HYPERLINKS made on my posts without my doing or permission. don't click on them!!

[drivesitfar]

ALL: i'm not sure if anybody else is having this issue and i'm going to call Dell Wednesday to fix it hopefully.

i just noticed it as i was typing a post and both in GOOGLE CHROME AND MICROSOFT'S IE or EDGE or whatever it is now the word CEDAR in my post was changed to a hyperlink and when i hovered over it the link was made by VIGLINK.

anybody know if this is a virus or what this is and is it on GJ or just my computer?

DON'T CLICK ON LINKS IN MY POSTS unless they are a YouTube video or a website i noted and wrote out the link for. i don't do the fancy link via a word stuff and i really didn't do this one.

thanks

 

[PFSard]

I haven't had the issue, but others have. These threads may help. Contacting a Mod might be warranted.

EBAY links on the forum took me to Viglink? Why is this?
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6417126

Viglink re-directing to Canada sites.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6432102

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, it's happening to others as well. me too, but I find once I refresh the page it goes away ( so far, fingers crossed)

 

[drivesitfar]

PF & COBB: thanks for the quick responses and help. i'll see if Dell can find it on my laptop cause i need to call them to take care of Microsoft's latest upgrade that has me manually connecting the internet every time i turn on my laptop.

ALL: re direct to a Canadian site for what reason??

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: one thing weird happened to me yesterday when i tried to log on to Photobucket. a few days prior i started deleting all my photos and saving the ones i didn't have on my new laptop. then yesterday i tried to log on and a pop up came up and like they always do on that site and when i clicked it off with the X a weird screen came up so i turned off my computer right away.

I wonder if PHOTOBUCKET got HACKED and those of us trying to save our pictures are getting a virus?

Curious that my underlined hyperlink issues happened (or it's when i first noticed them) the day after than PB incident isn't it?

 

[LB-1911]

Nothing new just new to you

This forum runs Viglink which is a tool that automatically parses the text of the forum and ads affiliate links to websites with products for sale to earn referrals. It's part of how Ryan pays for the forum. If I were to type say, Gucci Purses or Luxury Watches those may end up being affiliate links to websites selling those things.

 

[drivesitfar]

LB: interesting. I noticed it when i typed in cedar and not sure where that will send me that has to do with helping Ryan or GJ. maybe Ryan will tell us if it's his or not.

funny when i typed in cedar over on the garage sale thread it hyperlinked and now it's not hyperlinking it here. it hyperlinked cedar on another post in another thread so i thought it was just that word.

even stranger is that after i just posted the second time on a change the word cedar IS hyperlinked.

 

[cvairwerks]

I've found it's much easier to type everything in on a word processor program and then simply copy and paste into the browser if I'm typing more than a coupe of lines. GarageJournal time out seems to be pretty short for me and I'll often get ready to make the post and it's timed out and I lose everything when I log back in.

 

[firworks]

To add a bit more info, here's an excerpt from the VigLink entry on Wikipedia:

VigLink’s content monetization solution connects potential consumers to products by hyperlinking particular keywords in a website’s content.

The company’s technology, VigLink Insert, scans a page for words that could be potentially profitable to the publisher of the page, and connects the keyword with a product from an affiliate program. The publisher is paid when a reader clicks a link contained in the content to buy or learn more about a service or product.

VigLink also offers an outbound analytics service for clients to understand where readers go when they leave their site.

VigLink’s first service, called VigLink Convert, operates using a JavaScript library that customers install on their web site to identify and monetize all potential links to any of the 30,000 merchants working with VigLink.

The company also offers an NLP-powered link-insertion solution, VigLink Insert, to automatically insert links into a publisher’s content without detracting from reader experience.

VigLink Anywhere is the startup’s newest product. The Anywhere service is geared towards social media, allowing users to monetize links shared on Facebook, Twitter, and other channels.

The reason you are seeing it sometimes and not others is because it's a script that runs at page generation and scans the text to see if it thinks there are any keywords it should add a link to an affiliated website on. It's not just tools or garage stuff, it theoretically is anything that is in the Viglink affiliate network. In addition, it may have some "smarts" going on behind the scenes that says EVERY time you see the word "cedar" for example it shouldn't link somewhere, but only sometimes. Maybe based on the location of the person who requested the page or based on time of day or any other kind of data they have collected.

Have you also ever clicked on say, an Amazon link here on GJ and hit "copy link address"? Instead of getting the address shown on the page (i.e. http:// amazon etc) the link will look like this:
View media item 71696
That link WILL still go to the correct page, but after sending some information to VigLink about where the user is coming from (which thread) and where they are going (Amazon). It also inserts the GJ referral code into the outgoing link so if you purchase from Amazon, Ryan gets paid a little bit. It's extremely common on the internet, and is probably a good part of how Ryan helps support this place. There aren't too many people purchasing GJ Alliance memberships.

In short, it's totally fine and you shouldn't worry about it. You don't have a virus or spyware or anything, it's just the forum operating as intended.

 

[drivesitfar]

CV: when you log in check the box next to your handle and you shouldn't get logged out like what is happening if you make a long post. if you've seen any of my posts with multy members to comment to you'll know that it takes a while for me to write them and i haven't got logged out in years. i did get logged out a few times before i figured it out. or you can continue posting as you have been if it works for you.

Fir: great explanation and thanks for taking the time to tell me (us) what it is. i'm happy it isn't a virus of which i've had a few computers lost to those in the past.

ALL: I don't have a Facebook or Twitter account, but i do post on here quite a bit. i don't shop on Amazon much either cause hard to buy vintage tools there. that said i am looking for CEDAR currently so some program is paying attention to what i'm doing which is a little creepy to me.

hope you all have a good 4th whether it's just spending some quite time with your family or having fun watching some fireworks. the city we live in made them illegal to light off so i'm guessing it will be quieter unless a few of the bigger displays were still able to get a permit. with as dry as it has been here lately it wouldn't take much to set fire to a few areas. STAY SAFE!!

 

[firebox40dash5]

The reason you are seeing it sometimes and not others is because it's a script that runs at page generation and scans the text to see if it thinks there are any keywords it should add a link to an affiliated website on. It's not just tools or garage stuff, it theoretically is anything that is in the Viglink affiliate network. In addition, it may have some "smarts" going on behind the scenes that says EVERY time you see the word "cedar" for example it shouldn't link somewhere, but only sometimes. Maybe based on the location of the person who requested the page or based on time of day or any other kind of data they have collected.

Pretty sure the reason is in fact that Ryan has them turned off for members. I've also noticed them here immediately after posting, but only then, and it disappears on refresh. Viglink isn't that selective... go guest-browse a forum that uses it (or just log out of here), they put links every-********-where. I don't mind it as a way to monetize guest traffic, but I don't stick around on sites that do it to members. I'm a member on a motorcycle site that does (and hardly ever visit anymore) and it's annoying as hell having to watch for which links in, say, a build thread were added by the author, and which are Viglink spam.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Pretty sure the reason is in fact that Ryan has them turned off for members. I've also noticed them here immediately after posting, but only then, and it disappears on refresh. Viglink isn't that selective... go guest-browse a forum that uses it (or just log out of here), they put links every-********-where. I don't mind it as a way to monetize guest traffic, but I don't stick around on sites that do it to members. I'm a member on a motorcycle site that does (and hardly ever visit anymore) and it's annoying as hell having to watch for which links in, say, a build thread were added by the author, and which are Viglink spam.

Off hand I'm not sure what Ryan has it set at but generally once the page is refreshed, you won't see them....atleast when logged in as a member.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I've found it's much easier to type everything in on a word processor program and then simply copy and paste into the browser if I'm typing more than a coupe of lines. GarageJournal time out seems to be pretty short for me and I'll often get ready to make the post and it's timed out and I lose everything when I log back in.

Try to click "Remember Me" when you log in. Not clicking that will time you out.

 

[58Yeoman]

http://www.viglink.com/opt-out/

 

[NUTTSGT]

http://www.viglink.com/opt-out/

Interesting, very interesting. Thank you.

 

[Stuart in MN]

In short, it's totally fine and you shouldn't worry about it. You don't have a virus or spyware or anything, it's just the forum operating as intended.

I've noticed it happening in my posts for a long time now. The hyperlinks are there when the post is first made, but then they go away after a while. No big deal.

 

[firebox40dash5]

Off hand I'm not sure what Ryan has it set at but generally once the page is refreshed, you won't see them....atleast when logged in as a member.

Yeah, the only time I've ever seen them is when posting, and I only recall seeing them in my new post, that one time.

I tried logging out, and didn't see any browsing General Tools, I thought they were enabled for guests? Or maybe I've done the opt-out thing, don't remember.

 

[SMKS]

As already noted, you can opt out of Viglink.

I've done it several times over the years.

 

[leftyz]

Yep, just another way for the forum to make money, click on them now and then to help pay for server costs

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: good to hear VigLink wasn't or isn't a VIRUS. if Ryan and the owners of GJ can make a few dollars by using this and it doesn't hurt our computers then i'm all for it.

speaking of which i was told by a member that i should be an ALLIANCE member which i think is a $50 donation to GJ. funny thing was he has been a member maybe twice as long as I have and he wasn't a member. GJ is having a helluva problem with Photobucket's bail out or picture hostage for 3rd party postings so maybe the extra funds can pay for some added memory so we can download our pictures directly to GJ like i have since i left PB shortly after i joined here. THANKS

that said i'm all for supporting GJ and if i see a bunch of members with their handle in red i'll do something too and not sure just what yet.

thanks for all the information guys

 

[Ryan]

Yeah fellas. VL is one of the ways I make dough. Nothing nefarious.