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Ratebeer unsafe?

Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:31 pm
by Jon Walker
I just went to RateBeer and got the following warning via Google;

What is the current listing status for www.ratebeer.com/beer/?

Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer.

What happened when Google visited this site?

Of the 17 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 1 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 09/07/2008, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 09/07/2008.

Malicious software is hosted on 1 domain(s), including armsart.com.

What gives? Anyone else experiencing this?

Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 3:28 pm
by Derek
Another reason why BeerAdvocate is better! :D

Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:30 pm
by tupalev
I'm getting the same thing Jon and have thus stayed away from it today...

Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:22 pm
by sphilp
well that sucks :( gonna have to rewrite all my reviews on BA now.

Ratebeer- Firefox issue....

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:44 pm
by Lubiere
I note that this only happens when I'm usign Firefox. Access via Explorer was not affected.

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:47 pm
by tupalev
I too can confirm IE is ok.

Since the folks who run ratebeer do not like to actually explain things themselves, this thread from firefox support will help (at least this was posted on ratebeer):

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic ... &p=4412095

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:46 am
by shintriad
Incredibly enough, they still seem to have problems. You can actually see that they're trying to run strange scripts from the page titles. It's gotten to the point where it crashes Firefox every time I try to view a freaking beer.

If you use FF and you browse Ratebeer, I strongly recommend installing the NoScript add-on.

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 3:36 pm
by JerCraigs
It was previously fixed, its a new problem.

Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:10 pm
by matt7215
if any of you have been to ratebeer recently it does not look good. does anyone have any thoughts?

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:25 am
by GregClow
matt7215 wrote:if any of you have been to ratebeer recently it does not look good.
That's an understatement. The following email was sent out to members tonight:
Dear Fellow RateBeerian

I'm sorry to say that despite our best efforts and an outstanding group of worldwide volunteers and active raters in countries around the the globe, we've come to a point where it's difficult to resume our service to craft beer community.

Recently we've come under a steady attack by hackers to shut us down. I'm very sorry to say that for now that they've been successful. And I realize that correcting the issue is beyond my abilities and means.

I'm asking you tonight for help.

If you can recommend a top tier Windows IIS/SQL Server security expert or can donate money to RateBeer for the cause please do. Please send help to joet@ratebeer.com either via PayPal or via mail. I'm trying very hard to bring back our service to the community. Please help.

Sincerely

Joe Tucker

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:12 am
by northyorksammy
on saturday and sunday, some malcious software "hahaha" tried o load onto my computer but was picked up by professional version of avast and blocked

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:36 am
by matt7215
GregClow wrote:
Dear Fellow RateBeerian

I'm sorry to say that despite our best efforts and an outstanding group of worldwide volunteers and active raters in countries around the the globe, we've come to a point where it's difficult to resume our service to craft beer community.

Recently we've come under a steady attack by hackers to shut us down. I'm very sorry to say that for now that they've been successful. And I realize that correcting the issue is beyond my abilities and means.

I'm asking you tonight for help.

If you can recommend a top tier Windows IIS/SQL Server security expert or can donate money to RateBeer for the cause please do. Please send help to joet@ratebeer.com either via PayPal or via mail. I'm trying very hard to bring back our service to the community. Please help.

Sincerely

Joe Tucker
could this really be the end of ratebeer?? the community is quite large and dedicated so im sure someone will end up helping. i dont know anything about running a website but im sure it is quite an undertaking. this is just another opportunity to thank greg and cass for all the great work done with bar towel!! this site has been an awesome resource for me and id like to thank jessem for introducing it to me. that being said i truely hope this is not the end of ratebeer. ratebeer was almost entirely responsible for my craft beer education and it would be a blow to the craft beer community to see it go.

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:05 am
by Bobsy
That's not good at all. Although I have now used Beer Advocate for almost a year, Ratebeer was the site that helped me get into the craft scene and informed me of the better options available. Even now I still find it a great resource, which I can consult when I need further information. I hope this issue is resolved, and that a good community isn't shut down because of the actions of some a**hole.

If the problem isn't resolved would all reviews be lost, or has there been an option to back things up and download data in the past?

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:11 am
by Bobsy
I'm not sure if this is of any help, but the site owners at BA have set up a thread for users of ratebeer so they can discuss the situation, contact each other, etc. Its probably especially handy for anyone who is in the middle of a trade. I thought it was a nice gesture.

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/1609841

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 10:26 am
by Radek
Attackers are pros, and their attack are no random thing, we used many updates and upgrades to our security and they modify and upgraded their attacks in order to get in. It seems some entity want to see us down. If you interested in collective Team Toronto financial help please message me.

Radek Kliber