Anyone else getting...
 

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Anyone else getting redirected to 'Wonder Advert' websites while on STW?

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I will be reading a thread, hit next page, and then I have some Polish advert for 'interesting' products.

I am scrolling down the forum index, hit refresh and suddenly Vodaphone (spot the typo) want to give me free computers and phones.

 

It only seems to happen on STW. Using Chrome on a PC if that matters. I use Tor for my 'private browsing' so that shouldnt affect things.  Anyone else affected?


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 9:18 am
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No, but a few times a 'McAffe scanning' page has popped up. Only on my (Android) telephone, not on my (Windows 11) laptop

I don't have MCAffe


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 12:16 pm
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Yes, I mentioned this on the New Forum thread about a week ago. I'll be reading a thread and the page redirects to the Vodaphone / BT winner scam page. It's still happening as I had it earlier today.


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 12:21 pm
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Posted by: WorldClassAccident

Polish advert for 'interesting' products

 

I never get that lucky 😉 

 


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 1:11 pm
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Yip McAfee virus nonsense. Chrome on Google phone with up to date os up to date.


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 2:00 pm
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No problems whatsoever. Can't think why that might be....


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 2:03 pm
leffeboy reacted
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@MoreCashThanDash something is blocking it preventing you seeing the people of negotiable virtue!


 
Posted : 01/08/2025 3:45 pm
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I used to get McAfee ads all the sodding time, including when I was using an iPhone! I haven’t had any for a while, possibly because I’m a subscriber, but also the search and browsers I use filter out that crap, for reasons I’ve been told off for mentioning here in the past…😏


 
Posted : 02/08/2025 1:09 am
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Posted by: WorldClassAccident

I use Tor

*sucks teeth* there’s your problem, right there. Essentially it stops you getting directed/targeted ads, so you get all the shit ones served up by the provider. Enjoy.

 


 
Posted : 02/08/2025 3:27 am
 PJay
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I'm sometimes hijacked & whisked away to a page that announces that I'm one of a hundred people chosen to win and exciting  prize from Google. Fortunately the Back arrow works.


 
Posted : 02/08/2025 5:22 pm
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Posted by: tomhoward

*sucks teeth* there’s your problem, right there. Essentially it stops you getting directed/targeted ads, so you get all the shit ones served up by the provider. Enjoy.

Not sure that is true. I use 3 browsers, and recently all of them are getting Vodaphone tabs opening in the background. I’ve asked before about the targeted ads - the ones I see have no relevance at all to what I want to buy at some time [1], otherwise I’d be inundated with ads for GPS devices and smar****ches currently. Another forum does send me targeted ads on the browser I’m using now, so not a browser issue at all for me.

[1] Current ads showing for me are Jet2 holidays, hyperoptic broadband and Temu, none of which I’ve ever looked at or searched for. Now if they were for something I’m interested in, I may actually click on them.

Edit, and as I sat here reading my reply, a vodaphone tab opened in the background, without me even touching the mouse.


 
Posted : 02/08/2025 8:14 pm
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There are ads?


 
Posted : 03/08/2025 6:08 am
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3 time while on the same page of the F1 thread I got the Polish Vodaphone screen blocker advert. Is this a virus or an STW advert that prevents people using the forum?


 
Posted : 04/08/2025 9:50 pm
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You're on here enough to be paying to make these issues go away WCA. Just put your short arms in your long pockets, it's less than the cost of a pint of beer per month!


 
Posted : 05/08/2025 7:15 am
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Posted by: alanl

[1] Current ads showing for me are Jet2 holidays, hyperoptic broadband and Temu, none of which I’ve ever looked at or searched for.

You might not have, but it's possible that people you know have done and the algorithms think that if they like those things then you might also.  (Whether STW or its advertising partakes in this sort of profiling I do not know, but plenty do.)

Anecdotally, I've found Temu to be both particularly tenacious and utterly random with their advertising (on the rare occasions where I see such things).


 
Posted : 05/08/2025 11:14 am
toby reacted
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Posted by: Sandwich

@MoreCashThanDash something is blocking it preventing you seeing the people of negotiable virtue!

I pay a subscription to other sites to show me that. I pay a subscription here to not have to deal with any of that. 

 


 
Posted : 05/08/2025 3:05 pm
tjagain reacted
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The Polish vodafone advert cannot be closed so the only way to actually see the forum is to close and reopen the page. 

This happened 3 times when simply scrolling down the forum listing to try and find this thread to see what advice there was to avoid it. And yes, I will renew my subscription, but it is a really good way to drive people off the site.

 

Subscribed and it hasn't happened yet. I wonder if this is a really annoying was to drive up subscriptions?


 
Posted : 07/08/2025 8:18 am
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Posted by: WorldClassAccident

I wonder if this is a really annoying was to drive up subscriptions?

You don't really, do you.


 
Posted : 07/08/2025 11:34 am
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😉

 

Life is nicer subscribed. I guess it didn't autorenew previously and I just never got around to doing it. The annoying ad was just enough of a nudge.


 
Posted : 07/08/2025 12:22 pm
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The system works as desi- ah, oh.

😁


 
Posted : 07/08/2025 2:58 pm
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Subscribed and it hasn't happened yet. I wonder if this is a really annoying was to drive up subscriptions?

Good news! 

I sometime get un-closable adverts on Google News so I don't think it's a feature that's unique to this site. 

And given the amount of moaning that goes on about the functionality of this place, do you really think it's code that could be successfully implemented here? 😁


 
Posted : 07/08/2025 7:30 pm

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