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Clicking on an Malwarebytes Ad link.

SkSunny
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SkSunny

SkSunny

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When I wanted to scan my pc for malware, I searched up malwarebytes and saw the top link. It said malwarebytes and was sponsored and official. It was the real malwarebytes ,but when clicked on it, it redirected me to 2 different websites before sending me to malwarebytes.com ,but not the original. It was like malwarebytes.com/AFFILIATE =152386&_c=1
Please tell me if I have malware, I mean malwarebytes advertised there own pordutx but why did they send me to different websites like bgreviwer and website something somethin for 1 second before going to malwarebytes.com/AFFILIATE =152386&_c=1?

Do I have malware or am I safe? Is it supposed to do this?

The ad looked like this and had sponsored by it.

0B3F7B6D-E7A1-4012-8034-6039028189E9.jpeg

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Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes

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***This is an automated reply***

Hi,

Thanks for posting in the Malwarebytes for Windows Help forum.

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David H. Lipman

David H. Lipman

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We can't say one way or another if you  have Malware or not.  One must play Devil's Advocate whenever you use a search engine.  Often the top most results are not legitimate and may be the result of SEO Poisoning.  People pay to have their results be at the top of results.

Here is the URL to download the latest version of Malwarebytes' Anti Malware retail software.

http://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline

Run the software and scan your PC.

 

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David H. Lipman

David H. Lipman

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You used the word "your".  It is not "mine".  I am no longer a Malwarebytes' Employee.  It is the "property" of Malwarebytes, the company.

malwarebytes.com is the legitimate and formal Domain of the Malwarebytes company.

forums.malwarebytes.com and downloads.malwarebytes.com  are both a sub-Domain of the legitimate and formal Domain of the Malwarebytes company.

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David H. Lipman

David H. Lipman

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When one uses a Search Engine (Yahoo, Google, BING, etc) there is money to be made by those that can place their URLs (links) placed at the highest level.  There is a chain of events of the "results" chosen.  Affiliates can get an affiliate revenue and referrers can get paid by each click on a link is made.  So if you want to bolster your profit margin you want YOUR LINK to be chosen so YOU can be paid that affiliate or referral fee.

Edited by David H. Lipman
Edited for content, clarity, spelling and/or grammar
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Porthos

Porthos

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Here is an example. Bleeping Computer is an affiliate and when you click the buy Malwarebytes link on their site you get directed to 

https://www.malwarebytes.com/lp/sem/en?AFFILIATE=76981&__c=1

image.thumb.png.60a2835ce28824a3c41d2177485d94ab.png

Which takes you direct to the official purchase page with the commission going to bleeping computer.

image.thumb.png.9a985329adc37a8dadf4d0108bbb519a.png

 

Edited by Porthos
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David H. Lipman

David H. Lipman

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Well, to be honest while that may be a URL, it may or may not be the link.  That is because on a web site it implements HTML and a modification so does this Forum.  In both cases a URL can have a Label and a Link behind it and they may be different.

 

for example on the forum I can use BBCode to represent a label and a link as... 

[url=https://www.google.com]https://www.malwarebytes.com[/url]

Which is displayed as

https://www.malwarebytes.com

The Label is www.malwarebytes.com but the Link is for www.google.com and clicking on the above will take you to Google even though it is displayed as Malwarebytes.

Posting a graphic obfuscates this as it captures only the label.  If you use the mouse and hover over the URL it will show the link behind the label.

 

** I know this can be confusing but it is important as many malicious scams and ploys use that concept such as Phishing where the Label shows the legitimate site but the link is for the phishing site.  It is important to understand and know about this as a defense.

 

 

 

Edited by David H. Lipman
Edited for content, clarity, spelling and/or grammar
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SkSunny

SkSunny

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1 hour ago, David H. Lipman said:

Well, to be honest while that may be a URL, it may or may not be the link.  That is because on a web site it implements HTML and a modification so does this Forum.  In both cases a URL can have a Label and a Link behind it and they may be different.

 

for example on the forum I can use BBCode to represent a label and a link as... 

[url=https://www.google.com]https://www.malwarebytes.com[/url]

Which is displayed as

https://www.malwarebytes.com

The Label is www.malwarebytes.com but the Link is for www.google.com and clicking on the above will take you to Google even though it is displayed as Malwarebytes.

Posting a graphic obfuscates this as it captures only the label.  If you use the mouse and hover over the URL it will show the link behind the label.

 

** I know this can be confusing but it is important as many malicious scams and ploys use that concept such as Phishing where the Label shows the legitimate site but the link is for the phishing site.  It is important to understand and know about this as a defense.

 

 

 

I understand ,but what can I do about it? How do you if it’s a phishing link? Just asking.(not meant to sound rude if I do).

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David H. Lipman

David H. Lipman

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@SkSunny

That's the idea -- understanding.  This way you have information such that you can make better and more informed decisions.

In this case when you click on a URL, such as www.malwarebytes.com and you mouse-over (hover over)  and the full link shoes www.malwarebytes.com/AFFILIATE =152386&_c=1  you know that someone is making a profit either on the Click and/or the sale and you may choose to take another router that may be more favourable to you and less to a possible 3rd party.

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