Pop-Up Problems and Banners seen on Gamesheets
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GoldToken no longer allows pop under ads.

  • So if your getting any pop ups while here at GoldToken, its highly suspicious of something else on your system that is causing these. 



What any pop-ups you receive on GoldToken indicates is that you have classic spyware, also known as Malware. 

Ads themselves can not carry a virus. 

You must download something or allow them to place scripting in your computer for that to happen. Check your browser settings to ensure that nothing can be downloaded without your permission.



You can't get a virus from any ad on GoldToken. Not by cookies, logging in, looking at a pop up or playing the games here. 




What is Spyware?

Spyware and has been in the news a lot lately. In fact, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed 2 Bills banning SPYWARE. So, let me explain what it is:



Spyware is software that is installed on your computer without you really knowing about it. It varies from annoying to downright scary. Let me put it this way...It can be as simple as annoying ads that pop out of nowhere or as scary as someone stealing your identity. Yes, it's that bad. 



Malware can hijack your browser, redirect your search attempts, serve up nasty pop-up ads, track what web sites you visit, and generally screw things up. Malware programs are usually poorly-programmed and can cause your computer to become unbearably slow and unstable in addition to all the other havoc they wreak.


    • The term is abbreviated for malicious software, software designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system, such as a virus or a Trojan horse. Most commonly used to place adware on your computer.



The way malware works: they install a reporting code in your computer along with another program you have installed, most commonly shareware. This hidden code then reports what sites you have been to, and they then try to send you adware popups through the malware that match what they think your interested in. So if you go to Google and type Wild Animals in the search box for your kids school report...the code reports it to the malware agency and they could think your looking for something other than zoo animals. Its all very nasty invasive stuff, and its getting worse every day. This often explains the naughty ads you see when its unexplainable where they came from except to blame it on the poor site you are visiting at the time.



It's not uncommon for malware to freeze your system. You may find you simply can't get online without popups arriving faster than you can close them. And many of them will reinstall themselves even after you think you have removed them, or hide themselves deep within Windows, making them very difficult to clean.



You can get infected by malware in several ways. Malware often comes bundled with other programs (Kazaa, iMesh, and other file sharing programs seem to be the biggest bundlers). These malware programs usually pop-up ads, sending revenue from the ads to the program's authors. Others are installed from websites, pretending to be software needed to view the website. Still others, most notably some of the CoolWebSearch variants, install themselves through holes in Internet Explorer like a virus would.



The vast majority, however, must be installed by the user. Unfortunately, getting infected with malware is usually much easier than getting rid of it, and once you get malware on your computer it tends to multiply.



Adware is the class of malware that place advertisements on your screen. These may be in the form of pop-ups, popunders, advertisements embedded in programs, or any other way the authors can think of showing you an ad. The pop-ups generally will not be stopped by pop-up stoppers, and often are not dependent on your having Internet Explorer open. They may show up when you are playing a game, writing a document, listening to music, or anything else. Should you be surfing, the advertisements will often be related to the web page you are viewing.



Hijackers take control of various parts of your web browser, including your home page, search pages, and search bar. They may also redirect you to certain sites should you mistype an address or prevent you from going to a website they would rather you not, such as sites that combat malware. Some will even redirect you to their own search engine when you attempt a search. NB: hijackers almost exclusively target Internet Explorer. They even can attempt to 

alter home page, search page and/or other browser settings. 


    • They are hard to get rid of and sometimes you have to go to the site they are trying to take you to in order to find their advertiser contact notes. In doing so, they will have listed someplace how to uninstall their garbage from your computer. Right clicking the page as it opens and going to view properties can give you the page destination and from. Look for the fine print at the bottom, something along the lines of the advertisers contact info link. Getting rid of them can be horrid and require going into the registry and digging out buried files (files inside of files inside of files) in order to remove all of it.

    • This may sound obvious but go into add/remove programs and remove any references to spyware etc. Uninstall while disconnected to the web. 

    • Also consider installing a firewall so you know what's trying to connect to the web.

    • Also depending on the variant you may have to manually edit some registry keys especially in the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer specifically the keys "main" and "search" and look for any hooks to a suspicious Dll or Exe on your local computer. Remember, editing registry keys can cause serious harm to your system, and cause you to have to reinstall your operating system. Take it to a professional if you have any doubt about what your doing in it.

    • For more info that may help with Hijackers:




Adaware or Spybot should find all malware and remove it. They are freeware and can be found by doing a search at http:www.google.com.



Spybot is an excellent program at helping with many of these problems and can be found free at http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022-10289035.html



Adaware nor Spybot detect viruses. If you have some major problems on your system, you need to lock it down better once you get it cleaned. I would strongly recommend that you make sure you've done all windows updates (not including SP2 yet), that you make sure your virus protection and your Adaware/Spybot have all updates done as well. The nice thing about Spybot is it helps prevent spyware in the first place. This program should be updated before you enable all protections. It does not need to run in the background and you only need to periodically do an update on it and run it when you start seeing a problem. 



If malware is freezing up your system, try having a friend load Spybot onto a disk for you and installing it that way.



If you're on broadband, then you should have a firewall. I recommend ZoneAlarm as good freeware.



The websites below seem to have the most recent information on current malware which you may need if your having a problem with pop ups, as the tactics used by malware is being updated constantly:



http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pest.aspx?id=453068445

http://www.help2go.com/article152.html

http://research.sunbelt-software.com/threat_display.cfm?name=IST.ISTbar.ActiveX

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1579



Spybot is free...but some sites ask for donations. It doesn't mean you have to donate. Here is a link to it: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/



Scroll to the bottom and click on one of the download links. Its the best malware program I know of. It finds stuff you wouldn't believe!!!




Remember, like virus', those who work with malware are always trying to bypass the programs that prevent it. Thus you have to be on your toes and update it like you do your anti virus protection.

  • You can check your system's vulnerability here.... http://www.grc.com/

      • Half way down the page, under "Hot Spots" click on "shields Up". Enter the shields up site and click on "Common Ports".

      • There's a wealth of other useful info there, too.

Another firewall to try is Zone Alarm. It's easy to use, effective and best of all it's FREE! http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html?part=zonealarm&subj=dlpage&tag=button




GoldToken uses in-house advertising for all our advertising. On top of that, GoldToken Support reviews all ads on almost a daily basis to ensure they are safe. Report any offending ads to GoldToken Support. 




GoldToken.com does not sell, resell, or license any of the products listed on this page. This page was compiled by GoldToken players familiar with computer problems. We cannot be held liable for issues that arise from the download, use of products or suggestions listed on this page.