Live data from Hacker News

Help HN: Google just blocked my site as deceptive site

news.ycombinator.com

1–10 of 24 posts

Help HN: Google just blocked my site as deceptive site

#1
I run a website called Uploader window (www.uploader.win) that helps users to add an upload widget to their own apps or websites.

This morning I got a message from google that my site has been blocked for being Deceptive and it has listed my homepage as the deceptive URL. Anybody who will open the site gets a big red screen with a warning.

I've checked the source code by hand and everything I could check and I can't find any reason for hack or any security issues.

The only possible reason I can think off is we have a demo on our homepage which allows users to upload test files to try out the uploader and we offer a 20MB test space to help users during development. All test files are deleted after 24 hours. I have also disabled both these features since. But Google didn't say if this was the cause.

I've submitted a review to Google but not sure how long it will take.

We have a paying customers and all sites which have our script are now showing this warning too.

I am feeling super helpless and super scared how this is going to affect them.

Do you know of any way I can expidite the review? Any thing you can suggest to help me?

Re: Help HN: Google just blocked my site as deceptive site

#6
post #2

You allow anyone to upload random malware and you'll host it for them for 24 hours?

We don't offer any hosting. The demo on our website is way for people to actually see how the uploader will look in their own apps. Most companies like ours offer similar demos to their users too.

Re: Help HN: Google just blocked my site as deceptive site

#8
post #5

Is Search Console giving any useful info? FYI your domain seems to be blacklisted by Firefox, McAfee, Sophos among others [0] [0] https://www.virustotal.com/gui/url/e75b77237f60332ef78b2399c...

This is so strange. Unfortunately I can't find any security issue on the server or any files that caused this.

Here is a screenshot of webmaster tools(1). The pages it lists are html pages and I've checked the source code and there are no script or anything on them.

Also the virustotal site says 'base64-embedded'. Those are just svg images I've embedded in the html to reduce the number of requests. That can't be a trigger right?

(1) https://i.imgur.com/iHYWyG4.png

Re: Help HN: Google just blocked my site as deceptive site

#9
I'd report it as incorrect, but I can't even ignore the warning (Firefox, clicking proceed anyway just pops up an additional 'deceptive site' banner that follows me even after navigation away /shrug) - so I can't really justifiabally report it sight unseen.

Where does the upload go when your customers use it on their site though? Maybe what's deceptive is that if HN shows an upload area in an iframe or whatever, and I upload something, I expect that I'm giving it to HN, but really it's gone straight to you at Uploader.win?

(Fwiw I also think uploader.win is not a great name, your search result looks like it's a good tool, but the name sounds sort of scammy, like the kind of thing you'd get if you searched 'free download exe' or something.)

Re: Help HN: Google just blocked my site as deceptive site

#10
You say "All test files are deleted after 24 hours.", that implies to me that files people upload _could_ be downloaded too.

If that is the case, that is where you are vulnerable. Free hosting of a file at a trusted domain is worth something.

If people are not intended to be able to download their test files, check your logs, someone might have found a way around it.

That's the best I can think of.

Post reply on HN