Link inserted in hub by someone else!

1. 72

   galleryofgraceposted 10 years ago

   Today I got a notice of a broken link in one of my hubs.
   
   I don't and have never inserted links in the text of my hubs! I removed the link and I would like to openly accuse the culprit of inserting links in other peoples hubs.
   
   But- It seems that even though that hubber has been here for 7 years they only have 2 hubs. Which means they were here 2 years before me.
   I smell a rat!

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   1. 58

      MelissaBarrettposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So basically you're saying that someone hacked into your account and edited one of your hubs with a now broken link?

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         janesixposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Strangely enough, I think that is what he's saying.

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         1. 58

            MelissaBarrettposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            OK. Just checking.

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   2. 68

      Shyron E Shenkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Did you report it to HP? Maybe they could follow the link and find out who and why, did the link lead to one of their hubs?

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   3. 81

      moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I know what your saying. I found a link in my Pantry Hub. The word in the text was pantry and when that word was clicked it went to another Hub about a pantry. I know I would not have put that in, it was in the second  sentence of my hub. Why would I put it there? Looking through more hubs I found some links in more text. That I don't remember at all.
      I think at one time there were words in the text that could be linked without using the link sign at the top of each text box. Does anyone remember that?

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         rmcrayneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         You might be remembering Kontera links/ads, which showed to non-logged in users.

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   4. 81

      moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I'm still removing unknown links. One word recently was panther it sent my readers to another person’s hub that I know I didn't put there. I really don't like viewers of my hubs heading off to someone else’s hub and maybe never coming back. I have put some hub links from other hubbers in my hubs, but it was because I wanted them there and usually towards the bottom of my hub. It’s going to take me awhile to check all my hubs, time I really don't have right now.  The unknown links seem to be showing up in older hubs. This isn't a crisis but it could take your income if viewers don't stick around on your hubs.

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   5. 71

      Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you are seeing linked text in your Hubs for words and phrases that you did not link, then it may be that your computer has malware that is injecting hyperlinks into the web content that you view.
      
      Try these steps.
      Disable all browser extensions.
      Run a malware scan on your computer.
      Clear the browser cache.
      Disable any tool bars or other software including ad-blocking software.
      Try another browser like Firefox or better yet make sure to try a browser you do not currently have installed.
      
      There are other general browser troubleshooting steps here as well.
      http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/Diag … r-problems

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2. 92

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   Maybe it's not that type of link you insert, galleryofgrace. Could it be a broken link from an image? That happens every now and then.

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   1. 72

      galleryofgraceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It was connected to a specific word. It was not an image link.

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      1. 92

         jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         k

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3. 80

   EZ Swim Fitnessposted 10 years ago

   I too experienced this. I thought I was going crazy and started keeping notes in my hub in a hidden capsule.
   
   Now that you have confirmed I am not completely loosing it - I will track and report more diligently.
   
   Thank you very much for the information.

   replyreport
4. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   If you mean you see the link when you visit the hub, this is probably malware on your computer.
   
   If you open the module and the html is in there, that would be different.

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   1. 72

      galleryofgraceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The link was there and  hovering on the link showed me whose link it was . I must assume it was put there by that hubber as it was a link to another persons hub.

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         Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         People hack into Facebook and email, so why couldn't they do it here? I would be careful before accusing anyone though.

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   2. 91

      rmcrayneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Same suggested by Marisa Wright.  This makes more sense than conspiracy.  If someone had the skill set to hack into accounts to put in links to support their own interests, seems they would have the skills to instead do something that would actually get them substantial traffic (through completely different means).

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5. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   I am sure the link was there.  But this kind of link is normally on the users computer, not actually on the page.

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6. 81

   moonlakeposted 10 years ago

   I just found another one the word that was linked was slow cookers. The link went to Hubpages Slow Cookers. I know I did not put that in. Why would I send someone off my hub to all the slow cooker hubs on Hubpages.
   Duvet Cover went to a person's hub that only has 3 hubs.Someone I do not know.

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7. 60

   janesixposted 10 years ago

   Not sure why this situation is a crisis.

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      lmoyer92posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If this isn't resolved, the world will surely end. Can't you see it? If people are linking to other pages then it will lead to a global economic collapse. And once the global economy has collapsed, Hostess will no longer be in business. With Hostess no longer in business, we can't buy twinkies. If we can't buy twinkies, we'll start to go mad. Once we've been driven mad, well all start attacking random passerby's and accusing them of placing unwanted links in our hubs.

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      lmoyer92posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      But I suppose in all seriousness, it's stealing traffic from hubs, and it's being done so illegally. Just figured I would add some humor

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8. 81

   moonlakeposted 10 years ago

   I just found another one bundt took me to someone's hub about mini bundt pans.

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9. 93

   Susana Sposted 10 years ago

   I'm pretty sure it's Hubpages that's automatically putting links in, or at least, they did in the past. I think they experimented with this way of optimising the site many months back.

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   1. 81

      moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think your right I remember that. These may have been in there from long ago. How I never noticed them when I'm always redoing hubs. I just have no idea.

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10. 84

    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    Hubages never put links in, they had a tool that suggested related hubs for a word. You still had to click 'yes' to put them in.

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11. 84

    Marisa Wrightposted 10 years ago

    The last time this happened, it turned out to be malware on the user's computer.

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12. 72

    galleryofgraceposted 10 years ago

    I'm thinking now since it's an older hub that I may have put the link in myself in trying out the system.
    There are no other links in hubs so just one link seems strange.
    And no it is not malware!

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13. 72

    galleryofgraceposted 10 years ago

    Answer one question . Why on earth would malware link to other hubs unless it was the author of that hub spreading the malware. Malware usually links to advertisements not other hubs?

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    1. 71

       Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Links to other Hubs are, indeed, unlikely to be a result of malware. It sounds like you may have used the link suggestion tool as it suggests HubPages content based on the word selected.
       
       I recommend editing your Hubs and removing any links that you do not wish to be there. If you are concerned that someone may have access to your account, please change your HubPages password.
       http://hubpages.com/faq/#reset
       
       If you witness any links being added to your Hubs, please email the specific Hub URL to team at hubpages dot com and we can look into it further.

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14. 65

    cfinposted 10 years ago

    I'm not sure if someone already mentioned this but I am 99% sure that we used to be able to add some "Quick links" or something that linked you to another hub or even webpage. When they removed this ability (thingy), my hubs all showed up with violations and my hubscore went from 99 to 81 and has never recovered.
    
    May I add, that no help was forthcoming from hubpages, and to delete the links, i had to delete the whole capsule, as removing the text wasn't enough. 
    
    So no, you were not hacked and yes this is completely normal/ no normal

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    1. 71

       Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Just to clarify, when the suggest link tool was retired, doing so did not result in links added using it to show as broken. A Hub URL/link that was once valid is likely to be broken now simply due to Hubs being unpublished/deleted/etc.
       
       For broken links, removing them and rechecking your Hubs should be sufficient. 
       
       Click "Check for Violations Now" at the bottom of the page to recheck your Hubs.
       http://hubpages.com/my/hubs/stats
       
       The broken links report should also show you the exact link.
       http://hubpages.com/my/hubs/broken-links
       
       Once the broken links are addressed, then check them again ("Check for Violations Now") and the links that were fixed will be removed from that same broken links report page.
       In some cases, say you accidentally linked a single period to a URL, then they may be hard to find unless you look at the source.
       
       If you are having trouble finding what text is linked, right click in your browser and select "View Page Source".  You can then search that HTML to find the broken link URL.
       
       You can also switch to the HTML view in the HubTool (while editing a capsule) as well to more easily see some of these links.

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       1. 65

          cfinposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          I received a small skull beside my hubs (Contains Violations) at the time which was awkward. It was probably a coincidence/ odd timing. It was also odd that when I tried to delete the suggested link from my capsule, it wouldn't disappear and I had to delete the entire capsule.
          It's all in the past now though. Thanks for the comment.

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