Persistent redirecting to malicious sites

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Level 1

9 points

Persistent redirecting to malicious sites

I'm experiencing a strange issue with redirects on my iPhone SE. Often when I follow a link from one site to another, or a link within a site to a different page on the same site, I get redirected to a scam website claiming to be a survey from my ISP. This happens upwards of 50 times a day. The issue happens on my own wi-fi, other wi-fi networks, and on cellular. The scam website imitates the ISP of whatever network I happen to be using. I experience these redirects in Safari as well as in Google Chrome.

I have tried clearing my cookies and data, resetting my internet settings, and even restoring my phone to its factory settings and setting my phone up as a new phone - nothing solves the problem. The issue doesn't occur on my other devices.

iPhone SE, iOS 12

Posted on Jun 22, 2019 7:10 AM

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Answer 1

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,345 points

Jun 22, 2019 7:57 AM in response to Hunaudières

If you have restored the phone to factory and set it up as new, not using a backup and the problem recurs, and it is showing information about your ISP, I suggest the problem is your router. Try powering it down for 30 seconds and then power it back on and try again. If it continues, you may need to restore your router, as it may have been infected.

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Answer 2

Kurt Lang

Level 9

69,246 points

Jun 22, 2019 2:28 PM in response to Hunaudières

You can't really turn JavaScript off. Much of the web won't work as expected if you do.

The solution is to install a free ad blocker from the App Store. I use the free version of AdGuard. Once installed, you need to enable it. Settings > Safari > Content Blockers. Turn on the switch for the ad blocker you installed.

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Answer 3

Kurt Lang

Level 9

69,246 points

Jun 22, 2019 4:50 PM in response to Hunaudières

It's just short of impossible to infect an iOS device that has not been jailbroken. There's nothing to find, or even be concerned about.

JavaScript redirects are extremely common. They happen under any OS and in any browser. Ad blockers are currently the best way to stop the majority of them.

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Answer 4

Hunaudières Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 22, 2019 2:22 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Yes, the redirect is back once I turn JavaScript back on. (This is in Safari, though. I don't know how how to disable JavaScript in Chrome).

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Answer 5

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,345 points

Jun 22, 2019 8:33 AM in response to Hunaudières

I'm sorry, I missed the cellular statement. I've not seen where clearing History and Website data did not fix this issue, and especially when it occurs on multiple browsers. This device is not jailbroken, is it? If you go to Settings>Safari>Advanced>, do you have JavaScript on? I've not used Chrome on iOS, so I'm not familiar with how you clear their cookies, but I know that with the full version on the computer, you can select the time period for clearing cookies and website data, so is that an option?

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Answer 6

Hunaudières Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 22, 2019 4:45 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Installing AdGuard seems to have eliminated the redirects. Thank you so much for your advice.

However, I'm still concerned that these redirects are symptomatic of my phone being infected by malware or similar malicious programs. Wouldn't my security still be compromised if I merely block the redirects without addressing the issue at its root?

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Answer 7

Hunaudières Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 22, 2019 8:26 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

I tried powering off my router and did a factory reset of the router as well. But I later discovered that the redirect also occurs when I'm using my phone on cellular network. Wouldn't this rule out a router issue?

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Answer 8

Hunaudières Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 22, 2019 9:13 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

The device is not jailbroken.

I have JavaScript on. Turning it off seems to eliminate the redirecting issue, but it also makes a number of websites and features inaccessible (e.g. I can't post this reply without Javascript on).

I'm not entirely sure about clearing cookies on Chrome, as I normally use Safari, but the Chrome browser lets you clear 'browsing history', 'cookies and site data', 'cached images and files', 'saved passwords', and 'autofill data'. I just ticked them all to try to clear everything.

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Answer 9

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,345 points

Jun 22, 2019 11:19 AM in response to Hunaudières

Then that identifies the problem as a script issue. If you turn java script back on after clearing Chrome, does the redirect come back? I'm not aware of any other method for clearing issues with java script. Maybe another user will read this and have a recommendation.

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Persistent redirecting to malicious sites

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