Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Eircom Hijacking my Browser!!

Options
  • 25-05-2004 11:18am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 815 ✭✭✭


    Hey Guys,

    Forgive me if this is in the wrong forum, but everytime I load up my web browser I am presented with an advertisment for Eircom broadband and I have to click a button to continue to my desired site. I cannot stand eircom and their rip-off ****ty products so this is the last straw. Is there something on my machine causing this os is it something on their end? Either wayhow do I get rid of it?

    Thanks guys,


«1

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,143 ✭✭✭spongebob


    You are an existing flatrate customer I take it :D . They are serving popups from their Web Proxy since yesterday .

    M


  • Registered Users Posts: 815 ✭✭✭Moojuice


    Yes I am loathe to admit it but I am an existing flatrate customer. I would have thought my Norton Firewall would have blocked it. Do you know of any way of blocking them?

    Thanks Muck,


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 28,497 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    Originally posted by Moojuice
    I would have thought my Norton Firewall would have blocked it. Do you know of any way of blocking them?

    Thanks Muck,

    Norton how I loath it
    Try something like Mozilla or Firefox from www.mozilla.org
    enable pop-up blocking and that might fix it :-)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,393 ✭✭✭Eurorunner


    popup killer or ads-gone should do it.


    course, making the switch to a reseller like iol/utv would also sort it out ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,006 ✭✭✭theciscokid


    and i thought galeon was good..

    then i found firefox from mozilla, sweet as ;)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 10,846 ✭✭✭✭eth0_


    Originally posted by Muck
    You are an existing flatrate customer I take it :D . They are serving popups from their Web Proxy since yesterday .

    M

    Please, please tell me this is a joke?
    Talk about underhand...I could sort of understand them doing this for 'free' customers, but not subscribers!

    Could always use another proxy I guess. I think the IOL one is open.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,560 ✭✭✭Boro


    Use opera and set it so it only allows popups you click and that will sort you out. Opera is the biz.

    Another tool to remove browser hijacks is Hijack This. Recommended.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,201 ✭✭✭netman


    Anyone know what the eircom.net web proxy is? (IP address and port?)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    I cannot stand eircom and their rip-off ****ty products so this is the last straw.

    Yet you are an Eircom flat rate customer???

    I am surprised you made this posting. You are an Eircom customer and your home page is probably the Eircom page. Are you really that surprised that a pop up for another Eircom product appears??? It's called sales. If it's any comfort Esat BT/IOL also do it on a regular basis.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,201 ✭✭✭netman


    Why don't you just change the home page... I mean it's not like it's hard! :)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    this sh1t is unbelievable.

    i'm trying to surf and I'm getting DNS redirects sending me a page pimping eircom's broadband.

    uploaded a pic below.

    i'm just about fecking fuming abiout this and i'm going to call them first thing and give somebody a mouthful about it.

    this is tantamount to spam. it's unsolicited junk advertising and this makes them no better than the people peddling porn, pills and printer ink, and i'm not going to let it go.

    the worst thing is that although IE seems to release it when you refresh other browsers don't seem to be so forgiving. i'm using Opera and it gets stuck each time it happens. would be interesting to see if Mozilla does it too or not.

    so, i'll keep you posted.

    edit: fixed pic upload


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,337 ✭✭✭Frank Grimes


    Why don't you just sign up to IOL Anytime?
    You get more hours per month for same cost and it's a very good service (at least for me it is). Or else UTV flat rate if you don't mind changing your phone calls too.
    BTW, in relation to the Eircom ads, I'm sure they're well covered in their terms and conditions to do stuff like that.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,846 ✭✭✭✭eth0_


    Originally posted by BrianD
    You are an Eircom customer and your home page is probably the Eircom page.

    It doesn't sound to me like it is his home page. It's simple for ISP's to force pop up ads through that you have to click on in order to go on to the site you want to go to.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    Perhaps Moo can advise whether it is or not. Unless you have some malware on your PC aren't pop-ups normally associated with a particular page or site?


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 3,816 Mod ✭✭✭✭LFCFan


    Originally posted by Moojuice
    I cannot stand eircom and their rip-off ****ty products so this is the last straw.

    Hi Moojuice. Don't want to sound like I'm getting at you but if you hate €ircon so much, why in the name of all things sane are you using their flatrate service which is more expensive and has less hours than all their competitors?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,505 ✭✭✭ElNino


    I use the Google toolbar which has a pop-up blocker built in

    http://toolbar.google.com/

    Service Pack 2 for Windows XP is going to have a pop-up blocker for Internet Explorer included. However this is still in the Beta stage and hasn't been released yet.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,525 ✭✭✭vorbis


    don't remember ever getting that kind of behaviour. and I'm an eircom flat rate customer. The only ads I get off eircom are from their web site.


  • Registered Users Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    Moved.

    And for the record, eircom do attempt to force pop-ups through, even for customer who aren't using their homepage.
    Afaik though, they try not to be overly intrusive about it, amazingly enough. The broadband popup may be coming from the eircom.net site for all visitors with 159.134.y.x IPs (i.e. those on flat-rate, where y and maybe x are specific ranges).


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    it's still not on. i didn't sign up for stuff like that, and i doubt it's in their terms and conditions, it looks like someone just had the smart idea of doing the same thing they did with the walled garden when they were getting rid of the regional numbers.

    i've not had a chance to call yet, but i'm going to do it when i get home.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,846 ✭✭✭✭eth0_


    Originally posted by vibe666

    i've not had a chance to call yet, but i'm going to do it when i get home.

    Don't bother ringing them, support don't give a cr*p about customers' complaints.
    I'd suggest you write to the top man in Eircom and also email theregister.co.uk because this kind of thing is just NOT on.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,819 ✭✭✭K!LL!@N


    Actually, i think you'll find that it's in the terms and conditions when you sign up for eircom flatrate, that you agree to allow them contact you about promotions etc. relating to other eircom products.

    You can't sign up for eircom flatrate without accepting this condition.
    So eircom are within the terms and conditions of your contract to inform you of these promotions however they like.

    Killian


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,739 ✭✭✭mneylon


    Are you using a proxy or something?
    I'd be interested to know how they are forcing this on you.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭Gavin


    Easy enough to do via a transparent proxy, or as the man says, redirecting DNS requests. If that is what they are doing, its fairly dodgy alright, wonder what comreg would think of it.

    Gav


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    pop up blockers, opera, mozilla or the lord god himself can do nothing about it (not so sure about the last one tho) as it's not a pop up, it's a temporary walled garden type deal like they used when they changed to the 1892 number from the regional numbers.
    the next bit is a slightly simplified version of what actually happens, so unless it really puts your nose out try and avoid correcting me, cos it only lowers the tone of the whole thread! thanks.
    you type in an address in your browser (whatever it is) and it sends the address to the dns server which then looks up the IP address related to that http address, and sends it back to your browser which then contacts the server on that IP address and then recieves said page.

    in this case though eircom's dns servers are redirecting those dns requests to their brand spanking new SPAM server, before it lets you anywhere else.

    admittedly it's not every single request, but it's about 1 new browser window in 3 and with tabbed browsers like opera and mozilla it seems to not only be worse, but harder to get past as it keeps coming back to the same ad over and over unless you completely refresh the page.

    it's a real pain in the hole.

    you can complain to COMREG here or call them on this number: 1890 229 668 but they plainly tell you they'll do bugger all until you're blue in the face from complaining to the ISP in question.


  • Registered Users Posts: 815 ✭✭✭Moojuice


    seriously how stupid do you think I am :) Ok I go with Eircon, but I know how to set my home page (its google) so its not as simple as that. I go with Eircon because (without going into too much detail) at the time it was far too awkward to get broadband and I couldnt afford to pay the whole cost yet no one else would share it. I am moving soon (and can afford broadband) and will be getting broadband but not from Eircom.

    And the flat rate isnt working now, I am using a backup pay as you go number that anyone can use. I emailed them asking them to stop spamming me everytime I open my browser but as of yet I still have to hear from them. I am going to take this further. And dont bother ringing Techsupport to complain they dont care, trust me I know this first hand (experience and all that).

    Official letter of complaint to the main man and Comreg and CCd to anyone who I think might give a ****.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,314 ✭✭✭Nietzschean


    Well if its not a transparent http proxy and they are tampering with dns requests then use different dns servers than the eircom ones? wouldn't be hard to find replacements......

    for a transparent proxy ye tend to be fairly up **** creek unless u have an external box...

    local proxy -> ssh tunnel -> extern box -> external proxy...that'll fairly guarantee u no more ad's ;)

    You could try just connecting to an external proxy but if they probally have that sussed and would input the ad's into those streams too


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    would the mods be OK with me posting the email addresses of all the top management of eircom.net? that way if people wanted to complain directly they would be getting through to the people who count.

    not to mention an email address that is forwarded to about half the company. anyone for spamming the spammers?


  • Registered Users Posts: 815 ✭✭✭mickeyboymel


    Although I am an Eircom Anytime Subscriber, I never use their site, ever, because of the amount of Popups,Tracing Cookies, Webcollecter Cookies, Ads etc etc etc.

    The only time I go near them,is the eircom.ie site to check my phonebill.

    I simply have compiled my own homepage on my computer with the logos from all my favourite search engines and most used sites, hyperlinked from a word webpage on my computer which my browser homepage points to.

    I visited the eircomnet homepage on one occassion with no firewall enabled and was amazed by the number of ads plastered everywhere.

    Noone needs to have eircom as their homepage, just cause they subscribe to a package.....get rid of it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,143 ✭✭✭spongebob


    Originally posted by vibe666
    would the mods be OK with me posting the email addresses of all the top management of eircom.net? that way if people wanted to complain directly they would be getting through to the people who count.

    not to mention an email address that is forwarded to about half the company. anyone for spamming the spammers?

    I'd say you would be just grand there as long as you only post the senior managers names and what they ARE and ARE NOT responsible for (and PM me the rest lest they need to be deployed at some stage too Vibe, thanks )

    Nobody likes a company that sells entry level products to consumers and refuses to support them or answer any questions save by 1550 number at 75c a minute.

    M


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    I never use their site, Popups,Tracing Cookies, Webcollecter Cookies, Ads etc etc etc.

    Your web surfing must be pretty limited then!! Most web sites have some or all of the above.

    Eircom.net is different to eircom.ie and yes you are right that you don't need to have your ISP home page as your start page but invariable must people do. To the best of my knowledge, a firewall will not prevent pop-ups from displaying, cookies etc etc.

    Are you still getting the pop ups with your own start page?

    Nobody likes a company that sells entry level products to consumers and refuses to support them or answer any questions save by 1550 number at 75c a minute.

    Is this the still the case with flat rate products? I think the premium rate policy was justified in the days of "free" ISP's.


Advertisement