[WEB4LIB] Re: "Hijacking" Websites

[Nettie Lagace]

Actually, I was one of the "victims" of the scam last week and didn't think
much of it until I saw the article in the NYTimes this morning.  I wish I'd
had more time at the time to look into how it was done, because I *was*
intrigued that I'd typed a really boring business phrase and gotten such
results.  (I started testing different words, used "dachshunds" and the
porn server was right at the top!!!) They had good meta content words but
the fake server name was evident in the AltaVista return list ... then I
was redirected to the porn site.  I was most impressed that they'd taken
such pains to repoint just about every search you could do on AltaVista ...
I mean, dachshunds, really. :-)

However, my browser worked just fine, no close or back disabled (though the
redirect may have made the back button not work as it ought --can't
remember-- I just use the "go" menu in those cases).

Nettie

Nettie Lagace
Business Information Librarian
Baker Library, Harvard Business School
http://www.library.hbs.edu/
--------------------------------------
alagace at hbs.edu * 617-495-5917

At 12:47 PM 9/23/99 -0700, Andrew Mutch wrote:
>According to the FTC:
>
>"The defendants "mouse trapped" consumers by incapacitating their Internet
>browser's "back" and "close" buttons"
>
>How is it possible to do that anyways - isn't the browsers security
supposed to
>prevent that?
>
>Andrew Mutch
>Library Systems Technician
>Waterford Township Public Library
>Waterford, MI
>
>Brian Smith wrote:
>
>> At 11:57 AM 9/23/99 -0700, Linda Absher wrote:
>> >
>> >Interesting article in today's San Francisco Chronicle about hijacking web
>> >surfers looking for legit sites being "hijacked" (rerouted) to porn sites.
>>
>> The FTC's documents in the website hijacking (webjacking?) case may be
>> found at:
>> http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9909/index.htm#22
>>
>> Brian Smith
>> Assistant Head of Adult Services
>> Villa Park (IL) Public Library
>> http://www.villapark.lib.il.us/
>> bsmith at linc.lib.il.us
>> .. But writing only on my own behalf
>> ===========
>> Our books are Y2K compliant.