Any Lawyers Out There Want to Help Me Sue Microsoft?
January 19th, 2007Reader SB submitted the following screenshot of Cryptogon on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7:
Screenshot of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 warning users that Cryptogon is a, “Suspicious website.” Here’s a large version of the image.
The browser includes a fault prone routine that attempts to guess whether or not a site is a phishing site. Since Microsoft knows their Magic 8 Ball can’t be trusted, they leave it up to users to determine whether or not sites are legitimate, and have built in a voting mechanism right into the browser!
Read that link above if you think I’m kidding. I couldn’t make this up if I tried.
In the meantime, how many legitimate sites are being blacklisted by this clunky software?
What if paid trolls, who are tasked with destroying the reputation of sites that represent a threat to the status quo, start using Microsoft’s browser to blacklist legitimate sites?
Maybe these are questions that Microsoft should have to answer in court.
Do Internet Explorer Users Know What They’re Missing: Firefox
Related: Microsoft Vista Developed with Help from U.S. National Security Agency
it maybe due to a paypal form in your html, but who knows, i don’t MS crap.
Peter,
All of the sites, in all of these categories use PayPal:
http://paypal.promotionexpert.com/greatshopping/list_ECS.html
According to your halfbaked theory, they would be labeled as Suspicious websites by IE7.
Buddy, set the pipe down and open a window. You need some fresh air.
Sneaky bastards…
control what the people see, and you effectively control the people.. now the mass-media deception/control is moving onto the web (at least for the people that still use IE, lol)
Kevin I’d be glad to help if I were a lawyer but I’m not. I hope you do take some action against those bastards though
that damn thing popped up on my screen while i was looking at this story.
there is an option for a site owner to report an incorrect warning at the link below. may help, althouth it never should have been flagged to begin with.
https://phishingfilter.microsoft.com/feedback.aspx?result=warn&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cryptogon.com%2f
IMO you were prob flagged by somone who didn’t like the kind of things you report on. May be time for a new browser anyway.
Thanks heretic. I filled out that form. Of course, it requires IE! How can they get away with this!?!?
you know that you’re blocked from wi-fi spots in my area too, as a “cult” website. (upstate NY)
This is why I only use firefox to view Cryptogon.
I tried it out in IE7 — I didn’t get that screen at all. Did MS fix it?
Matthew
MS didn’t contact me. If they fixed it, they did it quietly.
I’m a Firefox user and I won’t go near that IE7 thing. Can someone with IE7 confirm Matthew’s report that MS has corrected this egregious f-up?
Thanks,
Kevin
Kev,
I just loaded up IE7 just to test it, and it seems to load fine for me. No warning messages or anything.
I had to switch to the Windows computer, and start up MSIE 7 (two things I rarely do), but no, I don’t get the warning.
I also went to:
Tools –>
Phishing Filter –>
Check This Website
and, it doesn’t detect you as a phisher.
I think I may know part of what the problem is though. I doubt it’s the PayPal button. Try going to https://cryptogon.com . It first loads a BlueHost page, with a link to the cPanel login. Once that loads, it refreshes to https://cryptogon.com/~cryptogo/
There are a few things that this should throw flags for.
1) It’s using a self-signed cert.
2) The cert is for a different name than the site. The cert is for box149.bluehost.com
3) Like I said above, the first page it displays is the BlueHost page.
I’m sending you an email about this. I may have a quick solution for you. While not perfect, it should be good enough to make things look a little better.
I do agree though, that was a screwed up decision on the part of Microsoft. How many arbitrary sites have they blacklisted with no real explanation.
My personal site, http://jwsmythe.com , had a similar block. It wasn’t a MS phishing filter, but it was a US Gov’t block based on content. They labeled it as a porn site. 🙂
http://freeinternetpress.com occasionally gets blocked by overambitious content filters also. I’ve been sent a few reports over the years. Sometimes they label it as porn. Sometimes subversive content. One was simply flagged as “news”.
Wow…when you said sue I thought you were joking. If you win do I get a cut?
SB
SB,
I wasn’t kidding.
I’ll easily tolerate being called names and all the tinfoil jokes the trolls can muster, but I won’t stand for being called a criminal by Microsoft’s crappy magic 8 ball. The bastards will lose that fight.
It appears, however, that they backed down on this one. In addition to telling them that their software is crap and that I hope they burn in Hell, I said that lawyers WOULD be involved if this nonsense wasn’t resolved quickly.
By my watch, it seems that they fixed it within about three hours of me submitting that false-positive form above for site operators; on the weekend, too. What service… * sigh *
They understand the part about the lawyers, I guess. They know they f-ed up on this one. And f-ed up bad.
Kevin,
I received the phishing message (just as you show it) last week using this computer. Didn’t reply to their question. Its none of anyone’s business but my own where I look round to see. I meant to send you email about it.
I did not get the message tonight using the same computer – Comcast ran a phishing filter on the site before it opened it.
Its just plain Rude.
E
[…] Can’t bribe em’? Just get the crappy browser to declare them a phishing site! […]
I logged into my cPanel on bluehost today and I recieved that same warning, but only in the cPanel… Not on my website at all.. Here’s the kicker, ONLY WITH FIREFOX AND NOT IN IE7..
hmmm
tom