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
CG for short
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Ah, I see ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thumbs_up_emote.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Basically canon
Thanks for getting this taken care of!
pearlina brainrot affects millions of people worldwide. if you or a loved one are suffering from pearlina brainrot, call 1-800-GAY-NERDS
(she/her)
I got confirmation that the history ads and the image caption ads are fixed.
Macron's notes
Basically canon
So I have no way of knowing if this is intentional or not, but mobile ads are taking control of my screen now
As in, if you’re scrolling down the page and you stop too close to an ad, it will automatically scroll down or up so that the ad is the only thing on the screen. It’s like they’re baiting you into accidentally clicking on the ad and opening a new tab
It’s not as outwardly hateful as the full screen garbage because you can still scroll the page, but my god is it annoying
pearlina brainrot affects millions of people worldwide. if you or a loved one are suffering from pearlina brainrot, call 1-800-GAY-NERDS
the Retromancer
Imported web content doing any scrips sounds like something that should never be allowed.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Can I merge the two split character pages for Pokémon Horizons: The Series? Even together they don't amount to much byte wise and a usually put characters with their Pokémon
You want the "Is this subpage too short?" thread in Long Term Projects.
State of Mind
Not sure if this is the right place or not, but I keep getting a notice on every page that says "Please allow ads on our site or subscribe." I'm already a subscriber though, so I don't know what's up.
"What a century this week has been." - Seung Min Kim
The King Without a Kingdom
I also seem to get the notice, but only on the forum side of the wiki. It doesn't activate when I'm making posts or on the wiki itself.
It's been 3000 years…
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
I've gotten it before too, I did whitelist TVT after that because might as well, but it's weird that subs aren't exempt from the anti-adblock popups.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
State of Mind
I tried that, but I still get the pop-up.
"What a century this week has been." - Seung Min Kim
The Dark Archfiend
So I pay to keep ads away from TV Tropes, I pay 20 bucks a year for the service, and the "Please allow Ads or Whitelist us" ad continues to pop up, and this has started only recently. Why is this happening, after I pay for the ads to be kept away?
I'm just your average everyday Lord of Darkness, trying to ruin reality with excessive amounts of EVIL!!!
The King Without a Kingdom
It seems like the notice has been fixed, so thanks.
It's been 3000 years…
(she/her)
Ok the google code has been completely removed for ad-free users so those ad block pop us won't show up again. Previously, they were just the code was just disabled for as-free users.
Macron's notes
Certified Badassatron
Just got an ad for nicotine patches on Coreline Invasion Of Portland that takes up a third of the page.
I don't actually have any Bumblebee icons, I just think the nickname is funny.
Got a Boarshead ad
Basically canon
I’ve been getting ads in the middle of sentences lately. If it were just between bullet points/entries that would be one thing (still not optimal I must say), but when you’re actively interrupting the flow of the page, it becomes a much bigger problem
To demonstrate what I mean, it goes like:
- you'll have an entry talking about how the trope relates to Ichiban Tempura or what have you, everything's fine and
[GIGANTIC AD FOR TOM THUMB THAT AUTOMATICALLY SCROLLS THE PAGE UP OR DOWN SO IT TAKES OVER YOUR ENTIRE SCREEN IF YOU STOP SCROLLING TOO CLOSE TO IT]
readable, and then an ad decides to split the whole thing in half and interrupt your train of thought just to shove capitalism in your face
pearlina brainrot affects millions of people worldwide. if you or a loved one are suffering from pearlina brainrot, call 1-800-GAY-NERDS
Right now the ads on mobile are literally unclosable (not even tapping the "X" button would do anything).
- What page did you see that on?
And how many of you are American mobile users? Because I'm Canadian, and I'm not seeing these?
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Musician/Composer
I sometimes alternate between my iPhone and my MacBook Pro.
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
Basically canon
It may have been Video Games but don't quote me on that
I am an an American mobile user (iPhone), though I alternate with the desktop version
Edited by Midna on Apr 29th 2023 at 8:37:41 AM
pearlina brainrot affects millions of people worldwide. if you or a loved one are suffering from pearlina brainrot, call 1-800-GAY-NERDS
By the way for my scenario I am using a Samsung tablet in incognito mode (chrome).
Basically canon
Got another mid-sentence ad on First-Person Shooter
pearlina brainrot affects millions of people worldwide. if you or a loved one are suffering from pearlina brainrot, call 1-800-GAY-NERDS
Not seeing it in Desktop Firefox on Ubuntu in Canada. Is it constant for you? And if so, what sentence?
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Thanks! That's getting fixed too.
Macron's notes