We are on the new server - glitches expected!

[SmokeyJoe]

Hello all - we are aware of the page not found error and doing our darndest to get it sorted. Really sorry about this, it's a total pain.....

SJ

[SmokeyJoe]

OK, We've now found what appears to be the root of the problem. Shouldn't be long now!

[Eric in AK]

Yay! Will this also fix the uploader for posting photos?
(Fingers crossed)

[Wlfwo]

Am I supposed to get a new page from a Canadian pharmacy selling e-cigs every time I click on a new page? Is this a pop-up from the new server?

[SmokeyJoe]

Am I supposed to get a new page from a Canadian pharmacy selling e-cigs every time I click on a new page? Is this a pop-up from the new server?

Um, no! That's nothing to do with ECF. What are you seeing?

SJ

[Wlfwo]

Um, no! That's nothing to do with ECF. What are you seeing?

SJ

This is what pops up every time I change pages, it only does this when I am on the ECF website or I'd think it was a problem with my computer. It's a totally new page and sometimes if I leave it down on the bar I don't get it again and sometimes I end up with 5-6 of them down there. LOL

http[COLON]//pharmacydrugmarketguide[DOT]com/products/general_health/ecig/order/?cid=7]My Canadian Pharmacy - Smoking Everywhere Electronic Cigarette - Order Now!

[rolygate]

Hi,

I'd like to clear this up if possible. There are 2 possibilities here:

1. It's spyware on your PC that redirects you to this other site.
2. It's a site problem here, we have got an issue.

If no one else reports it, it has to be a problem at your end. I would really appreciate it if you could help me ascertain this. With your permission I'd like to suggest a course of action, however I could be wasting my time as you have already covered this.

Briefly - it's possible for a PC to get spyware that causes things like this. The best way of cleaning a PC, and also preventing it happening again, varies over time - but basically the best method for most PC owners is a layered security approach plus cleanups. The alternative is virtualising / sandboxing but this is OTT for most.

So this is the cleanup stage:

Download this spyware remover, A-Squared:
A-squared Free

Update it. Scan the PC with a thorough scan (takes an hour or so). It is a big file but the tiny ones don't work as well. A-Squared is absolutely the best right now, it clearly outperforms SuperAntiSpyware and PrevX in my tests.

Let's see what the results are - please let us know. For infected files you do this:
Heal it
Quarantine it
Delete it

...in that order. Be VERY careful now because if you delete (or even quarantine) a system file, you'll crash your system and maybe can't boot up.

Best to report the scan results and I'll tell you how to proceed - don't action anything.

Prevention: after this is done you should try to stop stuff getting in again. This has two components, a security policy, and security software / hardware.

1. Policy
This is too long to get into here. Please research. Obvious components: don't download screensavers, so many have malware hidden in them. Don't use Internet Ex*l*r*r or Outlook Ex*r*ss, they are so easily exploited that they are a main pipeline for malware into your PC. Use Firefox, Thunderbird etc.

2. Hardware / software
- use a wifi router or LAN router that has a hardware firewall built in. This is the single most important security component. Never use an ISP's free router, get a proper one. The best are by Linksys, US Robotics etc.

- get a real firewall such as Online Armor (free). The Windows 'firewall' isn't one at all because it can only stop traffic in one direction, a real firewall stops it 2 ways. It's a pain to set up for a day or two until trained - but it's the only type that works. Uninstall any cr@pware like N*rt*n or Mc*fe* that came with your PC, they are useless.

- get the best antivirus, Avast (recommended) and AVG (both free) are good. Uninstall anything that came as a 'free trial' with your PC. Only run one A/V at a time.

- get the best spyware scanner / remover you can - A-Squared (free) is the top one at the moment. Run it as needed.

This is a start (only). For a full PC security guide see:
Computer Security Guide

PLEASE BACKUP ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE

PLEASE BACKUP ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE

PLEASE BACKUP ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE

Hope this has been of some help. Let us know how you get on, please.

chris

[rolygate]

I guess I need to expand on 'backup your files' as it is very important.

Some methods:

Get a USB external disk. Get the biggest you can find that has a cooling fan built in (without a fan isn't much use, the disk overheats and becomes unreliable or fails).

Just copy your stuff by drag 'n drop. Better than nothing I guess. Export your user data, emails etc from the programs they are in. Browser bookmarks, My Docs, work files, music, all that stuff.

Better: get a proper backup app like Titan Backup. Run a backup sked weekly.

Better still: get Acronis (paid, but free with a Seagate or Maxtor disk), or Macrium Reflect (free) and create a disk image. This is a total copy of your hard disk. You can just rebuild it, even onto a bare disk.

[Wlfwo]

I run AVG, Zonealarm as firewall, spywareguard, CCleaner on startup, just spent monday totally cleaning my computer (the read and run me first sticky at majorgeeks) since I do this bi monthly (in case something slips through because it is new) and other than a few tracking cookies nothing was found. I ran 4 separate malware scans, I will admit that Avast wasn't one of them, so maybe I will run that one and make sure nothing has hit me since I did the others on Monday.

[Ez Duzit]

It's a major spam site.

My Canadian Pharmacy - Spamwiki