrusive i.e it blocks the view with multiple popups aka 'stickers' even if u accidentally bring the cursor on the stickr dock. And then we have to close each of these popups! To be frank its a bit annoying. One click on the dock and there! it redirects to their 'subscription page.

Update: I edited the C:\WINDOWS\I386\HOSTS file, added a separate line with my IP address followed by stickr.com, and tried again. Although I can get the general giveawayoftheday.com page, IE7 croaks right after I click on "Proceed to download page" . . .

This silly, good for nothing feature is blocked, as of now, by Adblock and No Script.

Yikes! I'm also having the problem of not being able to access GotD with IE7! Like others, I am able to get to the Forum, thank goodness! I hate the thought of never again being able to get my GotD daily fix every morning!

In reading some of your comments regarding editing the HOSTS file, I did a search and found two of them. Which file do I edit?

C:\WINDOWS\I386\HOSTS (capital letters) or
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\hosts (lower case)

Many thanks!!

Please, remove the rotten thing straight away. Like others, I can no longer view the site when using IE (It's OK in Chrome). I have tried to access the site on three different PC's and it crashes IE on all of them. You have a BUG guys, please fix it.

I am sure I am not the only one that find the "Stickr" tab sticking out from the side annoying.

Yes I agree with many of the comments here. This new feature posts a serious risk of increase in spam, advertising, etc. I think they should drop this feature right away before it gets out of hand. Also it still doesn't work for me and doesn't let me log in to it so it's always anonymous for me.

I am alongside with Bubby on this one; I don't particularly like this idea nor enjoy it.

However, GOTD is a commercial venture after all. Apparently they have decided to create a lasting relationship with Informer Technologies (more popularly known for their Software.Informer.com website). Now don't get me wrong - there is nothing wrong with being a commercial venture or creating relationships with other companies. My point is putting Stickr on GOTD is probably another cooperation/business deal struck between GOTD (or "GOTHD") and Informer Technologies so chances are it is here to stay.

You can always edit your 'hosts' file for the time being...if you don't plan to use Stickr or if this thing annoys you .Maybe it still needs some fine-tuning.
But this Stickr feature does have some potential maybe when the novelty has worn off a bit.

Emperor, you are correct, I CAN access the gamegiveaway part with no problems, I see no Stickr on those pages, so it is obviously a Stickr problem.

GAOTD Team, please get rid of it before you lose a lot of members and potential members.

I totally agree with most of the comments here, it's intrusive, open to abuse, distracting and it IS spam, a noctious variety, too.

I don't see the need for anything like this when you have these forums and the (mostly useful) moderated comments under the product download, anyway![b]

IMHO, just another pointless distracting device!

Another way for hateful, idiotic abusive comments to be seen.

Another doorway to SPAM as you register online to yet another site!

And truly, do we really need a plethora of big stickers with just the mention Hi! in it?

And "More Importantly", it disrupts navigation in browsers with the Trident Engine ( IE, Avant, Maxthon, TheWorld, Slimbrowser, ETC... )

Snoops, if I understand you correctly you could not even get to these forum pages with IE7. That seems to be a far worse situation than the one I face. I cannot open the Giveaway page with IE7, but I can get to this forum and to the Game Giveaway page.

If newcomers to the Giveaway project cannot get onto the main page, and don't know about these forums, then I think there could be a lot of adverse reaction; they will not try again, potential customers will be lost, and they may even give the site a bad reputation elsewhere on the internet.

I don't know how much testing the new site "improvement" got, but I don't think it got enough.

I could add it to my Host file too, I suppose, but the problem will remain for those who don't know how, especially since they won't be able to log into the site to look for an answer or contact the GAOTD team.[b]

You can block it by blocking the website stickr.com. I blocked it in Firefox with AdBlock Plus, but you can probably block it with your firewall or HOSTS file.

The new Stickr is totally preventing me from accessing the site with IE7.

I eventually got in with FireFox.

At first, I couldn't understand it until a friend mentioned one of this months Windows Updates might have something to do with it. I uninstalled KB976325, which was the one she mentioned had something to do with the way web pages are coded using ActiveX and CSS but it still didn't solve the IE7 problem.

Those who don't use or don't know that FireFox will make page the page usable and are having the same problem I am having, will not even be able to access the Contact Us page or these forums (which I tried to do with IE7 and failed).

So, GAOTD Team, you won't know how big the problem really is if they can't even let you know about it.

I'm pretty computer savvy but even I never thought to try another browser immediately, most less savvy people with the problem won't think of that either.

I managed to change my Stickr's language to English (go to stickr.com and click on the EN button at the bottom of the page). Unfortunately, I can't see the stickers from the original version. The GOTD team should set their Stickr widget to English by default. (And no, I will not create an account for some gimmick.)