WARNING for Moody Owners

[AntarcticPilot]

The Moody's Owners Association web-site seems to have been hijacked, and replaced by a site that purports to warn you of viruses on your computer. If you visit this site and get a dialogue box asking if you want your computer checking DO NOT CLICK OK! You will get all sorts of nasties installed on your computer if you do. Close your browser; if it will not close, restart your computer. If anyone knows who maintains the web-site, perhaps they can inform them of the hi-jacking?

 

[MoodySabre]

It works OK for me using Firefox. I have sent a message to Neil Eccles the webmaster.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I suspect that if you have it bookmarked it is OK, as it will point to www.moa.myzen.co.uk. but this: <font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> http://www.moodyowners.org.uk/ </pre><hr /> (which I have deliberately NOT made a live link), and which is the top result on a Google search and appears OK in Google, links to dodgy software sites.

I too use Firefox; heaven help anyone visiting it with Internet Explorer!

 

[Liz_I]

Used the site a couple of times today and no problems with either Firefox or IE.

 

[MoodySabre]

I have referred Neil to this thread so he will see your comments.

I do have it bookmarked.

 

[NeilE]

Dear Antarctic Pilot

To set your mind at rest the MOA site is not infected and you are using the wrong address

The MOA site is at www.moodyowners.net and has been for at least 2 years.

All the other URLs you quote are wrong.

Please do not spread false information about the site, it is meticulously monitored and maintained 3 or 4 times a day

Kind regards

Neil Eccles (Webmaster)

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The URL I gave is the one which Google puts as the first result, and which appears in the Google results to be correct - the associated text looks sensible. As I am not a regular user of the site, of course I used Google to find it, and this is what came up.

So, although the URL is not the one that the Moody Owners Association actually uses, it is the one that any casual web user will find. Clearly, you are the victim of cyber-squatting.

I would never have looked for a site with a .net address; that suffix is supposed to be reserved for net infrastructure.

 

[jordanbasset]

Hi, little bit harsh I feel, as the o.p. was identifying a possible problem if you googled for moody owners association. Have not looked at the site he mentioned as do not want to get infected - but better forewarned surely

 

[andymcp]

[ QUOTE ]
The Moody's Owners Association web-site seems to have been hijacked, and replaced by a site that purports to warn you of viruses on your computer.

[/ QUOTE ]
Might sound like a daft question, but is this the only site that this happens on when googling? I only ask because the symptoms described actually sound a lot like a virus on your machine, not a problem with google. There is a virus around just now that presents false google results pages where ALL links returned point to malicious sites that further infect your machine. The virus also prevents your anti-virus updates from happening and will prevent connections to Windows Update. Firefow et al will continue to work fine.

Just a thought, and hopefully not the correct one as it's a bitch to remove and I've just had to completely flatten and rebuild 3 machines that were infected.

Edit: I did go to the .org.uk address and it worked fine for me.....

 

[Skyva_2]

Interesting that Google gives me 4 correct MOA addresses at the top of page 1 , and the .org address is on page 2.

 

[jordanbasset]

Just used yahoo and this comes up first


1 - 10 of 2,290,000 for moody owners association - 0.37 sec. |SafeSearch is OFF SearchScanBETA On

WEB RESULTSMoody Owners Association
Provides social, sailing, and other activities. Also promotes the exchange of ideas between the owners and suppliers of Moody yachts.www.moodyowners.org.uk - Cached

On google this comes up first

Results 1 - 10 of about 65,700 for moody owners association. (0.11 seconds)

Search ResultsMoody Owners Association
18 Mar 2009 ... UK-based official association site. Incorporates member news, branch and national UK events, forum, technical library, Compass magazine, ...
www.moody owners.org.uk/ - 15k - Cached - Similar pages

Reluctant to click on to it is that the bogus site or the correct one?

 

[andymcp]

Edited on the basis of Moodysabre's post - no point in reassuring people falsely.

Does appear to be intermittent though as I never have the .org (as opposed to .org.uk) address returned in any results.

 

[MoodySabre]

No - the .org comes out on top of my googles and I just clicked and got a dodgy software site. I had to Alt=Ctrl, Del to get away from it and reload my browser.

Looks like someone has nobbled the .org version of the name.

 

[BrendanS]

The org.uk is the one that comes up first in a google search. However when you click on it, it transfers you to the http://www.moodyowners.net/ site.

 

[MoodySabre]

[ QUOTE ]
Reluctant to click on to it is that the bogus site or the correct one?

[/ QUOTE ]

.org is unsafe - .net is the real one

 

[Skyva_2]

.org is the obsolete site, don't click on it.

.net is OK

 

[andymcp]

Moodysabre, can I just be clear - the problem for you is with .org, not ,org.uk?

 

[MoodySabre]

.org.uk is nobbled

 

[andymcp]

Must be very, very recent then - my results still click through to the proper site exactly as I would expect. Presumably the DNS settings for the new redirect (to the dodgy malware site) haven't made it across to Virgin Media's servers (my internet provider). But on the basis of what you say, I would agree there is a squatter on the .org.uk domain who is riding the window of opportunity before search engines and blacklists catch up with them.

Although the domain wasn't up for renewal until Dec 09, so not sure why it would have been released to a new owner.....

 

[Twister_Ken]

Plenty of choice!

Google number one is moodyowners.org.uk

Number two is moodyboats.com

Number three is moodyowners.net