Dear friends,

I have been getting multiple reports of users getting redirected to a spam site upon entering the IAD which can only be cleared out by closing the page and then reloading the website. This is partially our own fault. We were trying a new ad serving service which we did not know was going to serve ads of this nature. For that we do humbly apologize. That ad server has been removed from our system and we will not be using them in the future.

So ... a few notes:

1: Thus redirect should have only happened for anonymous users ... i.e. people who have not logged into the site with their username and password. If you are logged in and are a subscriber or a researcher, you shouldn't be seeing any ads at all. Since I'm the only one who uses this computer, I just stay logged in all the time so I didn't see the problem until recently.

2: If you still have this problem now, it's probably because your browser is using a cached version of the site with the old code still on it. To cure this, clear out your web cache and reload the website. I was able to see the problem here in my own two computers and clearing the cache remedied the problem each time.

Again, we apologize for the problem.

I tried visiting the site this evening on a brand new computer and was getting very aggressive popups/overlays and redirects of what appeared to be malware, pushing some kind of browser extension and then a hoax virus scan. So it doesn't seem like the problem is solved. I closed tabs and tried again a few times but I could not login on that machine at all and so gave up.

Still doing it. I think this site has a virus.

I still have this problem. It even ironically happened when I tried to get into this thread.

Tried something new. Please report back.

Tried something new. Please report back.

Still doing it

Tried again with new laptop, even cleared browsing data. Still getting redirected to a scam virus scan site.

Out of curiosity, is this a problem that affects specific browsers? FWIW, I'm using Firefox (Windows 10 and macOS) and I stay logged in all the time, so I have not encountered such an issue. I just tried visiting the site, logged-out, in Chrome, and I have not encountered such an issue (though I did visit it after the issue had supposedly been fixed). (As a side note, the homepage chugs in Chrome, though that may be a totally different ballpark.)

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Is there a way to clear out the Chrome cache for one specific web site? It kind of sucks having to clear out the entire Chrome cache (if I'm interpreting this correctly) just because of problems with this site.

Is there a way to clear out the Chrome cache for one specific web site? It kind of sucks having to clear out the entire Chrome cache (if I'm interpreting this correctly) just because of problems with this site.

https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/16531954?hl=en  I'm not familiar with Chrome, but have you tried this?

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I tried going to the website on Microsoft Edge earlier - completely clean slate, no cookies or caches or log-in - and I got redirected as well.

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I tried going to the website on Microsoft Edge earlier - completely clean slate, no cookies or caches or log-in - and I got redirected as well.

Mmm, last night and today I visited the website on Edge - a browser I basically only use when I search for something on my PC and Windows opens it up - and I haven't gotten redirected or anything. Not logged in, either. It does chug, though. Is there a specific time when it happens for you folks? (FWIW, no ad blockers on, either.)

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Mmm, last night and today I visited the website on Edge - a browser I basically only use when I search for something on my PC and Windows opens it up - and I haven't gotten redirected or anything. Not logged in, either. It does chug, though. Is there a specific time when it happens for you folks? (FWIW, no ad blockers on, either.)

Yes, when you have a certain amount of cookies and browsing data on there which can happened in either a few weeks or days (depend on how much you frequently use it). Honestly, I don't see how this browser is an improvement to Internet Explorer which never had that problem. Heck, I don't completely even understand why I'm hypocritically using Edge right now as I type!

Yes, when you have a certain amount of cookies and browsing data on there which can happened in either a few weeks or days (depend on how much you frequently use it).

I should have been more clear when I wrote my message, but I was referring to the amount of time it takes for the spam site redirect to occur.

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The redirect is almost instantaneous. You're given no opportunity to login. I was using chrome on a Mac and it happened every time. I think I switched to Safari once, which I don't really use, and saw similar or same issue. I cleared out just the cached files (not my cookies or history) and still had the issue. Maybe it's a stale cookie, or maybe there's a stale or infected CDN cache (ie, not on my computer).

The redirect is almost instantaneous. You're given no opportunity to login. I was using chrome on a Mac and it happened every time. I think I switched to Safari once, which I don't really use, and saw similar or same issue. I cleared out just the cached files (not my cookies or history) and still had the issue. Maybe it's a stale cookie, or maybe there's a stale or infected CDN cache (ie, not on my computer).

Try clearing cookies, then, as a last resort? I'm honestly at a loss on how to replicate the issue. Starting to think the lag I get on Safari, Chrome, and Edge is connected to the redirect.

edit: I had my dad check it out, and Inspector noted that the screenshot thumbnails on the front page took a while to load for some reason. Still not getting any ad redirects, which makes me think it's a cookie/cache issue...

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Is there a way to clear out the Chrome cache for one specific web site? It kind of sucks having to clear out the entire Chrome cache (if I'm interpreting this correctly) just because of problems with this site.

https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/16531954?hl=en  I'm not familiar with Chrome, but have you tried this?

Thanks -- I tried it just now. Now to see if it stops the redirects.

By the way -- can we PLEASE get back the ability to right-click a link and open it in a new tab? It was always such a convenient function and it's so weird not to have it anymore after the redesign.

I have a new macbook. I tried pulling up the forum in Safari, which I otherwise don't use (so no cookies) and was immediately redirected to a malware link saying my Mac is infected and to install some fake AV scanner. Switching back to Chrome I was redirected to a bogus link to install an update to Flash player. It's all clearly malware, barely or pathetically disguised, essentially hoping you're a moron or something, and clearly dangerous.

My old Windows desktop continues to be logged in (Firefox), which is the only way I'm able to access this site.

Ok, I'm using incognito mode; it seems to be doing alright there (obviously not logged in). I'm also trying Firefox (again, not logged in there), and no issues. Hopefully this could mean the end of it all.

Ok, I'm using incognito mode; it seems to be doing alright there (obviously not logged in). I'm also trying Firefox (again, not logged in there), and no issues. Hopefully this could mean the end of it all.

Yeah, of course this happens during my busiest season where I have little time to deal with it. So for the time being I’ve discontinued all advertising until I get a chance to figure things out.