# Malware preventing access to this site



## BodhiD (Sep 29, 2015)

Hi Brothers,

I know this is a long shot, but I need help/advice if anyone has any.

I rarely join online forums, but joined this one and have enjoyed it thus far.  Over the weekend I had Myfreemasonry.com opened and signed in on my pc for a day or two.  At some point I came back to it, and the page was displaying a different page or something (my memory is vague--did not think much of it).  Now I cannot access this forum/webpage--and only this webpage--on my home pc (I'm on a different device presently). 

Details:
-I was using Firefox Browser
-When I try to access www.Myfreemasonry.com, the address changes to ww9.www.myfreemasonry.com, then redirects to zerodirect1.com, which appears to be redirection malware site.
-This happens on any browser I use (IE, Chrome or Firefox), not just the original browser
-I uninstalled Firefox after trying to reset all settings since that didn't help; it still happens on other browsers
-I have several browser monitoring programs & virus programs (Adaware, Iolo System Mechanic, MSoft Security Essentials), but they didn't catch this
-I installed Malwarebytes, which detected 3 "PUPs" (possible unwanted program?), which I quarantined and removed, but I still have the problem.
-Malwarebytes, as a safety mechanism, now prevents my browser from going to the redirected page, but that indicates I still have the malware affecting my system
-I did system restore twice, but that did not help, and Windows had only backed me up from 9/26--possibly after the malware got in
-I did NOT install any suspicious software or click on any suspicious .exe files or links; just came back to my pc and found the page affected.  There are no unknown programs I can remove via Windows control panel.

So I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar issue; if anyone has any further advice or experience.  I'm on Windows 7 64-bit; since they are offering a free upgrade to Win10, does anyone think that will solve the issue?  I've never seen such a persistent issue, which I guess is affecting the directory or something.  I'm not highly tech savvy, just kind of middling.

I'm not so worried about not being able to access this site (no offense--but I have other devices); but I am worried about the security of my PC from an ID theft standpoint.

Any advice or experience would be appreciated; especially any insight on why in the world it may only be affecting my access to this site.


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## BodhiD (Sep 29, 2015)

Hi, thanks for taking the time to share your experience.  I never heard of TOR until reading this site, just today.  Is it some kind of encryption program?

Also, just a few minutes ago I got back to my home machine and ran several other malware removal programs and could not find anything.  When I came to this site, I was able to access again.  It seems one of the Malwarebytes or the beta root kit detector I ran last night may have the job (?), and a full shut down was somehow necessary (I rebooted several times).  It's kind of a mystery to me, but it seems to be repaired.

Sorry to raise the alarm!  I get very stressed when my machine is compromised.  I'd still like to hear everyone's experience/fixes for future reference.  Thank you.


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## pointwithinacircle2 (Sep 29, 2015)

I also have this problem intermittently.  I am not sure what causes it.


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## Blake Bowden (Sep 29, 2015)

I've yet to experience it. Using chrome, Safari and Firefox on OS X


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## Blake Bowden (Sep 30, 2015)

I've done some work on the server and site. Please let me know if this issue arises again and if it does, take note of what os version you're using, browser, etc.


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## crono782 (Oct 5, 2015)

I've had the issue several times. I think one of the DNS servers may be compromised. It's probably a round robin of several, so that's why it's intermittent.


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## drw72 (Oct 11, 2015)

I just had the same problem (Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge). I cleared my history, cookies, and website data. Now it works fine.


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## Blake Bowden (Oct 11, 2015)

drw72 said:


> I just had the same problem (Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge). I cleared my history, cookies, and website data. Now it works fine.



Let me know if you encounter the issue again. Thanks for keeping me posted.


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## JJones (Jun 13, 2016)

I've been having this issue almost daily. I try coming to the website and get redirected to various questionable sites. It's hit or miss though, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, it doesn't matter if I try using my computer or another device either.


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