Skimlinks Really Getting On My Goat

El Caballo

I realise that boards is mostly run on ad revenue and needs it to survive but skim resources is really getting on my nerves at this stage. The mobile ISP provider that I use has certain sites blocked as standard which I'm sure is the same with many other people. The issue with skimresources is that it is blocked on vodafone so I can not open any post links as I get redirected through skims. I also can't optout as it won't let me access the site through the firewall, cannot copy and paste the link I want to read as skim resources is the hidden url so I can't see any content which would help me contribute to the discussion which is extremely frustrating.

It takes a lot away from the usability of the site for me and I find it to be very intrusive expecially as most of the links I click on will generate any ad revenue for boards as they are generally news articles. I know there is a way around this but I generally do not like using adblocker on sites such as boards that I use a lot as I know the revenue is vital. I can handle ads on pages but tracking links like skimlinks are both frustrating and alienating on the site.

I'm sure a core group of other posters are just as frustrated as me with the problem and was wondering just how important these cookies are to the site? I'd rather not have to deal with them as they pretty much break boards for me.

Boards.ie: Niamh

Hi El Caballo,
We have tested accessing the site on mobile via the Vodafone network here. There is no issue with opening any links that have a Skimlinks affiliate, i.e. the URL goes briefly to the skimlinks URL but proceeds directly to the correct page. As far as we are aware and from the testing we have done just now, Vodafone has not blocked Skimlinks for everyone.

The issue you mentioned about trying to copy and paste a link, i.e. being given the redirected Skimlinks URL, is correct however opening that URL should direct you to the intended page on whatever site you were expecting to land on - so a brief moment on the Skimlinks URL then immediately on to the expected page.

Please note that news articles are not affiliated with Skimlinks so they are not (or should not be) affected. Using an adblocker would have no effect on Skimlinks either.

Would you mind providing screenshots or more information about what exactly is happening when you click on a link? Please include the links you are being directed to that are causing an issue and the posts you are opening the links from.

When working correctly, Skimlinks should be of minimum interference and should not affect your Boards experience at all so we'd like to get to the bottom of this. Thanks

El Caballo

Thanks Niamh, appreciate the time:)

There isn't any real specific links that are causing the issue, I have the same problem with all links although sometimes I have problems accesing a link and get sent to a blocked page when redirecting through skimresources, other times with the same link, I don't get redirected at all.

A link like this on the athletics forum in the OP, I can't access right now

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057702457

Get this skimresources redirect

http://go.skimresources.com/?id=61111X1383796&site=boards.ie&xs=1&isjs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corkathletics.org%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D367%3Amcelhinney-vanquishes-treacy-s-1974-3000m-record%26catid%3D9%26Itemid%3D226&xguid=&xuuid=e0e3b8a1990c3df33a8594312327ed87&xsessid=&xcreo=0&xed=0&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boards.ie%2Fvbulletin%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D2057702457&pref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boards.ie%2Fvbulletin%2Fforumdisplay.php%3Ff%3D972%26order%3Ddesc%26page%3D&xtz=0

When I click on the link, I get redirected by skimresources and get an XMPblocked page and can't view the link I want to see. Here are the screenshots

Boards.ie: Niamh

Thanks for the updated information El Caballo. This is odd - usually when redirecting to Skimlinks, the link is go.redirectingat.com.... and not the go.skimresources.com you are getting here. I'll have to check this more, it appears that skimresources is connected to Skimlinks so leave it with me please.

Boards.ie: Niamh

We've tried again but still cannot reproduce the issue here. Given that it is so intrusive, I'd have expected some other users to have reported it by now if it was a Vodafone-wide issue so for now I think we'll have to assume that it's not. Having read a bit about it, this might be a browser infection on your phone. To check this, you should disable any browser extensions or add-ons and then re-enable them one at a time, checking links in between each one to see if they have a) reverted to normal links when there are no browser extensions enabled and b) to see which extension restarts the redirect. If this works, you should delete the offending extension/add-on.

Further tips were to ensure your browser is fully up to date and try clearing your browser's cache and cookies.

Hopefully this will work for you.

pawrick

Hi Niamh, recently started having the same problem. tried the steps you mentioned above and no luck. Using chrome on my pc via a meteor 4G router.

Boards.ie: Niamh

Hi pawrick, are you also being redirected to a skimresources link for any/every link you click on Boards? We were unable to reproduce the error here the last time but if you can provide any further information on the issue we'll look into it here. Thanks.

pawrick

Hi Niamh, yes seems to be every link I click on so far with my home pc. What info do you need?

separately and I've no idea if connected or something new in the office here I'm getting this type of warning on my work PC on all links which wasn't the case before

using 1st link on this page as example http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057724014

Your connection is not private

Attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.oneills.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). NET::ERR_CERT_WEAK_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM

Automatically report details of possible security incidents to Google. Privacy policy
Back to safetyHIDE ADVANCED
You attempted to reach www.oneills.com, but the server presented a certificate signed using a weak signature algorithm (such as SHA-1). This means that the security credentials the server presented could have been forged, and the server may not be the server you expected (you may be communicating with an attacker). Learn more.

Proceed to www.oneills.com (unsafe)

pawrick

and another one on the work pc trying to get to amazon.co.uk through a link on boards site

Your connection is not private

Attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.amazon.co.uk (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). NET::ERR_CERT_WEAK_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM

Automatically report details of possible security incidents to Google. Privacy policy
ReloadHIDE ADVANCED
www.amazon.co.uk normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Google Chrome tried to connect to www.amazon.co.uk this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect credentials. This may happen when an attacker is trying to pretend to be www.amazon.co.uk, or a Wi-Fi sign-in screen has interrupted the connection. Your information is still secure because Google Chrome stopped the connection before any data was exchanged.

You cannot visit www.amazon.co.uk right now because the website uses HSTS. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later. Learn more.

pawrick

attempting to open this link http://www.solarcity.com/residential/solar-roof in this forum page http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057723075&page=4


http://go.redirectingat.com/?rdrflb=1

If you’ve landed on this page, you may be wondering exactly what it’s all about.

We’re Skimlinks — a service that helps online publishers earn money.

When links in publishers’ content lead their users to click through and buy from an online retailer, we make sure they’re rewarded!

We aim to make our service seamless and unobtrusive, so your user experience should not be interrupted. If you’ve landed on this page and didn’t mean to, unfortunately you’ve most likely clicked on a broken link along the way. Links can be broken if they are badly formatted; if you spot any again, we’d advise reporting these to the site owner.

- Team Skimlinks

pawrick

still having this problem even for links I post myself sending me to skimlinks. It only seems to be affecting me when using chrome rather that microsoft edge and it's making the site very irritating to use.