We occasionally get reports of ads that trigger antivirus warnings or infect computers that are browsing the wiki. This FAQ is an attempt to consolidate all the information about such things into one thread. Please read the below before reporting any incidents.
This thread may also be used to report ads that violate our policies in other ways, such as being too "adult" or NSFW, automatically playing audio/video, etc.
REPORTING: try to get a screenshot of the console as well as this will help identify where it's coming from.
REDIRECTS: Its very tricky to get the first URL of a redirect trigger because they are designed to hide where it came from. So you need a redirect plug-in
active while the redirect happens so you can find the first URL, not the last. Where you were directed to doesn't help track down the source.
- TV Tropes, as a site, does not contain malware. We are a text-and-image wiki; viruses and malware cannot be uploaded to or embedded in the articles. As always, however, beware of any external link that you don't recognize, since we cannot automatically screen edits or posts for malicious links.
- 99.99% of the time, any suspected malware will be related to the wiki advertising.
- TV Tropes does not directly control the ads that are displayed. We use third-party ad providers and we determine things like the size and placement.
- We instruct our providers not to serve ads that redirect your browser, take control of the screen from you, forcibly scroll your screen, play audio without being clicked on, install malware, "pop up" or "pop over" your screen, or in any other way interfere with your browsing experience.
- We have custom software designed to detect ads that do these things and automatically block them.
- Malicious entities are constantly trying to sneak ads through the providers' networks in violation of these instructions. As providers have little incentive to proactively detect and block them, it's up to websites to report these sorts of problems.
- We rely on our users to report ads that get through these measures.
- Just because you see a particular ad doesn't mean everyone else sees it. Ads are customized by the ad providers to your location (by IP address), the content of the page you're viewing, and your browsing profile, which is tracking data accumulated by third parties over the course of all your internet browsing.
- Just because you get a malware warning or infection that seems related to an ad on TV Tropes does not necessarily mean that it is caused by one of our ads. Pre-existing malware on your computer can intercept ads and replace them with malicious ones.
- Ads containing malware, obviously.
- Misbehaving ads, such as ones that load a pop-up or pop-under, redirect your browser to another page, hijack your screen or automatically scroll it.
- "Adult" or NSFW ads. Scantily clad women alone may or may not qualify, depending on context, but we want this site to be work-safe.
- Ads that automatically play audio — that is, the audio starts without you clicking on the ad first. Video ads are acceptable.
- Note: Political content is not grounds for rejecting an ad. However, an ad that contains or implies hate speech, disinformation, or outright falsehoods may be objectionable enough to be blocked.
- First and foremost, maintain current, updated antivirus software, and keep your operating system and browser up to date with all patches offered by the software vendors. This includes Adobe Flash, Java, and other rich media plug-ins. Turn on your software's automatic updates if they are not already on and act immediately when prompted to install them.
- Never click on pop-ups purporting to have detected a virus, offering to "tune up" your PC, or otherwise inducing you to click on a link that you were not expecting. Any genuine message of this nature would come from your antivirus software and not from a web page.
- Be careful clicking on external links. These are identified with a small icon next to them. Example: Google. TV Tropes does not endorse or control the content of external links and you open them at your own risk.
- Never respond to any email or web page that asks for personal or financial information, including passwords, unless you have verified its identity. No reputable company will ever ask you for your password(s), other than to log in.
- You may choose to opt out of having tracking information collected by ad providers. This does not stop malware but helps you maintain your online privacy. See here for additional information.
- TV Tropes requests that you do not use ad blocking software while visiting us, as this site depends on advertising revenue to operate. If you do run an ad blocker, please add tvtropes.org to its exception list, or consider donating to the site to have certain ads removed.
- We (or the ad provider) place a "Report advertisement" link next to most advertising frames. Clicking on this will generate an automatic report and is the best way to do so. If you cannot click on this link or do not see it, continue for more advice.
- Try to identify the source URL of the suspect ad (see below). You can also use the target URL (if you are redirected), but note that this may be intentionally obfuscated by the ad provider to hide the source.
- Identify the ad provider. Some ads have a small area that links to the ad provider's page (like Google or AOL). In other cases, you can tell from the referral URL or you can look it up in a search.
- Go to the ad provider's contact/abuse page and fill out their form. Below are some links to common providers' abuse pages:
- Scan your computer for viruses. If your antivirus software will not operate (many malicious programs attempt to disable your antivirus software), you can download a scanning tool on a known clean system and run it on your infected machine from a read-only CD-R or flash drive.
- If you suspect that you've been tricked into divulging personal information to a phishing attempt or other fraud, change your passwords to affected sites immediately and contact your bank, credit card companies, and the credit bureaus to request a fraud alert.
- Please note that TV Tropes cannot assist you with the specifics of maintaining your computer. That's your responsibility. You may request general help in the appropriate forums, but please don't post new threads in the forums dedicated to wiki operation (Wiki Talk, Frequently Asked Questions, etc.).
- Sometimes, the wiki administration can get better results from the ad providers in dealing with malicious ads. If you can identify a malicious ad by referral URL, you can post the link in this thread, but please omit the "http" component so it doesn't create a hyperlink that someone might click on inadvertently.
- For image ads, right-clicking (or a long tap on mobile devices) should give you the option to view and copy the URL that clicking on it will send you to.
- For Flash, Java, or HTML 5.0 ads, it may be difficult to identify the source or the URL by right-clicking. In these cases, you need to view the page source to identify the ad so we can report it.
- In Internet Explorer, you can right-click in a blank or text area of any web page, and choose View Source from the context menu. Firefox also has this option. In Chrome, you can use the Inspect Element menu option, which interactively highlights the portion of the page whose code you are hovering over. You can use this to identify the ad frame and its source URL.
- For embedded ads, there will be a "frame" element with a "src" parameter. Drill down until you get to the lowest level. All we need to identify the ad is the "src" URL from that frame.
for more information or to discuss the service.
Edited by kory on Nov 15th 2023 at 10:36:27 AM
Yep, this again. Full-screen Vibe ad on https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=DethroningMoment.VideoGames. Can't report it because it's in one of those boxes that creeps in from the bottom of the screen. Same as it ever was.
So trying to use the site on mobile has become impossible for me it seems.
This: https://i.imgur.com/exS1HQK.png?1
Keeps popping up locking basically every page with no means of dismissal, it isnt even interactable, so sourcing it isnt a thing I can actually even do.
Inheritor of the Wing
Can't really figure out more specifics seeing as I'm on mobile, but I got a redirect ad of the generic "your iPhone won!!" variety.
This one's distinct from its peers as the giant pop-up text box has some visual flair to it (enlarging itself like it's the beginning of a Looney Tunes episode) and the color scheme for the page is predominantly orange. Hopefully that helps in figuring out what ad's causing it.
🏳️⚧️she/her | Vio Rhyse Alberia
Mad Scientist
It is still an issue.
It is clearly phishing and it can't be reported. The only way to get at from it, is going back to previous page or closing the tab.
From what I see it happens on both iPhone and Android.
- Still getting track.celtra.com popups, most recently on Western Animation.
- Those Nike ads that disguise themselves as bottom-of-page banners only to throw up a gigantic (I'm talking half my screen) ad that locks itself to the bottom of the screen and scrolls with the page until I close it are frankly obnoxious.
edited 31st Oct '17 11:47:07 PM by Midna
How sweet it is
Kept getting a Telemundo ad that covers the entire page on mobile.
she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
Getting some ads for an insurance company that play sound on my computer, and lock the screen to include the ad.
I'd to make a small correction. They're Reebok Unclassified ads, not Nike, that bloat to like 45% of the screen, lock themselves to the bottom, and then scroll with it until I close them (is there a more accurate name for them? Scroller ads?) and I got two in a row just now. Do these people really think flooding literally half my screen with these ads will convince me to buy their product? Because if I see those twerps trying to look "cool" in front of that school bus one more time I'm gonna puke all over my phone.
edited 6th Nov '17 12:34:47 AM by Midna
I'm getting Nature Made vitamins videos that auto-play sound, and again, they lock the screen to focus on the video. It makes the site practically unusable for me.
Full-screen "rotate your device to experience this ad" on Bowdlerise/ComicBooks. I don't remember exactly what it was for but it was in Spanish and the show advertised had a name that ended in something like "al coyote" or "del coyote".
The Unknown
I got auto-redirected to one of those "you won a free gift card" pages while on Ask The Tropers on mobile.
Edit: Also happened on the forums.
Edit 2: Okay I'm getting it super frequently and it's basically making it impossible to use the site on my phone.
edited 7th Nov '17 8:59:03 PM by Karxrida
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Just came here to post this.
Edit: Got another one trying to edit my post just now. Even if it brings in more money than ever, I honestly don't know if Proper is worth it if it keeps serving up horsecrap like this.
edited 7th Nov '17 9:42:03 PM by Midna
How sweet it is
Okay, that Telemundo ad is still being highly disruptive. Got the URL destivation.
http://now.telemundo.com/señora-acero
she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
Those little slidey banner ads are making the site unusable for me. Because they come up on every single stupid page and feature a) an image and b) an animation, they slow down my browsing to the extent that it's actually more comfortable to enable adblock and get the larger, but text-based, TV Tropes warning banner. I normally do disable adblock on friendly sites, but this is kind of awful.
(Unless this is all a secret plan to break us of our TV Tropes addition, in which case tally ho.)
Those Nature Made vitamin ads are back, and they are making the site almost unusable for me by freezing the screen to exclude most of a page. They also follow a T2V.TV-something ad with a view of London Bridge, if that helps.
Is it kosher to have sound videos on the site? It says Ads by Proper at the bottom of the report page.
And how can I get rid of them?
edited 9th Nov '17 11:39:02 PM by jameygamer
How sweet it is
On mobile view, I got a set of clickbait articles covering the page. One of them shows a body part that...let's just say it wouldn't be safe for work.
she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
Proper is a Nonindicative Name if I've ever heard one.
Another fullscreen Telemundo Señora Acero: La Coyote ad on ArtisticLicensePaleontology/VideoGames. This is getting old.
edited 10th Nov '17 12:20:26 PM by Midna
Got a bunch of clickbait links (similar to the sort that appear as banner ads). Link: https://www.content.ad/AboutUs?utm_medium=modal&utm_source=widget_425578&widgetId=425578&d=Mobile&u=http%3A%2F%2Fepom.americanconservativeherald.com
Getting a Dodge Ram Black Friday ad that, like with the NatureMade ad, locks my screen to focus on the video.
Is it normal for videos that play in the ads to have sound?
Blapper of Water
This advertisement seems to be pulling the page down to it when it's loading. I'm on a Mac using Chrome. The ad came up on TLP and the forums.
Same with an ad with this video in it. https://s-static.innovid.com/media/encoded/06_17/79255/8_source_46266_137067.mp4
Note that these ads came up at the same time on the same page so when I scroll the page jumps between them a bit.
UPDATE: Upon further exploring the wiki, it is definitely the video link.
edited 16th Nov '17 3:57:43 PM by WaterBlap
Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
Can we please get something done about the full screen pop up ads on mobile that can’t be closed? Specifically the ones demanding that you rotate your devise, I’ve just had to refresh around 8 times to try and get rid of them and nothing seems to be being done.
This is why people use Adblock, full screen unclosable ads just piss people off.
Chaotic Greedy
I've got ads redirecting me to this URL, including on desktop: http://s0u.kiho.gdn/?s1=0f60bsc9rzw1643c&kw=777
I'm this away from de-whitelisting the site in Adblock (Edit2: 3rd/4th time in less than a half-hour. Done.).
Edit: I noticed this URL too in the redirect chain:
Edit 3: What. The. Flying. Fuck. This goes right through Adblock Plus! I'm re-enabling Ghostery and Tracking Protection too.
edited 22nd Nov '17 10:25:51 PM by Medinoc
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Yeah, much like a lot of other people I’m getting this annoying ad that keeps covering half of the screen on every page when you try and scroll down. The worst thing was that I was on a page with no problem a few dozen minutes before this, but now all of them keep popping up with this ad. Even this page.
Musician/Composer
Okay, I've got some ad redirect problems on my desktop, and those pop up when I visit some trope pages and edit them. I can provide some of the URL listings I've encountered:
- http://usasurveys.org/us/ron/layout2/back.php
- http://update2now.loadservicesupdating.date/?pcl=eqkhyjp_U9gVws5dhS_dugbRFglcb7Rjxd30YbLo2XGxvBUFC0phEo5sUfUT2mSWPo7Gp0NM7l6dGBGByi6LiA..&cid=ybrghrm9_1101_244915328&sid=9&v_id=PHHCHwO5u5IYlvsyFwPPU_uHRTdtBSeEkZZtgxhXYlE.
- http://updatehere.loadservicesupdatessafe.stream/?pcl=eqkhyjp_U9gVws5dhS_dugbRFglcb7Rjxd30YbLo2XGxvBUFC0phEo5sUfUT2mSWPo7Gp0NM7l6dGBGByi6LiA..&cid=ybrghrm9_1101_244915541&sid=9&v_id=8YA32BV74Pf5Uc18lOgpATmwYDuGGaEgkkv8XoUJDBI.
- http://futureupdates.theperfectservicesupgrade.date/?pcl=OIfTZ0grK4D8uxnzwPUPg9w7GnbRXRzPm8jSsRblD-dMAXn8rTW_ARAp8YfzJoWJV3co5QFMQW6NrB0kUXuwNQ..&cid=15115391661149573045120075352771846&sub=s3US&v_id=soTLY1e2z6hmIJEPu1ZRAousw7O-qmZbSpOIkuZ6nb4.
- http://nofreezingmac.work/landings/230/?affid=mzb_229.16235230.1511540194.32.mzb&utm_source=&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=mk_rht_pop_ww_230_g2&utm_term=&utm_content=&userDefiner=mzb_2978&epayId=29&landId=2492&alert=7&trt=29_317511156&tid_ext=122954867;122954867055959558481&c3=attn&c4=flat,inst&reqid=77bad12bb7e4df6000ef5c6ecc97d3c7
- https://om.forgeofempires.com/foe/us/?ref=cas_us_us&pid=1299797-3899848564-0
Can someone please look into this?
edited 24th Nov '17 8:25:30 AM by gjjones
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
I don't know what happened but I got a http://track.celtra.com/ pop-up just now.
E: And again.
edited 16th Oct '17 1:12:00 AM by Midna