Links to Ning from Facebook blocked?

[Hugh]

Is there a problem with Ning and Facebook? A member alerted me that links to my network from my Facebook page were being blocked with the following message:

Sorry

The link you are trying to visit has been reported as abusive by Facebook users. To learn more about staying safe on the Internet, visit Facebook's Security Page. Please also read the Wikipedia articles on malware and phishing.

I checked another Ning network I know that runs a Facebook page and they seem to have the same issue.

http://www.facebook.com/HarringayOnline

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bowes-and-Bounds-Connected/1655707968...

[Patrick Chappelle]

I read it and commented on that post, pending approval.

[Franco Mercalli]

This is interesting:

"We integrate with many different external blacklists including Norton and when there's a block on their service we provide a warning to our users," Wolen said in an email. "I have already reached out to Norton to notify them, however, the cause for the block is a question best suited for their PR Team."

Since the begging of this fb issue I noticed that it is strongly correlated with McAfee blacklist. I still have the impression that, at bottom, this is a blacklisting issue, not a fb one.

See also this:

This is how the link shim works: every time a link is clicked on the site, the link shim will check that URL against our own internal list of malicious links, along with the lists of numerous external partners including McAfee, Google, Web of Trust, and Websense

(From: https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-security/link-shim-protecti...)

[Eric Suesz]

I think you may be right, Franco. My hunch all week has been that Facebook has partnered with McAfee to share lists and that some of these provided lists are unreliable. (As the saying goes: When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail; when you're in the business of blocking content, it's easy to overreach.) But, that is simply my own opinion. 

Just so you know: We've been in contact with McAfee, but as you can imagine the business of that business isn't always transparent. But, I'm hoping we can find out for sure.

[Franco Mercalli]

Yes, I can immagine it is not easy.

Thank you for your effort.

There seems to be a procedure for notifying false positives to McAfee: https://community.mcafee.com/thread/40930

I would urge all NCs, especially those which are McAfee customers, to use it, ask for delisting of IP 208.82.16.68, and make cristal clear that they are damaging us.

[Franco Mercalli]

McAfee support answered by suggesting how to whitelist 208.82.16.68 on my PC.

I sent to them the reply below.

I suggest that all NCs who are McAfee customer do the same.

===

Sirs,

I'm frankly non satisfied with your answer.

The problem is not that McAfee blocks 208.82.16.68 on my PC, rather that it blocks it on every PC in the world.

Blacklisted IP 208.82.16.68 is a *false positive*, as it correspond to service Ning.com which is perfectly reliable. You should delist it as soon as possbile.

On Ning.com I'm managing an online community of 7,600 members: all among them who are McAfee customers are suffering from the same issue.

If the matter is not solved by you within 7 days, I will try to solve it by sending out to all 7,600 members a broadcast message, stating the following:

• that McAfee is creating problems with the above mentioned *false positive*
• that the issue is due to bad blaclkisting management by McAfee
• that to solve the issue I suggest to all members who use McAfee to switch to an alternative software, such as Symantec-Norton, which does not have this problem

[Eric Suesz]

I like your style, Franco. 

[Patrick Chappelle]

Sa-weet, Franco!!!!

[Franco Mercalli]

Probably no one will even care...

I should have learned to play guitar!

[Patrick Chappelle]

I've turned off my Facebook like and Facebook share. Considering taking down my Facebook page altogether and finding other ways to build membership.

[Skye]

I turned mine off as well, I am thinking of using my Blogger for a way to get through although I am not quite sure how yet but posting through my Blogger and sharing can get members then somehow steer them to my community eventually.

[Patrick Chappelle]

Yeah, my Blogger gets more hits than my Ning network, but I have to copy and paste everything to it. If there was a way to autopost to Blogger, I would. It would build membership at my site exponentially. I'm going to see if there is a way to do this.

[Skye]

Let me know if you do, thank you.