Redirect to smartphonegirls.com

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mbirth

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2006
270
112
Berlin
Tried setting the user agent from mobile to desktop and it seems to have fixed it. Switched back to mobile for testing and didn't get the ad again yet. Hopefully that helps.

Most possibly you have a cookie that prevents the ad from re-appearing. I also never see the ad twice on the same page or when having a referrer from the visited page.
 

FuDaBiDu

New member
Mar 14, 2012
2
0
I did see the ad every time before setting the UA to desktop. Wouldn't have bothered if it had happen only once ;)

You're totally right regarding the cookie. Just tested: Deleted cookies, set to mobile, got the ad.

Still don't know where it comes from but at least I got a workaround till there is a better solution.
 

bchada

New member
Mar 15, 2012
1
1
Is this just in Germany?

Hi guys

I'm from XDA's advertising partner, and trying to troubleshoot this issue. Does anyone see this issue outside of Germany?

And is it only on mobile devices?

Batsirai
 
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GemPatsu

Member
Dec 12, 2009
29
1
It's the same for me. Happening on my Nexua S and on my Huawei mediapad. Changing to the Desktopversion fixed it. And I'm in Germany as well.
 

vak

Member
Sep 4, 2006
31
0
for me it is only on galaxy s. I can't read xda-forums using both browsers I have on my mobile. Now I'm writing from PC. The issue is 100% reproducible on 3G from O2

(I'm in Germany)
 

mbirth

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2006
270
112
Berlin
I start to believe xda earns too much from it to do anything about it. It's now 6 days since it has been reported and 3 days since a USER found the specific source of the malicious ad. So why hasn't been done anything about it?
 
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Mar 14, 2012
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I start to believe xda earns too much from it to do anything about it. It's now 6 days since it has been reported and 3 days since a USER found the specific source of the malicious ad. So why hasn't been done anything about it?

I'm not sure if xda can do very much about this, apart from sending complains to the ad provider.
I've seen the same ad on youmobile.org a few days ago, so this problem is clearly not related to xda alone.

By the way: Didn't see any of these ads this morning, so perhaps the problem finally got solved?!
 

pulser_g2

Admin Emeritus / Senior Recognized Developer
Nov 27, 2009
19,544
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kullerhamPster said:
I'm not sure if xda can do very much about this, apart from sending complains to the ad provider.
I've seen the same ad on youmobile.org a few days ago, so this problem is clearly not related to xda alone.

By the way: Didn't see any of these ads this morning, so perhaps the problem finally got solved?!

Correct. There's actually a post just above from our advertising partners, trying to find out more information so we can get this removed.

Unfortunately these things need traced back to the point of entry, so even though we know it's there, it isn't just a magic button press to remove it unfortunately...
 

mbirth

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2006
270
112
Berlin
I'm not sure if xda can do very much about this, apart from sending complains to the ad provider.
I've seen the same ad on youmobile.org a few days ago, so this problem is clearly not related to xda alone.

If this would be my site, I'd completely disable the specific ad provider until the problem is finally solved. Waiting until they do something about it and risking that more people get caught by that malicious subscription service wouldn't be an option for me.


By the way: Didn't see any of these ads this morning, so perhaps the problem finally got solved?!

Nope, they're still there. Clear your cookies, your cache and try again.

---------- Post added at 12:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 PM ----------

Unfortunately these things need traced back to the point of entry, so even though we know it's there, it isn't just a magic button press to remove it unfortunately...

Shouldn't be that hard using the USB Debugging feature of Chrome for Android … and some time. You can trace the redirections and XHR requests … this should shed some light onto the source.
 

bemymonkey

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2007
2,524
118
This is getting out of hand. I'm getting the redirect too (have been off and on for weeks now), and it seems that it's a subscription trap that costs 3€ PER DAY. Once you're signed up (and clicking that big button in the middle of the ad is enough!), it's difficult to get rid of the subscription, and they charge right off of your phone bill - if you don't use prepaid, you can be charged up to 90€ within one billing period!


This needs to be taken care of right away, before people start getting billed!

Screenshot_2012-03-20-21-24-54.png
 
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Archer

Inactive Recognized Developer / Retired Senior Mod
Jul 9, 2008
14,002
4,002
Manchester
Google Pixel 8 Pro
You can't be charged for clicking something on a website. There must be something else responsible for that.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
 

bemymonkey

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2007
2,524
118
On a smartphone, you can. That's exactly the problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAP_billing


It's been in the news multiple times these past few weeks - an Android scam epidemic. The way it usually works is that a banner ad in an Android app links to a WAP site (indistinguishable from a regular web site for the average user), and there a single click is enough to start the subscription. It's a VERY shady business, and laws are currently being passed in order to fight these jackasses, but currently it's up to us as users and advertisers to work around the problem.

Even Admob has served these ads... :(
 
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schaze

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2009
140
4
Installed adfree now - issue fixed for me at the time. Unfortunately that blocks all ads for apps and other web pages too, but I simply don't have another option atm...
Please get this fixed already! I understand it is not that simple but now it has been quite a while. Maybe your ad provider should rethink their QA process before adding new ads that cause **** like this...
 

Archer

Inactive Recognized Developer / Retired Senior Mod
Jul 9, 2008
14,002
4,002
Manchester
Google Pixel 8 Pro
On a smartphone, you can. That's exactly the problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAP_billing


It's been in the news multiple times these past few weeks - an Android scam epidemic. The way it usually works is that a banner ad in an Android app links to a WAP site (indistinguishable from a regular web site for the average user), and there a single click is enough to start the subscription. It's a VERY shady business, and laws are currently being passed in order to fight these jackasses, but currently it's up to us as users and advertisers to work around the problem.

Even Admob has served these ads... :(

I'm flabbergasted. How dumb an idea is that???
 

bemymonkey

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2007
2,524
118
I'm rather shocked myself... Or rather have been for the past year or so (that's how long these scams have already been popping up!)...
 

Archer

Inactive Recognized Developer / Retired Senior Mod
Jul 9, 2008
14,002
4,002
Manchester
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Surely it can't be applied to any type of button or link, or the whole internet would be full of things that cost money to click. Does it come up with a system style prompt telling you you're about to pay for something?

Also, do you know if you can opt-out of this payment method with your provider?
 

bemymonkey

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2007
2,524
118
Some providers provide an opt out from any third party billing whatsoever, which also includes premium rate numbers and premium SMS... Not all providers have this option though, and it's something that the user has to actively request and/or activate via the provider's Hotline.
 

usaff22

Senior Member
Nov 8, 2011
3,600
1,512
Unfortunately, Maps has stopped.
Some providers provide an opt out from any third party billing whatsoever, which also includes premium rate numbers and premium SMS... Not all providers have this option though, and it's something that the user has to actively request and/or activate via the provider's Hotline.


That's cool. I want to do that and not get scammed for these dumb premium SMSs. Not that I signed up to any or put my number on shady sites. This thread is making me use my phone less :eek:
 

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  • 1
    schaze said:
    Hi all,
    Since the last view days I randomly get redirected smartphonegirls.com when I am browsing to xda-developers forum with my android devices. It didn't really happen with my laptop yet so I don't know if catched smth like a virus or similar. However I truly doubt it as it happens with both my android devices and one of them was just freshly flashed.
    Does any one else have this problem as well?
    /schaze

    I have never heard of this. Might be an app you have installed on the decices
    1
    Yes, I can confirm this and I could do without it as well. Any way to stop it?
    1
    Got the same site and done some investigation here. Identified 2 sites ( wetter24.de and epicfail.com) where this site pop ups.

    I downloaded an useragent modifier for firefox and switched it to android. Then I use http header to see where the redirect will be done or which object is responsible for it. It looks like that google ads could be the reason, because the ads are dynamically and probably a js will be execute the redirect.

    Unfortunately I can´t exactly identify the object and today I got the page again.

    ---------- Post added at 12:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------

    BTW: The Company behind this, are known cheater. :D

    Name: Simona Torre
    Organisation: Buongiorno Spa
    Adresse: Borgo Masnovo 2
    PLZ: 43100
    Ort: Parma, PR
    Land: IT

    Tomorrow I´ll contact lookout. Maybe they can us help here.
    1
    We are trying to track this down right now... It appears difficult to reproduce though.

    Is this over wifi or 3G? What provider do you have as well?

    I never had it via 3G yet, but I mostly (>90%) use WiFi so I can't really rule that out.
    Provider would be Vodafone Germany.

    At least for me it only occures with my Android devices - I never experienced it with my Laptop (running Linux Mint 12 with latest FF version from repos 10.0.2)

    On Android I have
    • SGSII with CheckROM RevoHD v6 & RedPill Kernel Rev1.3 (GB)
    • Acer Iconia A500 with Taboonay 3.1 ROM (ICS)

    It happened with both devices so far. On the Acer it was actually when only had very few apps installed (which I don't think might be responsible for it as I used them since a long time)

    What I also suspect is that it only happens when I am not logged in to the site. At least it never happened to me so far when I was logged in.

    I hope this helps a bit. If there is anything you would like me to test, please let me know. I am happy to assist in any way I can.

    /schaze
    1
    It just happened again.

    Here is what I did (using WiFi)
    1. searched in google search for xda developers
    2. clicked on the result which actually leads to xda developers forum
    3. wait until the site loads completely
    4. just before it is finished loading the redirect occurs and I can see the sie with the FSK18 (thats an age classification - means you need to be 18 to see the content ...bla bla..9 red symbol warning

    see attached screenshot.

    my redicect actually goes to:[nourl]http://cat.m.smartphonegirls.de/wwf-splashTool/SEO/iGirls_wap_fsk18_kw14_16?transaction_id=10396fe92e93a57bca7eb007875b4e&path=SPOQ[/nourl]