...I first figured out there was this issue when my six year old son was playing on my phone - so I am NOT happy he found it first.[/COLOR]
Pretty rotten my kid was exposed to that.
Ohh, man, I'd be seething mad.
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Random porn pages on iOS Safari
- Thread starter Baumi
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Ohh, man, I'd be seething mad.
I had an issue where explosm.net was popping up an ad that would redirect me to an adult site. It only happened once, but I sure am glad I'm not in any of the shoes you guys are in. It would be an interesting thing to explain to my folks or the principal at school.
Did we ever find a solution for this? I too see an image of a big but porn shot when opening safari every once in a while. It doesn't redirect me it just flashes then goes away. I wouldn't say it is a virus, just seems like something is wrong with safari. Reminds me of a browser on a desktop when an advertisement tries to open up then quickly move to the back. I went to a porn site once at a party and it has been happening ever since. I don't remember the site that caused it. I have ipad 2 running ios7 latest update. I have done a restore from previous.
this sounds like a different problem - the one i experienced redirected all mobile safari (ios) users trying to access a specific site (hosting server, actually).
yours sounds like a popup ad, which may be coming up (sorry for the pun), because of "tracking"; various ad servers try to track your surfing habits, and then present you with presumably related ads. i get that a lot from local stores (and some "local escort" sites), as well as online gadget websites, sometimes even showing me the exact products that i had been browsing.
the best suggestions i can make are to wipe out all cookies (which may lose a few "stay logged in" sessions - sorry), and try using the "family-safe" dns server mentioned above to block at least some of the ads. (assuming that you don't want the adult content.)
maybe it's not your iphone
if it's the same problem - random sites getting redirected to pornoland - it could be a hijacked mobile server. (i had to watch very carefully, and run through it a couple of times, but the url changed from "www.website.com" to "mobile.website.com" to "www.pornosite.com", even though the redirect didn't register in the browser's history.) even if the site hides the toolbar, you can always redisplay it from the "view" menu.
it also does interesting things if you run safari from a desktop mac with the developer menu enabled, and visit the same site as "safari - mac" or "mobile safari - iphone", switching back and forth.
but since it's the server end (specifically the mobile server application) that's been compromised, restoring the iphone won't fix anything.
if it's the same problem - random sites getting redirected to pornoland - it could be a hijacked mobile server. (i had to watch very carefully, and run through it a couple of times, but the url changed from "www.website.com" to "mobile.website.com" to "www.pornosite.com", even though the redirect didn't register in the browser's history.) even if the site hides the toolbar, you can always redisplay it from the "view" menu.
it also does interesting things if you run safari from a desktop mac with the developer menu enabled, and visit the same site as "safari - mac" or "mobile safari - iphone", switching back and forth.
but since it's the server end (specifically the mobile server application) that's been compromised, restoring the iphone won't fix anything.
This is such an odd pickup to be noticing on you're device. This is because in all my experiences with iOS, I've never heard of really any malicious things out there. I always thought it was geared more to Microsoft PC's.
Anyways, I'd recommend restoring if it's really bothering you too much. That should get rid of it quite easily. Obviously, if you don't have any previous iCloud backups before this started occurring, you'll have to restore to factory settings.
Or maybe clearing Safari of everything might help. I would have to look into what's causing the issue before I give that a definite. Defiantly would consider trying this option with clearing Safari, as it can't hurt.
All else fails, restore restore and restore.
Best of luck,
Cam.
Anyways, I'd recommend restoring if it's really bothering you too much. That should get rid of it quite easily. Obviously, if you don't have any previous iCloud backups before this started occurring, you'll have to restore to factory settings.
Or maybe clearing Safari of everything might help. I would have to look into what's causing the issue before I give that a definite. Defiantly would consider trying this option with clearing Safari, as it can't hurt.
All else fails, restore restore and restore.
Best of luck,
Cam.
Pretty rotten my kid was exposed to that.
Extremely rotten. It's even worse because iOS is know for it's security and safety.
Hope evertthing clears up and your device becomes safe once again.
Sounds like this kind of thing is more likely/often related to some sort of router DNS changes or redirects or something else along those lines rather than something iOS specific in some way.Extremely rotten. It's even worse because iOS is know for it's security and safety.
Hope evertthing clears up and your device becomes safe once again.
I'm fairly certain this is a router issue of some sort. I have 3 providers of internet at my home and it only happens when I use hughesnet which is provided via satellite and a router. If I'm using frontier which is thru my home phone service it never happens or if I use verizon via my hotspot on my cell phone it never happens . Plus I haven't had hughesnet but for about 30 days and the problem never occurred prior to that. Still don't know how to resolve it but I'm certain this is where it's coming from.
This could be a google redirect issue. See: http://www.thesafemac.com/eliminating-browser-redirects-and-advertisements/. There is some good and relevant information here.
Merely clearing the history and cookies and/or resetting the phone won't get rid of this. Been there done that. Also, while I strongly recommend enabling parental controls on your router, using OpenDNS (I do) and blocking specific categories (I do), this is only a band-aid and not a solution. The root cause is still there. Sure, porn sites might be blocked, which I consider to be a very good thing, depending on what the issue is, your personal information can be at risk.
I recommend logging into your router's GUI (the administrative web page). The actual IP address will vary depending on router manufacturer. Check your documentation or search for it. If you haven't changed the default username and password combination to log into your router, please change it! Login to the router and check your DNS (Domain Name Server) Server Settings. See what the IP addresses are (there are two; a primary and a secondary) and go to arin.net to find out who those DNS server addresses belong to. For example, you might have 209.18.47.61 and 209.18.47.62. Those belong to Time Warner Cable. OpenDNS DNS server IPs are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. If your DNS IPs resolve to something very odd (a foreign country or something other than your ISPs DNSs, then you need to change those.
My sister-in-law is currently experiencing this problem on her iPhone5. She also has a Mac and a PC. The Mac is essentially used to stream iTunes throughout the house and other entertainment purposes; however, the PC is what she uses to browse the Internet, pay the bills, etc (yes, I stated that correctly). The PC was heavily infected with adware and spyware. One of them was the Trojan.Alureon, which is also known as TDSS, which intercepts network traffic and redirects search engines.
I'm not sure how her Safari browser is being redirected on her iPhone, since there isn't an obvious issue with the phone. I think it started on the Windows PC and the trojan changed the DNS settings on the router or perhaps changed the Hosts file, which is causing the search redirects.
I have not checked the router settings or the Hosts file yet. I was just notified of this yesterday and spent some time late last night cleaning up the PC and trying to troubleshoot the iPhone.
Tonight, I'm going to use my packet sniffer software to take a look at the traffic as she is browsing (assuming her DNS settings were changed to something malicious or mischievous). I'm curious to see what is happening on the wire.
I'm also going to change the default login credentials for her router admin page and make sure that the option to allow remote management is OFF.
Her PC is functioning much better and for the most part is free of adware/scumare/malware; however, there are still some symptoms left behind from these programs. More work to do yet.
Merely clearing the history and cookies and/or resetting the phone won't get rid of this. Been there done that. Also, while I strongly recommend enabling parental controls on your router, using OpenDNS (I do) and blocking specific categories (I do), this is only a band-aid and not a solution. The root cause is still there. Sure, porn sites might be blocked, which I consider to be a very good thing, depending on what the issue is, your personal information can be at risk.
I recommend logging into your router's GUI (the administrative web page). The actual IP address will vary depending on router manufacturer. Check your documentation or search for it. If you haven't changed the default username and password combination to log into your router, please change it! Login to the router and check your DNS (Domain Name Server) Server Settings. See what the IP addresses are (there are two; a primary and a secondary) and go to arin.net to find out who those DNS server addresses belong to. For example, you might have 209.18.47.61 and 209.18.47.62. Those belong to Time Warner Cable. OpenDNS DNS server IPs are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. If your DNS IPs resolve to something very odd (a foreign country or something other than your ISPs DNSs, then you need to change those.
My sister-in-law is currently experiencing this problem on her iPhone5. She also has a Mac and a PC. The Mac is essentially used to stream iTunes throughout the house and other entertainment purposes; however, the PC is what she uses to browse the Internet, pay the bills, etc (yes, I stated that correctly). The PC was heavily infected with adware and spyware. One of them was the Trojan.Alureon, which is also known as TDSS, which intercepts network traffic and redirects search engines.
I'm not sure how her Safari browser is being redirected on her iPhone, since there isn't an obvious issue with the phone. I think it started on the Windows PC and the trojan changed the DNS settings on the router or perhaps changed the Hosts file, which is causing the search redirects.
I have not checked the router settings or the Hosts file yet. I was just notified of this yesterday and spent some time late last night cleaning up the PC and trying to troubleshoot the iPhone.
Tonight, I'm going to use my packet sniffer software to take a look at the traffic as she is browsing (assuming her DNS settings were changed to something malicious or mischievous). I'm curious to see what is happening on the wire.
I'm also going to change the default login credentials for her router admin page and make sure that the option to allow remote management is OFF.
Her PC is functioning much better and for the most part is free of adware/scumare/malware; however, there are still some symptoms left behind from these programs. More work to do yet.
What worked for me
I had seemingly random redirects from new sites, including the Telegraph and Guardian, to both p0 rn sites and also the google home page with an invitation to install the google app.
All very confusing, but here's what I think happened... An advertiser on a dodgy site gets my advertising identifier, and then the adserver on legit sites cross checks for a list of identifiers. If it matches, then it hijacks the Safari page. I say this because the legit page seems to get redirected at the end of the page load when the ads are loading. This would mean that other people trying to reproduce would not see it, and it would not always happen as legit sites rotate ads, and only some have this "behaviour".
I do think Apple needs to fix this vulnerability.
Simple user-side solution: reset the Advertising Identifier in Privacy Settings. It worked for me. So far.
I had seemingly random redirects from new sites, including the Telegraph and Guardian, to both p0 rn sites and also the google home page with an invitation to install the google app.
All very confusing, but here's what I think happened... An advertiser on a dodgy site gets my advertising identifier, and then the adserver on legit sites cross checks for a list of identifiers. If it matches, then it hijacks the Safari page. I say this because the legit page seems to get redirected at the end of the page load when the ads are loading. This would mean that other people trying to reproduce would not see it, and it would not always happen as legit sites rotate ads, and only some have this "behaviour".
I do think Apple needs to fix this vulnerability.
Simple user-side solution: reset the Advertising Identifier in Privacy Settings. It worked for me. So far.
^ I'll give that a try. This is happening on my and my girlfriend's phones. It seems to be happening on hers more than mine, but there's certain web pages that we've tried to go to that it happens for both of us. Really strange bug, especially to see this thread's been going since 2012.
the problem that i saw had nothing to do with advertising - ALL mobile references to a certain web site (actually to all the web sites sharing a hosting company's server) were being misdirected. you could fiddle with the iphone 'till the cows come home, and still end up on the fake app store site, because the redirect was happening at the mobile server app on the server end. ALL dns requests were legitimate up to that point, and the redirect didn't register in the history, either.
to prevent an "embarrassing" display, a temporary workaround is to switch over to a "family-friendly" dns server. i can't find it at the moment, but on support.apple.com, there are a couple of discussions of this kind of problem (very easy to search for), and one very helpfully includes detailed instructions on how to switch to a freedns(?) family-friendly version, which blocks (most?) adult content sites. (i believe they hand-tune it, but i could be wrong.)
my experience (which may or may not be the same as yours), had absolutely nothing to do with the iphone, or my home network, and was solved at the server end by tech support within a couple of minutes. (they had to remove the corrupted mobile server.) the hardest part was being very specific in pinpointing the problem, and convincing the techies. (the hack only hijacked clients who identified as mobile safari, whether on my iphone or my desktop mac set to misidentify itself as mobile safari. i could easily switch the desktop back and forth, because there was nothing actually resident anywhere but on the hosting server.)
it got a little ugly on a small screen without the mobile server, until they could reinstall, but at least it always came up as the real site, not the hijack.
for short term "cover", the family-friendly dns was helpful.
I didnt go through this whole thread so im probably just repeating myself but my parents have a Netgear and they were infected through an adobe update phishing scam that ended up being able to login to the router using the log in cookie and updating the DNS settings which forwarded all requests to some site that would call the pages up first then let them continue on.
I reset them the the google 8.8.8.8 dns setting and reset the router pw and not a problem since.
I reset them the the google 8.8.8.8 dns setting and reset the router pw and not a problem since.
Just scanning this thread, cause a buddy of mine is having a similar problem and i just looked at OPENDNS that you mentioned. It looks really great. 'Just wanted to thank you for sharing that.
EDIT:
Oh snap didn't realize this was a necroed thread. Srry.
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It's not necro for those of us who enabled the "send notice of replies" feature. Thanks for your info!
My husband found in the history of safari on my iPhone 5s several explicit porn site & ****book pages. I have not visited these sites a day in my life and I can't understand how they got there. It will show page after page several days in a row. I don't know if it's spam from a site I have visited or if it's a virus. Has anyone experienced this or know how to fix it?
sounds like a different problem
i don't know, but it might be some "pop-behind" advertising that opened automatically (or got blocked). it doesn't sound like a hack or malware. and apart from clearing your safari history, i don't think there's a whole lot that you can do, except possibly using a "safe" dns server, that will block sites with objectionable content. (i think freedns offers one.)
and it sounds like a different problem.
i don't know, but it might be some "pop-behind" advertising that opened automatically (or got blocked). it doesn't sound like a hack or malware. and apart from clearing your safari history, i don't think there's a whole lot that you can do, except possibly using a "safe" dns server, that will block sites with objectionable content. (i think freedns offers one.)
and it sounds like a different problem.
Problem FIXED
Hi.
I have this isssue too.
But it's with a dodgy ad that is saying that i won a "ipad" and i can't click anywhere but the button ok. I can't seem to fix this so HELP!! APPLE FIX THIS PLZ.
______________________________________
EDIT I clicked ok and i quitted the page as fast as possible so good!
Hi.
I have this isssue too.
But it's with a dodgy ad that is saying that i won a "ipad" and i can't click anywhere but the button ok. I can't seem to fix this so HELP!! APPLE FIX THIS PLZ.
______________________________________
EDIT I clicked ok and i quitted the page as fast as possible so good!
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i'm not sure i understand what "fiddling with your router" means - could you please be more specific?
as i said im not an expert, i dont know the specifics that well, but if its happening on both devices after clearing out your browsers it should be your internet in some way
Ever figure out how to fix this? I’m having the same issue and am at my limit of ignoring it. It’s messing with my surfing and call of duty. Thanks for any help you can provide.
It just stopped by itself for me. I don’t think it was anything more nefarious than a corrupted ad network sending out malicious code that redirected the browser.
I’ve got an adblocker running in Safari now, so maybe that also helped.