Query About Detected Suspicious Web Page. Any Help?

This is my first posting here and I'm not sure if this is the right spot to do it, so I apologize if it's not.

In my warning notifications I keep getting a reference to 'Suspicious web page detected', and that 'the webpage *** has been detected as suspicious. Although the page is not blocked, it is not recommended to continue browsing this page'. But, how do I know what that website is that has prompted this alert (I haven't looked at the website *** at all)? There was an opportunity to Add to Exceptions, which I clicked on to see what would happen, but now I wonder if I should have done that.

Thanks for assistance on this.

*** EDITED: URL(s) removed by @Gjoksi

"Posting malware samples and /or URLs is not allowed in the community! Do not post direct links to any executable files, malicious/suspicious software or websites in threads, comments or private messages, even if you think the software or site is clean and incorrectly detected by Bitdefender."

Answers

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi Defender of the month mod

    Hello.

    You might be a victim of adware, so do the steps below.

    1) Start your PC in Safe Mode, by following these steps:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

    2) Open the Run command:

    https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-open-run-command-dialog-box/

    and run the below commands one by one:

    temp - delete all the folders/files in the folder

    %temp% - delete all the folders/files in the folder

    prefetch - delete all the folders/files in the folder

    3) Restart your PC in General Mode, by following these steps:

    https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-restart-a-computer-in-normal-mode

    4) Reset/Refresh your browsers:

    Google Chrome - https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en

    Mozilla Firefox - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/refresh-firefox-reset-add-ons-and-settings

    Microsoft Edge - https://malwaretips.com/blogs/reset-microsoft-edge/

    Opera - https://browsersolution.com/reset-opera-browser

    Vivaldi - https://help.vivaldi.com/desktop/install-update/full-reset-of-vivaldi/

    Brave - https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017903152-How-do-I-reset-Brave-settings-to-default-

    5) Run a System Scan with your Bitdefender program.

    6) Restart your PC

    7) If the steps provided above didn't help, do the following steps:

    Take screenshot(s) of the issue,

    create a log file on your Windows device using Bitdefender Support Tool, by following these steps:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1733/

    and

    create a log file on your Windows device using BDsysLog, by following these steps:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1922/

    Next, contact Bitdefender Consumer Support by e-mail:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

    with short description of the issue.

    After that, you will get an automated reply by the Bitdefender Customer Care Team, with your ticket number.

    Now, in reply to that automated reply, you can send the screenshot(s) you already took and the log files you already created in the first step.

    Since you are all done, just wait for the support engineers to investigate your issue and find a solution to fix the issue.

    Remember that the screenshot(s) and the log files will help a lot to the support engineers for better and faster investigation on your issue and finding a solution.

    Regards.

  • Thanks very much for the detailed info.

    It looks like I'll have to defer using it as when I was in my MS account to get the bitlocker key I took the opportunity of updating to my new email address, which I was told would take a month to effect. Then when I eventually found how to get the Bitlocker key it wouldn't let me access it as the switchover to the new email was pending. So then I went to cancel the request, but it wanted to send a confirmation to my old email. Unfortunately, since that has become a dead email I couldn't go ahead with the cancellation, and I'll have to wait till next month.

    I haven't been experiencing the symptoms of adware, which according to the Malwarebytes web site are:

    • Advertisements appear in places they shouldn’t be.
    • Your web browser’s homepage has mysteriously changed without your permission.
    • Web pages that you typically visit are not displaying properly.
    • Website links redirect to sites different from what you expected.
    • Your web browser slows to a crawl.
    • New toolbars, extensions, or plugins suddenly populate your browser.
    • Your Mac starts automatically installing unwanted software applications.
    • Your browser crashes.

    So I suppose that's good at least.

    Cheers,

    Paul

    PS Thanks for removing my reference to the problematic site. I didn't realize that was not permitted, even in the truncated form in which I put it.

  • I have the identical problem as Martin12! It happens about once a week so I've been manually copying all the suspicious url's and planned on entering them somewhere, I was hoping my bitdefender software but BD doesnt have such a feature, so I will have to search windows or maybe pay for another antivirus product to stop these suspicious url's?

    Then I read Gjoksi answer!!!!! OMG that procedure took Martin12 (Paul) weeks to complete!!!!

    *******HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS******

    Who has that much time to complete such a ridiculously lengthy tshooting process

    Why do I pay bitdefender if I have to do that much work to stop a suspicious url??????

    Why doesnt the BD software protect me by adding the suspicious url's to a list of url's to avoid???

    Does bitdefender have any employees that assist any BD customers with technical assistance?

    Who is Gjoksi? Is he an employee of bitdefender? Or is he a paying customer like myself as well as a self proclaimed "EXPERT" and Defender of the month that offers his services to BD and his fellow paying customers for FREE????

    I will be shocked if my questions get answered. And if they do, will they be answered by someone qualified? Or will the answers be just a bunch of words that dance around my questions never answering them!

    Here is your chance Bitdefender to defend yourselves and prove your integrity! Or disprove it?

  • Alexandru_BD
    Alexandru_BD admin
    edited January 11

    Hello @bongo042,

    Are you accessing the websites directly, or is your browser redirecting you to those URLs by default?

    I'm pretty sure it didn't took that long for Martin to follow Gjoksi's instructions, maybe it just took longer for him to follow up here. If you look carefully, you will notice that the proposed troubleshooting process is not really that lenghty, because it contains instructions for multiple browsers. This makes the post seem more difficult to follow. If you remove those links, you end up with the temporary files delete, a restart and a system scan, along with guidelines on how to contact the Support teams if those steps don't work, thus answering your question here: Does bitdefender have any employees that assist any BD customers with technical assistance? - YES.

    Why do I pay Bitdefender if I have to do that much work to stop a suspicious url?

    You chose Bitdefender because it provides top-notch awarded protection. And you've made the right choice. But if you are experiencing browser redirects to suspicious URLs, Bitdefender cannot take any direct measures related to them. If we are talking about adware that you agreed on or something you enabled, like site setting, site notification, redirects in your browser or installed toolbars, extensions or applications, Bitdefender cannot override these settings, however, it WILL alert you if the places where you are being redirected have something malicious inside and may block the connection.

    No antivirus will be able to remove these browser redirects. Don't take my word for it. Try them all and then come back here with your findings. A browser reset and removing unwanted extensions from it should be enough as these redirects are browser related, most probably unwanted extensions that were installed or bundled with other programs by default, as this is how adware usually sneaks in. Since you haven't mentioned the URLs that are being detected, I'm making assumptions here. To get a straight answer, we'll need to know the links and how they are being accessed.

    Why doesnt the BD software protect me by adding the suspicious url's to a list of url's to avoid?

    This is not how detection works and nobody has such an updated "blacklist". One website can be clean today and malicious the day after. If they are suspicious, you won't reach them, Bitdefender already has a list of signatures in the database, so it will return a detection, otherwise the user will not know what's happening. Bitdefender protects you against cyberattacks through a set of features that scan different areas of your device. One of the features, Web Protection (Online Threat Prevention), is designed to scan ALL web traffic and block any malicious content – infected URLs, untrusted web pages, fraudulent and phishing links.

    Now moving on to your next questions.

    Who is Gjoksi? - He's one of our long-standing community members who voluntarily helps other members. He is not a Bitdefender employee, but a passionate Bitdefender user sharing his knowledge and expertise on the forum. The Expert Community is an environment where Bitdefender users, enthusiasts and fans can engage, exchange ideas, support each other and share their knowledge and solutions. In the community, support comes from Bitdefender users such as yourself, but also from Bitdefender employees.

    Does Bitdefender have any employees that assist any BD customers with technical assistance? - Although this question has already been answered above, since there is a link for Support on this thread, I will elaborate:

    In the event a solution is not found in the community, usually more information is required for troubleshooting, such as logs coming from the product and in some cases, remote intervention must be carried out. This will help the Support engineers obtain a better understanding of the context and the circumstances involved. Such specific operations cannot be carried on the public forum, thus it is recommended to contact the Bitdefender Support Teams, for a detailed investigation. There are 3 contact channels available, chat, phone and email/ticket. Chat would be the fastest way to reach the Bitdefender Support teams.

    This being said, it's the user's decision if they wish to go for the self-service option and visit the Support Center knowledgebase, or to socialize with fellow Bitdefender users here, or to get in touch with the Bitdefender Support teams. As it can be noticed, there are plenty of Support channels available for Bitdefender users.

    I hope you are not "shocked" by the long post and that I was able to aswer your questions fully. If not, we're here and you cand write us anytime. 🙂

    Regards,

    Alex

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Greetings Alex, now if only you guys would stop hiding behind email or messenger and actually speak to your customers? But I will take what I can get. I sincerely thank you Alex and I am very pleasantly surprised at your detailed reply to my msg! I have read it but I am unable to reply to it at present, but will do so at my first opportunity. Again, I appreciate your reply and will be in touch asap.

    Sincerely,

    Robb

  • Hello @bongo042,

    You are most welcome. We'll do our best to help you here, and if we can't find a solution on the forum, you can get in touch with the Bitdefender Support teams anytime. Nobody is hiding, there are multiple contact channels available precisely so that users can contact the Support teams using the method that is most convenient for them. For less time-sensitive inquiries and basic troubleshooting, you can always connect with us in the community, and for everything else that requires a more in-depth analysis, it is recommended to contact the Bitdefender engineers, who can establish a precise diagnosis based on symptoms and product logs, and can also provide technical assistance in scheduled remote sessions, if necessary. 🙂

    I am looking forward to your reply, so we can try to sort this out for you.

    Regards,

    Alex

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • G'day,

    I did eventually follow Gjoksi's very helpful advice, and I remember contacting the Customer Care Team, whereupon the issue/problem was resolved. I meant to come back here and say that, but it got away from me….

    For the record, I am happy to say that my dealings with Bitdefender have never been anything less than excellent.

    Cheers,

    Paul

  • Thank you @martin12 👍️

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • How do I get a phone number to contact bitdefender. I have malicious links on my android that I don't know how to get rid of before I transfer my info to a new phone

  • Hello @Jaci,

    You can reach Bitdefender Support using this link:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

    State your contact reason / choose request category, then choose from the available contact channels, chat, phone and contact form/email. Chat would be the fastest way to reach them.

    May I ask how are the malicious links detected, were they spotted by Scam Alert, for example? I'm asking because in this case, Bitdefender will offer two options. The first option is to dismiss the information. The second option is to view more details along with essential pieces of advice. You can find out more about this feature here:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/42907/

    If the context is different, you can also detail it here and we will try to help you.

    Regards,

    Alex

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user