Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

[Woodsman]

Is anyone else seeing a brief redirect to x.vindicosuite.com on selection of any internal links? Not to be alarmist, but it's alarming. Can FRED check it out for malware and other gremlins?

[Milton Kuo]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

Is anyone else seeing a brief redirect to x.vindicosuite.com on selection of any internal links? Not to be alarmist, but it's alarming. Can FRED check it out for malware and other gremlins?

I've seen this, too, when I use a computer that doesn't have an ad blocker. It appears an advertising company doing some sort of click tracking.

[don]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

ditto here as well. When I clicked through to Youtube I got the correct video.

[Woodsman]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

I've seen this, too, when I use a computer that doesn't have an ad blocker. It appears an advertising company doing some sort of click tracking.

Updating the blocking software.

[lektrode]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

Updating the blocking software.

try using https://noscript.net/

lets YOU decide whether to run java script or NOT = stops ALL of that BS
but can be a bit tricky on some sites that require JS, which then forces you to decide which ones to allow to run
taint a problem most of the time tho...

[Fiat Currency]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

Is anyone else seeing a brief redirect to x.vindicosuite.com on selection of any internal links? Not to be alarmist, but it's alarming. Can FRED check it out for malware and other gremlins?

I use adBlock etc.

I see the redirect - but it does not seem to effect me - as I end up at the right page.

However, FRED (or whomever) should check to see if iTulip is using Sitemeter software. Sitemeter has been cited as the one of the primary causes of this redirect by numerous web sources. It surely must be wasting iTulip system resources, and appears to still exist.

[jk]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

hasn't happened to me. i'm on a mac, using adguard adblocker.

[Fiat Currency]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

hasn't happened to me. i'm on a mac, using adguard adblocker.

jk - If you can spare 30 seconds to try this for me ...

Just click on the "New Posts" button and watch the URL of your browser. Mine shows a very brief x.vindicosuite.com redirect but it goes away immediately, and goes back to the correct iTulip link. I never see the redirect or an ad - but I see the URL redirect and return.

That behaviour is often indicative of a server S/W redirect. My comment was only to help the admins - assuming there is a server-side problem. If it is my Mac that is "dirty" - I'll track it down. However, I get no such redirects on any other site.

[jk]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

jk - If you can spare 30 seconds to try this for me ...

Just click on the "New Posts" button and watch the URL of your browser. Mine shows a very brief x.vindicosuite.com redirect but it goes away immediately, and goes back to the correct iTulip link. I never see the redirect or an ad - but I see the URL redirect and return.

That behaviour is often indicative of a server S/W redirect. My comment was only to help the admins - assuming there is a server-side problem. If it is my Mac that is "dirty" - I'll track it down. However, I get no such redirects on any other site.

nope. i don't see any redirect. i just see "itulip.com etc"

[Fiat Currency]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

nope. i don't see any redirect. i just see "itulip.com etc"

OK - thanks. It happens really quickly though - easy to miss - but I'm not saying you missed it.

I still don't think it's my machine ... tried 50 other sites and no URL redirects. Only on iTulip so far. I'd still make a small wager on Sitemeter being the culprit. Obviously others are seeing it - as I didn't start this thread.

No biggie - but I do appreciate you checking.

[lektrode]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

.... I'd still make a small wager on Sitemeter being the culprit......

BINGO!
we have a winner (maybe)
that is, IF its a sitemeter issue - because their j-script IS written into most/all the 'tulip pages
and one would know that IF one was using the https://noscript.net/ add-on (with firefox)

personally? (typing as one who remembers the daze when the WildWildWeb was white text on a black screen)
just like with email + anti-virus..

i wouldnt even THINK of running a web browser without noscript installed/enabled

[Milton Kuo]

Re: Strange Redirect to x.vindicosuite.com

Updating the blocking software.

I've done some additional analysis on the HTTP traffic generated from browsing this site and have found the following:

1. It doesn't matter if you are logged on as an iTulip Select member or not logged on at all: your browser will send data to vindicosuite.com regardless if you do not use any browser plug-ins.
2. Using just one of an ad blocking plug-in or the NoScript plug-in is all that is necessary to stop the vindicosuite.com stuff from doing its evil thing. If you use an ad blocking plug-in (I use AdBlock Plus), the browser will refuse to send HTTP traffic to advertising servers such as vindicosuite.com or doubleclick.net. Likewise, if you use a properly-configured NoScript plug-in, the scripts that result in the traffic to vindicosuite do not get executed.
3. Finally, sitemeter.com is indeed the culprit behind all of this as Fiat Currency suspects. It appears that a sitemeter.com script creates an iframe that opens to vindicosuite.com

For those who are curious about what kind of traffic is generated by visiting iTulip, try the Fiddler tool (it's an HTTP proxy). It used to be Windows-only but it seems they've got an alpha release for other platforms that use Mono, an open source implementation of Microsoft's .NET Framework.