So lately I've been notices random redirects from this site to the Google play store from my android devices. I am now using my work phone, and am still having this problem.
I've noticed this for weeks, but just thought it was my phone and tablet acting up. But since I'm now on my work phone, which has never been used for anything except work, I am not inclined to believe my original assessment was correct.
Today I have been redirected no less than ten times. This is getting very aggrivating.
this is an issue i brought up a while back. the script that pulls the ads at the top of the site has a redirect to market://details?id=com.king.candycrushsaga&referrer=ACID155-1378233900389-90097883. it doesnt matter what the ad is, it rotates, the script pulls a different banner.
It'll happen everytime the script fires off the candycrush link. Since the google browser sees the link to a service it has registered with the OS. It forwards the request to the play store that has market:// registered to it.
Extremely annoying. I am about to move onto another site for my magic needs.
It wouldn't be so bad, but it is very annoying and is happening more and more frequently.
Even.more annoying: I have candy crush saga already on 2/3 devices I use.
We could change it on our phones, but that would require rooting the device and then knowing enough about davlik to change what market:// is associated with. We could also change what our browser on our phone reports back to the website and instead of reporting an android OS, we could tell it that it's windows, but again, that would hamstring our phone browsers on other sites.
It's really an issue for advertising poorly and in bad faith. This is something that can easily be fixed by the people who own the script that does the ads on the site.
So it needs fixed and has.been brought up but hasn't been?
@Trancekat, 2/3s of my devices are rooted, but I have no idea passed that what that what you're talking about:/ If it's set that way, would using a non Google based browser even work? Would the code not send me to the apple or Microsoft store instead of the play store? I am not at all familiar with the term davlik. Could you give a further explanation or hook it up with some tech wiki link?
I love this site. Every day it gets harder to use though.
Is there seriously no tech reading this and willing to help with my problem and obviously, the problem of many other users on mobile devices?
Heya, we're moving to another forum software soon, which should hopefully put an end to these issues. However, I have notified the Curse technicians of this & directed them to this thread. They'll look into it.
@Trancekat, 2/3s of my devices are rooted, but I have no idea passed that what that what you're talking about:/ If it's set that way, would using a non Google based browser even work? Would the code not send me to the apple or Microsoft store instead of the play store? I am not at all familiar with the term davlik. Could you give a further explanation or hook it up with some tech wiki link?
I don't have a complete answer for you unfortunately. One option is to remove the file that is the play store (nuclear option) it's called com.android.vending*.apk. You'll need root for this.
The other option is to change what agent the browser reports back to websites. I don't know how to do this in an android device (yet), but that may solve the issue.
Finally, an option is to write an app that would strip out any "market://" links in anything sent to your browser before it gets processed. I cannot do that as I am not a coder.
I put out some requests for help; once I learn more I'll share with this thread.
Hey guys - I actually reported this thread to ad ops the very first day it poped up, so they have been working on it for a few days already
The issue sadly is not on our side - But it looks like there is a chance you guys have download a malicious app that is giving bad cookies. You can read more about this issue here:
Molster,
could you explain how the maliicious cookie works please? I'm not familiar with this exploit.
It seems that the banner ad has javascript that redirects to adtrack.king.com which then pushes a market:// to the device (which opens it). This is against the google ToS incidentally. Not sure how a cookie comes into play.
Molster,
could you explain how the maliicious cookie works please? I'm not familiar with this exploit.
It seems that the banner ad has javascript that redirects to adtrack.king.com which then pushes a market:// to the device (which opens it). This is against the google ToS incidentally. Not sure how a cookie comes into play.
the ad can not do that on its own. There is an exploit thats letting the ad do such. I don't know the tech behind it - im just passing the information along.
We are in talks with different people as well with a fix - it's just hard as it's not an issue on our end.
Since I got my galaxy s4 and am using chrome I haven't had this issue at all. But previously was using a droid x2 it happened all the time. Not sure if this info helps any....
Does the publisher of Candy Crush know this is happening? I'm sure the publisher doesn't want bad publicity regarding their product. What about the Google Play store? Can they step in and help fix the issue?
I emailed the Candy Crush people. After two automated responses, they basically told me that it was my fault and claimed no responsibility for it.
It's not their fault. They literally have nothing to do with it. Whoever is creating the banner ad that has the script firing off is the culprit. There is an ID in the string so that they get credit/money for having people install CC on a device.
I work in security, and in the mobile space (for a major provider). I've contacted an A/V company about this and they don't see how the cookie plays a role here either. this is just agressive marketing by whoever owns that banner script. It also goes against ToS for google.
This is not just a bad ad that hijacks your andriod.
There is a something installed on your andriod that is allowing this to happen. It is hijacking the adtrack king and causing you to be redirected when you shouldn't be. This has always come from a bad app previously, and is andriod/ios specific.
This has been going on for over a year. They know it is a bad cookie problem, that it's specifically targetting the referal process of Candy Crush saga, and that it's not bad scripts or malware coming from the ads. Beyond that, it seems the entire AV industry is somewhat clueless, which is quite disheartening.
Stealing from this article (and there are many others like it):
adtrack.king.com is causing havoc to mobile users, causing their devices to be redirected to said web address each time they are browsing the Internet. This redirect issue seems to be affecting Android and iOS systems.
It is noted that a certain code bundled with fake software download are the culprit for this adtrack.king.com hijacking problems. Additionally, it is said to be that the beneficiary for this redirect is a program called Candy Crash Saga.
In a more depth analysis, adtrack.king.com appears to be not cause by a virus, trojan, or any kind of malware. It is a tracking cookie or something that said to be malfunctioning or having conflict with script loader. Thus, instead of monitoring ads on your devices, it redirects instead.
adtrack.king.com Removal Procedures
Since browser redirect issue for adtrack.king.com is still under thorough diagnostics, we haven’t found the exact solution to stop it. For the meantime, we have gathered some procedures that might work on the affected devices.
Solution for iOS Devices:
Reset Settings:
1. Go to Settings and then click on General.
2. Scroll down to the bottom and click Reset. This method witll reset some of the modified settings, not everything that is stored on the device.
Uninstall Apps:
1. Track the Apps you have installed recently. Removing them may help stop the adtrack.king.com hijacking issue. Some of the reported apps that are causing this are Iconmania and MineCraft. However there is no confirmation yet if users who got affected have downloaded the legitimate copies. It could be a version with code injected into it.
Logout Facebook Account:
It is said that Facebook app King Bling has something to do with this redirect problems. In some occasions, it will show an error “You don’t have a Facebook app user session! Please log in to the King Bling app in Facebook.” You may want to delete the app from Facebook or logout the account and see what will happen.
Solution for Android Devices
Clearing the Browser:
1. Open your web browser on Android device.
2. Press the Menu key. Select “More“, then “Settings“.
3. Scroll down until you see the three menu options: Clear cache, Clear history, and Clear all cookie data.
4. Execute each one by one. Press “Ok” when it confirms if you want to proceed.
5. Press the back button until you get back to the web browser. You may want to restart the browser to see the changes.
Some people have success, some don't.
Sadly, there's nothing this site can do.
It really isn't us.
I've noticed this for weeks, but just thought it was my phone and tablet acting up. But since I'm now on my work phone, which has never been used for anything except work, I am not inclined to believe my original assessment was correct.
Today I have been redirected no less than ten times. This is getting very aggrivating.
What can I do to stop this?
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
It'll happen everytime the script fires off the candycrush link. Since the google browser sees the link to a service it has registered with the OS. It forwards the request to the play store that has market:// registered to it.
Extremely annoying. I am about to move onto another site for my magic needs.
Even.more annoying: I have candy crush saga already on 2/3 devices I use.
@Tech, so I take is no way to disable this?
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
Thanks you very much DarkNightCavalier for the Sig.
It's really an issue for advertising poorly and in bad faith. This is something that can easily be fixed by the people who own the script that does the ads on the site.
@Trancekat, 2/3s of my devices are rooted, but I have no idea passed that what that what you're talking about:/ If it's set that way, would using a non Google based browser even work? Would the code not send me to the apple or Microsoft store instead of the play store? I am not at all familiar with the term davlik. Could you give a further explanation or hook it up with some tech wiki link?
I love this site. Every day it gets harder to use though.
Is there seriously no tech reading this and willing to help with my problem and obviously, the problem of many other users on mobile devices?
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
I don't have a complete answer for you unfortunately. One option is to remove the file that is the play store (nuclear option) it's called com.android.vending*.apk. You'll need root for this.
The other option is to change what agent the browser reports back to websites. I don't know how to do this in an android device (yet), but that may solve the issue.
Finally, an option is to write an app that would strip out any "market://" links in anything sent to your browser before it gets processed. I cannot do that as I am not a coder.
I put out some requests for help; once I learn more I'll share with this thread.
The issue sadly is not on our side - But it looks like there is a chance you guys have download a malicious app that is giving bad cookies. You can read more about this issue here:
http://malwarefixes.com/remove-adtrack-king-com-redirect/
With that said, we are still looking at what we can do on our end. Email chain is still active.
could you explain how the maliicious cookie works please? I'm not familiar with this exploit.
It seems that the banner ad has javascript that redirects to adtrack.king.com which then pushes a market:// to the device (which opens it). This is against the google ToS incidentally. Not sure how a cookie comes into play.
the ad can not do that on its own. There is an exploit thats letting the ad do such. I don't know the tech behind it - im just passing the information along.
We are in talks with different people as well with a fix - it's just hard as it's not an issue on our end.
My Modern decks:
B/R/G Living End G/R/B
G/R Tron R/G
U/W/G/R Gargageddon R/G/W/U
R/W/G Naya Burn G/W/R
BUG Reanimator
BWG Nic-Fit
BGR Punishing Nic-Fit
Have any questions or concerns? Come take a dip in my pool.
It's not their fault. They literally have nothing to do with it. Whoever is creating the banner ad that has the script firing off is the culprit. There is an ID in the string so that they get credit/money for having people install CC on a device.
I work in security, and in the mobile space (for a major provider). I've contacted an A/V company about this and they don't see how the cookie plays a role here either. this is just agressive marketing by whoever owns that banner script. It also goes against ToS for google.
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
Nope. It still does it on my phone as of this morning. Very annoying.
Putting the sexy in Science Fiction!
gamertag: filthychocolate
Yeah, it basically does it on every other page for me.
There is a something installed on your andriod that is allowing this to happen. It is hijacking the adtrack king and causing you to be redirected when you shouldn't be. This has always come from a bad app previously, and is andriod/ios specific.
This has been going on for over a year. They know it is a bad cookie problem, that it's specifically targetting the referal process of Candy Crush saga, and that it's not bad scripts or malware coming from the ads. Beyond that, it seems the entire AV industry is somewhat clueless, which is quite disheartening.
Stealing from this article (and there are many others like it):
Some people have success, some don't.
Sadly, there's nothing this site can do.
It really isn't us.
No longer staff here.