Tech question for the group....

awtoeman · Post by **awtoeman** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:56 pm

Gentlemen,

For the last 4 months or so, links to xtube posted on this site no longer work for me. When I click on the links, it takes me to a lame site called XXXtube. Then, I will retry and it will take me to spam sites, then shut down my browser. So I am seriously missing out on all the SS action of late. I have not made any changes to my computer whats so ever.

I have also tried manually typing in the Xtube address's in the web bar, and it still wont take me to xtube. I have tried the xtube links posted here from all 3 of my different browsers, but still with no success.

I have a Mac G4, with the latest OS, and highspeed cable internet. I use Firefox, Opera, and Safari for my browsers.

anyone out there have any ideas? Thanks

seahorses · Post by **seahorses** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:49 pm

Although Iâ€™m very familiar with Macs, I donâ€™t know of this particular problem. However, I do know there are several Mac help websites, usergroups etc, from where you will very likely get a solution. Try google

Ziggurat · Post by **Ziggurat** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:29 pm

Sounds to me like some serious spyware is overriding your net browsing. Spybot for the win!

awtoeman · Post by **awtoeman** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:14 pm

Ziggurat wrote:Sounds to me like some serious spyware is overriding your net browsing. Spybot for the win!

I usually goto the Mac forums online for my tech questions. However, in this particular case, it's different. I cant go on these forums and say "hey on Solosuck.com, the xtube links dont work" And also, I cant say this to my Mac guy.

Ziggurat, spyware huh? I thought only Windows uses spyware. There arent any virus's written for Mac. Tell me more
Thanks

Lukasha · Post by **Lukasha** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:22 pm

Ziggurat is under the mistaken idea that you are on Windows, hence the mention of Spybot. Although just recently some potential viruses have emerged for the Mac, they don't do what you're describing, and they're not really any kind of threat at the moment.

It sounds to me like your DNS is messed up. It's possible that whatever DNS server your ISP uses has been hacked and is pointing xtube to somewhere else. For privacy issues I normally don't recommend using OpenDNS, but it would be worth trying it to see if the links work. Just go to OpenDNS and follow the instructions to change your DNS settings. Once you've done that, try clicking the xtube links to see if they work. If they do, then your current DNS server has been hacked. If it's still not working, the only other thing I can think of is your hosts file. Look at /etc/hosts in a text editor and see if there are a bunch of entries, including one for xtube. If you see that, then somehow your hosts file got hacked, which could mean that someone gained entry to your system through SSH or something.

Good luck and let us know what you found.

awtoeman · Post by **awtoeman** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:58 pm

Lukasha wrote:Ziggurat is under the mistaken idea that you are on Windows, hence the mention of Spybot. Although just recently some potential viruses have emerged for the Mac, they don't do what you're describing, and they're not really any kind of threat at the moment.

It sounds to me like your DNS is messed up. It's possible that whatever DNS server your ISP uses has been hacked and is pointing xtube to somewhere else. For privacy issues I normally don't recommend using OpenDNS, but it would be worth trying it to see if the links work. Just go to OpenDNS and follow the instructions to change your DNS settings. Once you've done that, try clicking the xtube links to see if they work. If they do, then your current DNS server has been hacked. If it's still not working, the only other thing I can think of is your hosts file. Look at /etc/hosts in a text editor and see if there are a bunch of entries, including one for xtube. If you see that, then somehow your hosts file got hacked, which could mean that someone gained entry to your system through SSH or something.

Good luck and let us know what you found.

Lukasha,

THAT WAS IT!!! IM BACK!!! THANK YOU!!
I went to the DNS website, followed the instructions like you said. Came back to Solosuck and clicked the xtube sites WITH SUCKSESS!!!

So what does this mean exactly? My DNS server was hacked? What is my DNS server anyway?

Lukasha · Post by **Lukasha** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:01 pm

awtoeman wrote:Lukasha,

THAT WAS IT!!! IM BACK!!! THANK YOU!!
I went to the DNS website, followed the instructions like you said. Came back to Solosuck and clicked the xtube sites WITH SUCKSESS!!!

So what does this mean exactly? My DNS server was hacked? What is my DNS server anyway?

Glad it was that simple.

Domain Name Server, ie., DNS is a server that translates your request for "www.yahoo.com" to "69.147.76.15". But if I have control of your DNS server then when you type in "www.yahoo.com" I can have it tell your computer to go to "68.143.85.2" instead which could be my website "www.yoohoo.com" and then you generate banner ad hits and make me money. DNS servers propagate their information to other DNS servers in kind of a pyramid fashion, so if I control a DNS server higher up the pyramid, every DNS server below me would also have the bogus information. Since your DNS server settings were most likely from your ISP (ie., AT&T, Cox, Comcast, whoever), at a minimum their server has bad information. Whether someone hacked it or another server up the pyramid is unknown, but you should probably tell their tech support that their DNS servers are kicking up bogus info and they may be hacked. Then they can investigate whether it's their information or someone else's that's bad.

Post by **aleingang69** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:50 am

Thanks for the great info Lukasha! Can't get much lower than depriving a man of his SS vids - the evil bastards!
Al