Roar.com assessed as a threat

R

Roar.com

New member
Hello,

It has been brought to our attention that our website at http://www.roar.com and our privacy policy webpage at http://www.roar.com/legal/privacy.htm have been reported to you and subsequently included on your list of websites constituting potential privacy/security threats.

The record of this is located at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/threats/53.html

We wish to advise that the reporting of the above website as a potential privacy and/or security threat was misconceived and incorrect.

We are a public company operating an established and reputable paid placement advertising directory website and we are well aware of our security and privacy obligations regarding the use of personal information that we collect and store.

We have tried on numerous occasions to contact Spybot via email, but have not yet received a response.

What steps need to be taken to remove us from your security threats list?

Regards

Bill Vanderent
Manager, IT Services
Roar.com
 
No response?

I still haven't heard anything back about this. Can someone from Spybot please contact me as soon as possible?

Thanks

Bill
 
Let me make sure that this is clear. I am not speaking for Spybot S&D as I am in no way connected with them. I am simply an individual that visits this forum and would like to keep personal information all to myself. Based on your privacy statement what did you expect? :confused:
 
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I wonder why every block list I know of contains roar.com & darkblue.com

I just can't understand why anyone would want to block access to an outfit responsible for some really great wares. :sarcasm: One might get the idea that roar folk were responsible for some nasty malware propagation like highjackers and such. Surely that's not the case. :more sarcasm:
 
el cpu said:
Let me make sure that this is clear. I am not speaking for Spybot S&D as I am in no way connected with them. I am simply an individual that visits this forum and would like to keep personal information all to myself. Based on your privacy statement what did you expect? :confused:
Click to expand...

Hi el_cpu,

The reference in our privacy policy to "personal information" such as names, email address is only collected from our customers/advertisers and not individual surfers who view the website. This is for our customers who wish to engage in a business relationship with us. (eg. Advertise their sites on Roar.com)

Any marketing material that is sent using such personal information also strictly complies with the relevant anti-spam legislation enforced in Australia. Again, this is for our business clients, not web surfers.

Personal information collected by us is not disclosed to any other third parties and is protected against unauthorized access by such third parties.

The only information that is collected from individuals viewing the said website is their IP address (for fraud detection)

The only tracking devices used by us are cookies and web-bugs. The use of these basic tracking devices is clearly disclosed in the privacy policy. More importantly, these tracking devices are standard tools used in the online advertising industry and in no way compromise the security of, or allow unauthorised access to users computers.

Thanks,

Bill
 
mikey said:
I wonder why every block list I know of contains roar.com & darkblue.com

I just can't understand why anyone would want to block access to an outfit responsible for some really great wares. :sarcasm: One might get the idea that roar folk were responsible for some nasty malware propagation like highjackers and such. Surely that's not the case. :more sarcasm:
Click to expand...

Hi Mikey,

Thanks for your honesty. You're right, it's not the case. We don't use spyware/malware/*ware. RE the block lists, we are a search engine (roar.com), and an affiliate program (darkblue.com). I've seen both of those in some "ad" block lists, because that's what they do, display ads for our customers. That in mind, I've also seen cj.com, googleadservices.com and cnet.com (to name a few) in these same lists.

RE the inclusion in the Spybot "threat" list, and what I've said above, does that warrant our inclusion? It would be good to hear from someone who administers the threat list.

Thanks

Bill
 
Hey Bill, thx for the response and sorry about the sarcasm. If you aren't too put off by my previous sarcasm, perhaps you wouldn't mind discussing what may be the reason in part or in whole for your being targeted by most of the block lists. I can try to compile a list of those who block your sites if you like. The ones I'm familiar with do so.

Anyway, as I Google my way around looking for refs related to darkblue & roar, I note a bit of discussion about the use of those all too hated popunders...we all know about popunders...some are even known to use browser vulnerabilities/exploits to load unwanted wares. I know you wish to speak to someone on staff here but would this issue be worth a comment even tho I am not a SSD admin?

I think perhaps I should ask the others who publish the lists why they target your domains. I might find a more encompassing view of things that way. Now that I'm more curious, I wonder what else I can find...off to find out.

EDIT: BTW Those links at the bottom of your page don't work here either in multiple boxes(IE). I think the prob is on your end.
 
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md usa spybot fan said:
Is there a reason that the following link buttons on the bottom of your www.roar.com home page all link to www.roar.com/#, which also the home page, rather than to the indicated subject matter?
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Roar.com said:
md, maybe you've got javascript turned off? The links on the page (not the ones listed above) launch a popup window containing the relevant information
Click to expand...

mikey said:
EDIT: BTW Those links at the bottom of your page don't work here either in multiple boxes(IE). I think the prob is on your end.
Click to expand...

The issue is that since Roar.com is in Restricted Sites, Active Scripting (Java) is disabled by default, so the links fail and return to the main page. It would probably be best to make these important links simple HTML that open other pages rather then popup windows using Java. :shrug:
 
bitman said:
It would probably be best to make these important links simple HTML that open other pages rather then popup windows using Java. :shrug:
Click to expand...

It would improve accessibility, also. I highly recommend to do it.
 
Hi Mikey, no problem about the sarcasm ;) Would be happy to discuss how to get off the Spybot lists, and what we need to do to achieve this.

As for the block lists, that would be great if you could pm me any information you find.

Regarding popunders, it is a configurable option for our customers to use popunders, however we never install spyware/malware/*ware, exploit or not. As part of our vetting processes, we check that after our customers have signed up that the target sites do not attempt exploits or vulnerabilities. Should our affiliates attempt to do so during the course of our relationship, our 24hr customer care team immediately disable any directed traffic, and further action is taken against the affiliate (as per our affiliate terms and conditions - http://darkblue.com/index.htm?mainPage_new=1&section=aff_tc)

I checked the links on the bottom of the roar.com page, and it worked fine for me. You don't have Spybot installed by any chance do you? Looks like bitman is right. Seems that when I tested on another box here with spybot installed, the popup didn't work. You see my problem :)

We've taken your suggestion and changed those links at the bottom of roar.com to simple links instead of popups.

Thanks!

Bill
 
Roar.com said:
I checked the links on the bottom of the roar.com page, and it worked fine for me. You don't have Spybot installed by any chance do you? Looks like bitman is right. Seems that when I tested on another box here with spybot installed, the popup didn't work. You see my problem :)

We've taken your suggestion and changed those links at the bottom of roar.com to simple links instead of popups.

Thanks!

Bill
Click to expand...
As expected, the simple links work fine now even with Roar.com in Restricted Sites.

Also, please realize that just installing Spybot S&D doesn't add Roar.com to Restricted Sites, this is done by performing the 'Immunize' function. As Mikey stated, Roar.com is likely on several such block lists since they tend to be common to several products.
 
bitman said:
Also, please realize that just installing Spybot S&D doesn't add Roar.com to Restricted Sites, this is done by performing the 'Immunize' function.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but I would have to assume that people using Spybot would immunize? (why wouldn't you?) Thus why I would like to see roar.com removed from the threats list.

Spybot admins? Anyone?
 
Anyone there?

Hello,

I have tried contacting Spybot since the 2nd December on numerous occasions, and have yet to hear a response.

I don't know what else to do other than post in the forums to get your attention.

Please PM me or email as soon as possible so that we can move forward and have our entry removed from your threats database

Bill
 
Still no response

Hello,

It has now been well over 2 months since we first contacted Spybot to have our entry removed from your threats database. Time and time again we’ve emailed, and we still have yet to receive a response.

We have done all that you have asked. We have taken your suggestions and made changes to our privacy policy to clarify any points which may have been interpreted incorrectly. We have done this in a timely and efficient manner. Despite this, you choose to ignore our emails and refuse to remove us from your threats database.

It should be noted that our privacy policy has been drafted to comply with the National Privacy Principles outlined in the Australian Privacy Act 1998. (Cth). More information about the Privacy Act is available on the Australian Privacy Commissioner's website at http://www.privacy.gov.au.

We have also respected your wishes, and responded to your questions and concerns via email, rather than enter into a public discussion on your forums. Despite this, you have refused to reply to these emails.

We again ask for you to please contact us so that we can have our entry removed from your threats database.

Regards, Bill
 
Sent

Hello PepiMK,

FYI I re-sent the email to your reviews department on Friday. If you could check that it's been received I would appreicate it. Apologies for sending to your personal address, but I was concerned my responses weren't being received

Thanks

Bill
 
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