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Advertisements on Wikipedia Likely Install Malware

Wikimedia, which runs the website Wikipedia, is cautioning visitors about ads appearing on the site that are actually malicious, capable of infecting computers because the website as such doesn't ever run advertisements. Thenextweb.com published this dated May 15, 2012.

Director and Community Advocacy Philippe Beaudette of Wikimedia Foundation said that his organization didn't ever post advertisements on Wikipedia. According to him, over 1m donors funded Wikipedia who donated on a mean of nearly $30. Normally, when a year closed the fundraising exercises were started. Specifically, if ads appeared, those pertained to profit-driven enterprises alternatively any other similar source rather than any fundraiser company for Wikipedia. In that case the visitor would likely find his Web-browser contaminated with malware, published wikimedia.org in its blog post on May 14, 2012.

Beaudette further said that when ads were posted for raising donations, they were made restrictive to a few websites, even only Wikipedia at times; else they might get displayed on any website visitors chose. However, although browsing one via protected HTTPs connections might take the ads offline, the inherent problems would continue to lurk without a solution.

Wikipedia indicated certain browser extensions, which possibly triggered the problem. One particular extension that automatically got placed within Google's Chrome was named "I want this." But that could be removed. Beaudette accordingly, advised a few ways such as going to options menu through a top right icon of the 'pipe-wrench' and then select 'Settings.' Thereafter, the Extensions' series would require getting extracted so each could be planted, followed with hitting on the Remove link when any of the extensions was desired to be removed.

In addition, Beaudette stated that there was possibly more similar malicious software, which inserted ads inside Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.

Also, another reason explaining the appearance of ads is ISPs, which might push them onto the web-pages mainly through non-chargeable Wi-Fi connections at cyber-cafes.

However, Beaudette advised end-users that they should turn off browser ad-ins for finding out the mentioned type of ads' origin albeit that needn't essentially help solve the problem since malware might already cause intense alterations to the computer's OS.

Related article: Advertising Toolbar Composes Kaspersky’s Top 20 malware Threat List

» SPAMfighter News - 5/23/2012

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