Virus Risk FAQ

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We take reports of virus risks very seriously and check each one. Since the site upgrade, and because of a few real virus threats we have seen on sites to which we link outbound, it seems appropriate to offer some information regarding virus threats and this site (http://www.wildlifedisease.org). As such, we have put together this little FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document:

Q: Is there a problem or potential for a virus problem with this site?

A: December 16, 2011 and December 20, 2011 Malware redirects were found on the site. The site was blocked with a warning immediately (for browsers supporting the protocol).

We have since moved the site to a hosting service that supports SiteLock™ Security. The move to a more secure hosting service, the scanning provided by SiteLock™, along with our own continued monitoring of the site should minimize the chances of this problem providing us with another repeat performance..

It is important to note that there have often been viruses found on sites to which we link. We generally delete the link when this is found. We cannot control the security or content quality of sites other than www.wildlifedisease.org.

Q: If other sites may have viruses, why link to them?

A: That is the great question of Internet risk and reward. We link to other sites to provide additional content as do most information sites. A typical example of one of our regular links would be a connection to a website of an institution offering employment or training opportunities. It was one of these links that most recently contained a "Blaster" virus.

Q: If I think the site has a virus, how should I report it?

A: The WDA Web Editor is Renee Carleton -- rcarleton@berry.edu. It is very important to include the following information:
1. (and most important) What was the URL your browser was pointed to when you got the virus warning?
2. How did you get to that point?
    a) I typed the URL directly into the browser window.
    b) Directly from Google (or other search engine).
    c) From another page link or menu on www.wildlifedisease.org. (Which one?)
    d) From my browser's bookmarks.
    e) From my browser's history tab.
3. What anti-virus software and version are you using (if any)?
4. What was the exact and complete message your anti-virus software displayed?

Q: I never got an alert until the new site was unveiled. What caused that?

A: There are several issues that come into play when a site goes through a major change. Here are just a few:
1. Many pages changed names or disappeared entirely. This can confuse some virus checkers and/or a search engines. In the case of virus checkers, those comparing cached copies of the old site to some of the new dynamic code might consider the change to be unsafe. You may have to clear your browser or virus checker history and cache to rectify this problem on your machine. In the case of search engines, some of the pages that no longer exist, but still are listed in the search engine cache can provide unreliable links to the site. We have notified all the major search engines of the changes, and the bad links will evaportate over time. There is no way to speed this process.
2. The new site uses some dynamic scripting (both JavaScript and Perl) to draw some of the pages. These are the kinds of scripts that might contain a virus if not properly secured. These scripts are protected by the permissions of the webserver's file structure to avoid external corruption. It is possible that some virus checkers might view a page which previously had no dynamic content and suddenly now includes these elements as a risk. Once again, clearing the cache and history should correct this.
3. We are always adding links to external sites to provide additional content. We cannot control the quality of the content on these external sites. It is always best to keep a virus checker active when browsing the internet. Most informational sites rely heavily on external content.

Q: What about iFrames and Redirects? I hear they can contain viruses.

A: We do not use Frames or iFrames. They tend to annoy some virus checkers. We do open a new browser tab or window when we link to an external website. If this causes you problems with your pop-up blocker, you may have to change its settings to allow this. Causing a new window or tab to open on external links is not new. This was the usual process for links in the old site. We do not use "redirects, as such. We do use direct links in most of the pages to either external or internal content. The object of a hacker who installs iFrames or Redirects on a sites is to cause your browser to go to another, possibly unsafe site. It is not impossible for our site to get hacked by adding redirects or iFrames, but it is as unlikely as we are able to make it. We also regularly monitor logs for such a possibility.

Q: I clicked on a search engine link that I have used many times before and it sent me somewhere odd. What's up?

A: We have gone to great lengths to ensure the major search engines have all the information from submittals, page MetaData, keywords and use of all the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) procedures currently published. Most of the obsolete pages and links have been updated. It will take a while longer (perhaps months) for the obsolete links to PDF and .doc files and other fixed-type documents to disappear and/or be replaced by the correct link, as the search engines (especially Google) love to catalog that type document and cache it forever. The same issue may be true for image files.

Q: What are the "Best Practices" for browsing a site that has had a major upgrade?
A: It is most important to go directly to the site by typing the URL into your browser window (eg: http://www.wildlifedisease.org) and avoid using old bookmarks or search engine results. Use the site menu and internal links to navigate to the page you intend to visit. It would be best to clear your browser's cache and history, and delete any bookmarks you may have saved relating to the site. Then, re-bookmark the pages after successfully navigating to the page via direct URL and the site's menu system.

We hope this short FAQ has been helpful.