Trains.com

Forced redirects on mobile News Wire?

1955 views
13 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2009
  • From: Orlando, Florida
  • 93 posts
Forced redirects on mobile News Wire?
Posted by The Railwolf on Wednesday, August 26, 2015 1:13 AM

(Not sure if this post is in the right place)

 

Lately while browsing articles on the Trains News Wire from my iPhone 4, I'm experiencing an odd and annoying issue. When I tap on article links in the News Wire section of my Trains Magazine email newsletters, shortly after I land on the article page in the Safari browser I am sometimes forcibly redirected to my App Store - specifically, to a download page for a random app or game. It doesn't always do this, but it seems to happen multiple times in a row when it does. Any idea why this could be happening? Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm using an iPhone 4 running iOS 7.1.2.

  • Member since
    September 2014
  • 8 posts
Posted by DARREN OTTE on Wednesday, August 26, 2015 6:51 AM

The Railwolf

(Not sure if this post is in the right place)

 

Lately while browsing articles on the Trains News Wire from my iPhone 4, I'm experiencing an odd and annoying issue. When I tap on article links in the News Wire section of my Trains Magazine email newsletters, shortly after I land on the article page in the Safari browser I am sometimes forcibly redirected to my App Store - specifically, to a download page for a random app or game. It doesn't always do this, but it seems to happen multiple times in a row when it does. Any idea why this could be happening? Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm using an iPhone 4 running iOS 7.1.2.

 

happening to me also

  • Member since
    February 2009
  • From: Orlando, Florida
  • 93 posts
Posted by The Railwolf on Monday, September 21, 2015 5:08 PM

No updates or actions taken to fix this?

The issue appears to be getting worse. I have read 15 or so News Wire articles this evening, and my browser was hijacked upon loading every single one of them. I consider this level of advertising unacceptable.

EDIT: The issue appears to be confined to article links within the TRAINS Email Newsletter. If I access a News Wire story elsewhere, such as through a forum post, I have less trouble.

  • Member since
    November 2013
  • 1,097 posts
Posted by Buslist on Monday, September 21, 2015 6:55 PM

Been happening to me as well.

  • Member since
    May 2007
  • 194 posts
Posted by nyc#25 on Monday, September 21, 2015 8:06 PM

It has happened to be, as well.  Very annoying

  • Member since
    May 2013
  • 3,231 posts
Posted by NorthWest on Monday, September 21, 2015 8:56 PM

I'm on a PC and was getting popups asking me to download what was clearly a virus. Please, Kalmbach, fix this!

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Monday, September 21, 2015 8:58 PM

I suspect that it might be a sort of hack job.  Although a forum is a good place to warn lots of others of the problem, it doesn't get the information to those that need to know so they can do something about it.  Is there a "contact us" button someplace on any of the pages you view that you could use to complain to the management?

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Northern New York
  • 25,022 posts
Posted by tree68 on Monday, September 21, 2015 9:21 PM

Trains folks keep track of things here - odds are they are aware of it by now, even if they haven't said so here.

I've managed to get malware on my computer from time to time - usually full of unwanted redirects.  A little research usually provides a fix.  Malware can show up on devices other than computers - so take a look at the apps you've downloaded.  I wouldn't be surprised to find that someone has "bundled" some malware with some other software.  

I don't know about the I-whatevers, but it's not as easy to find unwanted software on tablets and phones I've had as it is on a computer.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Monday, September 21, 2015 9:29 PM

I jist saw a news item that said that Apple has pulled several apps from their store because they were infected with malware.  I don't know the purpose of the malware, but browsing redirection is a common "feature".

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    September 2007
  • From: Charlotte, NC
  • 6,099 posts
Posted by Phoebe Vet on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 7:54 AM

I don't own anything "Apple" and I have never experienced anything like this problem.  I suspect the problem originated with Apple, not Kalmbach.

Dave

Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: San Francisco East Bay
  • 1,360 posts
Posted by MikeF90 on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 3:33 PM

Semper Vaporo

I suspect that it might be a sort of hack job.  Although a forum is a good place to warn lots of others of the problem, it doesn't get the information to those that need to know so they can do something about it.  Is there a "contact us" button someplace on any of the pages you view that you could use to complain to the management?

There always has been, you get to it through the 'Customer Service' link at the upper left of the page in purposely very small type.

 Kalmbach Customer Service form link

I don't hold out much hope of tracking down the source - malware links on third party ad servers are the result of a referral of a referral of a referral ... you get the picture. Bang Head

  • Member since
    February 2009
  • From: Orlando, Florida
  • 93 posts
Posted by The Railwolf on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 4:00 PM

Phoebe Vet

I don't own anything "Apple" and I have never experienced anything like this problem.  I suspect the problem originated with Apple, not Kalmbach.

I considered this, but I'm not so sure. I've been browsing with Safari for 4 years on two iPhone iterations and the News Wire is literally the only website where this happens.

As for a customer support link and why I didn't use one, most forums I post to have a board called 'Site Issues' or somesuch where users can post about technical problems to bring them to the moderators/administrator's attention. I didn't find such a board here, so I posted to the 'General Discussion' board and hoped for the best. At the very least, it has more than proven my suspicion that I'm not the only one experiencing this!

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 7:09 PM

I don't know if this is really associated with the problem reported here, but see:

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/22/apple-xcodeghost-faq-china/?utm_source=osx&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=front

 

 

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    May 2014
  • 2 posts
Posted by jakirk on Monday, September 28, 2015 4:45 PM
It happened to me as I clicked on this thread. I was told I won a prize from Fan Duel.

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy