What are they ? How to identify them?

We are all aware of viruses that come through Microsoft's Outlook e-mail, and the dcc's that you get when joining your favorite channels. But how many people are aware of what goes on behind the scenes? Did you know, that each time you visit a website you do not completely "trust", depending on your internet browser's settings, you may be exposed to code comparable to that of an e-mail virus. Our users, whom are under the category of those who don't quite understand this concept, are at a great risk. Our policy is to detect these harmful websites, have them removed from the net, and help the infected users undo the damage caused by these websites.

How do we detect infected websites?

We notice time after time, that many ads we receive from users are the same. We also notice the ads are of a sexual nature, or are so weird and luring that a user is almost sure to click on it. These re-occurring websites are the ones which are our prime targets.

How do we check the websites for infections?

Visiting these websites, can mean infection. You should never click a url advertised to you. There are special programs available that will retrieve a webpage's source code, without ever executing any of the code. If you do visit a website, having your browser's security settings set to "high" helps protect against infection.

How do we have the websites removed?

Normally, these websites are hosted by geocities.com or some other free host, or even pay hosts. These hosts, as a standard, do not support these websites, and have a contact page or e-mail address for contacting them regarding such abuse. Websites are almost always removed immediately, if not, within 48 hours.

How do we help the users?

Generally, when an infected website is discovered, the Security Team goes to work creating a program, script, or manual instructions on how to undo what the website has done to the user. We then use this as we find users around the network whom are seemingly infected, or come to #admin.security for help.
If you believe you have found an infected website, please inform us at #admin.security or via nohack@webchat.org so we can work on creating a fix. This is a continuous process, since people are always up to no good, and users always click on the links spammed to them. We hope to make you familiar with our procedures, so that you may become involved in cracking down on such malicious websites.

Here is a way you can help! Submit information on a suspicious link:

Suspicious Websites

If you would like to report a suspicious website, please fill in the form below. Remember, that visiting a website that you are are not familiar with can have risks. We will contact you with the results and the fix in case your PC has been infected.