OK, looking into it further, it is the “ak.imgfarm.com” site that Umatrix has to allow for the web page to be reasonably useful. So I see the problem. What is interesting is that “NoScript” is blocking “imgfarm.com” but apparently must be allowing “ak.imgfarm.com” because all the necessary icons and images do display in FF using “NoScript” and we find that “NoScript” doesn’t even provide a way to block “ak.imgfarm.com” apparently as this is not listed.
What I also find very curious is that when checking Excite.com using ScamAdviser Excite.com comes up 100% SAFE yet when you check individual elements of Excite.com i.e. “ak.imgfarm.com” using ScamAdvisor it comes up the exact opposite 0% SAFE
So I have a question, what is the method that this “malware” infects ones computer?
Thanks to polonus providing valuable information we find out that “http://imgfarm.com/ex/excite.ico” is rated as “malware” on the Virus Total when checking this site.
So what would mean is that I’ve been using a startpage that is essentially a product of “malware” because these images have been a part of that webpage since it’s inception. So based on this every time I’ve been on the Internet I’ve at all times always had a “malware” site on my computer the entire time I’ve used the web (and on the web probably 8-10+ hours a day).
So then since I’ve never been infected, or at least I see no ill-effects and the “software Removal Tool” for Chrome found nothing, how is this possible?
Or are we talking about a “potential” risk via an attacker that can exploit this “malware” website so it’s just a matter of luck.
I ask because I’ve always thought in terms that a “malware” site is something designed to inherently attach the computer as this the the purpose of the “malware site”.
But if it’s instead a risk of a hacker exploiting the site because it is easily hacked then can’t security applications prevent this from occurring i.e. AV applications and/or Firewalls etc?
Bottom line, I’ve never considered myself very lucky in the least, and if I’ve been using a website that amounts to essentially “malware” for 20 years now it frankly seems odd that I’ve never had a problem all of this time.
