Warning: Wowhead Search Results Maliciously Targeted by WoW Eden

Posted 2017/03/01 at 9:28 PM by perculia

TLDR: When searching for results on Wowhead via Google, WoW Eden took over the result and used it to redirect you to other sites. As of 3 pm March 2nd this is now fixed and WoW Eden is gone, but Wowhead's search results are also gone - working on fix. WoW Eden is still maliciously affecting results in Bing and DuckDuckGo.

other stepssite:wowhead.com+wowheadPersonal Blocklist (by Google) browser extensionEdit: it looks like WoW Eden is being removed from search results. Unfortunately for us, the Wowhead listing has not been restored as part of this process. We are trying to resubmit the site map and take other measures to restore our search results - this is still a bad situation for us. Edit - 6am March 3rd - we have found some, but not all, of our affected search results restored. Still working on a fix.

12 3…7

Comment by Pedr0Bear8Thanks for the info, using -wowhead from now on.

EDIT: Readed wrong, english not my primary language, using +wowheadComment by ShadoTienThat is one of the most horrendous and disgusting things I could imagine being done to you! Dear Metzen! °_° Best of luck with your reports at GoDaddy and Google, from a regular user of your site and database! <3Comment by SturmgeschutDo you get redirected to sites with less malware than wowhead?Comment by voivod336Good point too, I run ABP (Ad Block Plus) on Firefox because www.wowhead.com/tbc keeps having FAKE ads trying to update your flash player, etc. I sent them MULTIPLE messages about it. So now I see no ads just a crybaby message "Wowhead is supported primarily by adventisements. Please whitelist us so we can continue to build new features. You'll thank us later. :)"

Works for me. Plus ALOT of the ads were stupid auto-playing videos that were annoying.Comment by ajc291"-wowhead" removes wowhead for being searched
the - is what negates wowhead from being searched

If you are using google use site:www.wowhead.com/tbc rather than -wowheadComment by sinangelusBut if I use search from wowhead front page instead of google front page can I still get hijacked or is it safe to seach from wowhead window? I always start my day from opening wowhead and mmo-champion to see the newest info about WOW. Don't want to end up with malware or something equally bad.

P.S. Not accusing you, I mean the "fake" website that steals the search results.Comment by Killsomethinso when people have been saying there is an was mal ware on ur site an both u an panser said no , after months u come clean now? what gives?Comment by lovelywazI am always mad at people who do all this malicious stuff to make some $$$ instead of getting a real job and using their minds for something good.

But

In a way, its good to see that wowhead has made it big enough for being the target of these lowlife scums.

Light speed you, wowhead!Comment by lovelywazso when people have been saying there is an was mal ware on ur site an both u an panser said no , after months u come clean now? what gives?Comment by ColthasGood point too, I run ABP (Ad Block Plus) on Firefox because www.wowhead.com/tbc keeps having FAKE ads trying to update your flash player, etc. I sent them MULTIPLE messages about it.

So now I see no ads just a crybaby message "Wowhead is supported primarily by adventisements. Please whitelist us so we can continue to build new features. You'll thank us later. :)"

Works for me. Plus ALOT of the ads were stupid auto-playing videos that were annoying.Comment by Trelani10This is why I'm glad I use my anti-virus search tool to search the web. It weeds out malicious websites and search bots like this and ensures the any link I click on is tested and safe. I urge others to take the same steps so they don't fall for this trap.

Good on the WoWhead team for spotting this and best of luck at stopping them.Comment by solithaIf you have the ability (I do, in Chrome) to type the name of the website and then tab to search it specifically, you can bypass this hazard. I don't know how the various browsers work though. In the meantime, good luck Perculia... I also submitted a report to Google.Comment by noelie3107someone correct me if I am wrong but I would imagine that if you are searching from wowhead on topics it would only be covering you should be ok as you are searching within the internal database that wowhead has available as if you were searching a topic using the tag site:www.wowhead.com/tbcComment by VederiaI agree with Colthas, subbed a while back and it is worth it. This site has helped me so much over the last years, thank you for all the work that goes into creating such a huge data base!Comment by MMOSimcaI work for a site that's sort of a competitor to Wowhead (within the realm of WoW news), but still, I wanted to post and wish you all good luck in solving this issue. The fact that something like this is even possible is actually pretty terrifying as it is substantially damaging to the targeted site, and it's the first case of it I've even seen. I really hope Google and other search providers are on top of this and help resolve it quickly.Comment by noelie3107I have another way of stopping these fake ads in their tracks and that everyone should just buy a sub to wowhead premium then they wont have any ads coming up, simple.Comment by Sas148I have another way of stopping these fake ads in their tracks and that everyone should just buy a sub to wowhead premium then they wont have any ads coming up, simple.Comment by draenenSo now I see no ads just a crybaby message "Wowhead is supported primarily by adventisements."Comment by MightylorddkNever had such problem here, all the best to you from this stupid site.Comment by calicosDoes their hijack only apply to browser searches in general, like just googling something, or does it affect searches from within Wowhead as well...?

12 3…7