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Can you get infected by a virus/malware just by "accidentally" visiting a website?

B

Battousai001

Senior member
Hi, I would like to ask, is it possible to be infected by a virus just by visiting a website?

I am kind of worried because I accidentally clicked on a link on a forum, some "sick" guy posted a link (he masked the link with a different name) so I did not know if the link was real (i should have looked first on the real link before clicking) after clicking on the link, new browser opened and a very disgusting "porn" site with very disturbing/disgusting image, I immediately closed the browser without even looking at the site (Im using firefox 1.5.3).

The bad thing is my antivirus was not running!

Well the very first thing I thought was is it possible that there could be a virus or malware that can cause very serious damage on a workstation just by accidentally visiting a website?

I dont mind if it would just be a spyware. Right now I just updated my antivirus and is currently scanning.
 
It's unlikely ... but possible. The website would have to exploit a known browser security hole in order to do so. If you keep your browser and OS up-to-date, keep your anti-virus running and run as a limited user account, you can eliminate most risk of being infected.
 
Originally posted by: Battousai001
Hi, I would like to ask, is it possible to be infected by a virus just by visiting a website?

I am kind of worried because I accidentally clicked on a link on a forum, some "sick" guy posted a link (he masked the link with a different name) so I did not know if the link was real (i should have looked first on the real link before clicking) after clicking on the link, new browser opened and a very disgusting "porn" site with very disturbing/disgusting image, I immediately closed the browser without even looking at the site (Im using firefox 1.5.3).

The bad thing is my antivirus was not running!

Well the very first thing I thought was is it possible that there could be a virus or malware that can cause very serious damage on a workstation just by accidentally visiting a website?

I dont mind if it would just be a spyware. Right now I just updated my antivirus and is currently scanning.
Click to expand...

Whether or not your AV was running or not was irrelevant, if it's not detecting it now, then it wouldn't have from the beginning.
 
Originally posted by: LoKe
Originally posted by: Battousai001
Hi, I would like to ask, is it possible to be infected by a virus just by visiting a website?

I am kind of worried because I accidentally clicked on a link on a forum, some "sick" guy posted a link (he masked the link with a different name) so I did not know if the link was real (i should have looked first on the real link before clicking) after clicking on the link, new browser opened and a very disgusting "porn" site with very disturbing/disgusting image, I immediately closed the browser without even looking at the site (Im using firefox 1.5.3).

The bad thing is my antivirus was not running!

Well the very first thing I thought was is it possible that there could be a virus or malware that can cause very serious damage on a workstation just by accidentally visiting a website?

I dont mind if it would just be a spyware. Right now I just updated my antivirus and is currently scanning.
Click to expand...

Whether or not your AV was running or not was irrelevant, if it's not detecting it now, then it wouldn't have from the beginning.
Click to expand...
As a technical point, you're forgetting the rootkit possibility. If the exploit installs a rootkit, then it would come down to whether the antivirus software can see the rootkit after it gets into place.

+1 to MrChad's prescription. Also, patch your other software such as Macromedia Flash, QuickTime, WinAmp, IM clients, and other stuff that falls into the browser/media/IM bracket.
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Originally posted by: LoKe
Originally posted by: Battousai001
Hi, I would like to ask, is it possible to be infected by a virus just by visiting a website?

I am kind of worried because I accidentally clicked on a link on a forum, some "sick" guy posted a link (he masked the link with a different name) so I did not know if the link was real (i should have looked first on the real link before clicking) after clicking on the link, new browser opened and a very disgusting "porn" site with very disturbing/disgusting image, I immediately closed the browser without even looking at the site (Im using firefox 1.5.3).

The bad thing is my antivirus was not running!

Well the very first thing I thought was is it possible that there could be a virus or malware that can cause very serious damage on a workstation just by accidentally visiting a website?

I dont mind if it would just be a spyware. Right now I just updated my antivirus and is currently scanning.
Click to expand...

Whether or not your AV was running or not was irrelevant, if it's not detecting it now, then it wouldn't have from the beginning.
Click to expand...
As a technical point, you're forgetting the rootkit possibility. If the exploit installs a rootkit, then it would come down to whether the antivirus software can see the rootkit after it gets into place.

+1 to MrChad's prescription. Also, patch your other software such as Macromedia Flash, QuickTime, WinAmp, IM clients, and other stuff that falls into the browser/media/IM bracket.
Click to expand...

You're quite right on that, though I came to the assumption that if someone did have the knowledge required to drop a rootkit, I'd like to think they've got some protection against detection. 😉
 
Hi, just an update, I made a thorough scan and seems I am not infected at all. I know that gettin infected is possible before but I am not 100% sure, I was just kind of worried thats why I asked again.

I have learned this the hardway, before years ago I dont rely on antivirus (spyware was not a trend before and it doesnt even exist!) I was on the dial-up and I believe that my pc was not infected then becasue I was thinking that viruses cant get into your compuer just by surfing the web. But when I tried installing an antivirus I was surprised there are so many type of virus present already on my pc and me not even knowing it! I was thinking it was because of downloading stuffs and not surfing.

When I switched to WinXP a couple of years ago I had the OS installed on the campus with the networked attached (I think they installed it while connected on the campus network), when I brought the PC home I was surprised that even though there is an antivirus installed there are still virus and spyware present on a newly formatted/installed pc. I was thinking it was due to the campus' network!
 
Originally posted by: Battousai001
Hi, just an update, I made a thorough scan and seems I am not infected at all. I know that gettin infected is possible before but I am not 100% sure, I was just kind of worried thats why I asked again.

I have learned this the hardway, before years ago I dont rely on antivirus (spyware was not a trend before and it doesnt even exist!) I was on the dial-up and I believe that my pc was not infected then becasue I was thinking that viruses cant get into your compuer just by surfing the web. But when I tried installing an antivirus I was surprised there are so many type of virus present already on my pc and me not even knowing it! I was thinking it was because of downloading stuffs and not surfing.

When I switched to WinXP a couple of years ago I had the OS installed on the campus with the networked attached (I think they installed it while connected on the campus network), when I brought the PC home I was surprised that even though there is an antivirus installed there are still virus and spyware present on a newly formatted/installed pc. I was thinking it was due to the campus' network!
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need your personal-computer license revoked, guy 😉😉😉

1) don't download & install junk that might not be just what it seems on the surface. All that glitters __ ___ ____, can you fill the rest in? 😉 I knew you could...

2) keep your system protected by a firewall such as the Windows Firewall. Don't let it onto a network without a firewall running. A software firewall plus a router is my preference. The firewalls keep the worms from molesting your computer like the time you described on the campus network.

3) antivirus software needs to be correctly configured. It also needs to not be antique versions, get a current-generation one. If you cannot afford a top-notch one, then at least get the best of the freebies, which is probably AntiVir. Remove your old antivirus software so you don't have two at once, you don't want them clashing.

4) don't go around as a Computer Administrator just because you don't know any better. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts and make a new account named Admin and leave it as a Computer Administrator account, then switch your regular account to a Limited-class account. This is far safer for daily-driver stuff like web browsing, email, IM, etc. Bust out the Computer Administrator account when you actually need that level of power, and see #1 above about not being suckered into misusing it.

5) and naturally, keep the computer updated at Windows Update and also hit Office Update if you have any Office products (Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, PowerPoint, Access, Visio, etc).
 
It's entirely possible, but also not very likely that this one site found the one hole that your updates didn't seal.
 
Originally posted by: xit2nowhere
Guys, are the majority of viruses java dependent?
Click to expand...
If you mean ones you can catch from browsing the internet then yes.

And I'm not sure they are true viruses either but rather java exploits.. some which don't allow anti-virus programs to remove them. They can be deleted using Windows Explorer however. All the java-based ones I have seen are mostly just annoying and not destructive as far as I could tell.

I have never understood why the owner of any website would knowingly infect peoples systems. There oughta be a law or something.
 
Originally posted by: Battousai001
When I switched to WinXP a couple of years ago I had the OS installed on the campus with the networked attached (I think they installed it while connected on the campus network), when I brought the PC home I was surprised that even though there is an antivirus installed there are still virus and spyware present on a newly formatted/installed pc. I was thinking it was due to the campus' network!
Click to expand...
A college campus is roughly the network equivalent of the dirtiest whorehouse in the nastiest parts of the world's biggest cities. You've got potentially a few thousand computers constantly connected, owned by mostly non-computer savvy kids, all with direct access to eachother, plenty of guys willing to take just about any risk to grab obscene amounts of porn and a very active copyright infringement scene. Probably very few people come out of there clean. (I remember dumbasses who had their entire c: drives world writeable over smb :laugh: ).
 
Originally posted by: xit2nowhere
Guys, are the majority of viruses java dependent?
Click to expand...
The more successful ones are not java dependent, but exploit dependent. Lately, the browser has just been the method of getting to the exploit. The exploit took advantage of a vulnerability in one of the sub-components that was in the OS. Examples are the JPEG and BMP exploits, which are not dependent on Java.

For the original post, yes, you could be infected visiting a site accidentally. BUT, a well patched machine with good security settings is not likely to be infected. Remember, security is like an ogre, err.. I mean an onion, and it has layers. Use AV, use a firewall, use other tools.

 
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