Member Avatar for HoverportMedia

I apologize if this isn't the right board for this topic, but when you're developing a website and especially when it goes live, sometimes the user will see words that acts as links to unnecessary ads.

As an example, I'll take some text from a client of ours:

"Our formulas come from naturally-derived ingredients such as surfactants from coconut oil and preservatives from sage oil..."

The word ingredients is a link (which in the actual code its not) and it displays an ad related to ingredients.

My two questions are, how do I get rid of this and is there anything I can do on my end so these links don't appear on my website?

Thanks

Edited by HoverportMedia
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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mildred2013

Dani AI

Generated

Several posters were on the right track. confirmed the page source contains no anchor for the word, and and correctly suggested a client-side/plugin issue. That distinction matters: if the link is present in the raw HTML delivered by the server it is a site problem; if it appears only after the page loads, it is being injected by a browser extension, local adware, or (less commonly) a network-level injector.

Recommended diagnostic checklist:

  • Fetch the raw HTML from an external machine or a command line and search for the word. Example:

    curl -s 'http://example.com/affected-page' > raw.html
grep -i 'ingredients' raw.html || echo 'not found in raw HTML'

    If the term (or an <a> around it) is not in raw.html, the change is happening client-side.

  • Inspect the live DOM with browser devtools: right-click the visible word → Inspect. Use a DOM breakpoint (right-click node → Break on → Subtree modifications) to catch the script or extension that inserts the element.

  • Reproduce on another browser, in private/incognito mode, another device, or over a different network (mobile data). If confined to one machine/browser, it’s almost certainly an extension or local adware. If seen across a whole LAN, check router DNS or ISP injection.

Practical mitigations for the site owner:

  • Serve pages over HTTPS (HSTS) to block many network-level injections.

  • Reduce and vet third-party scripts, use Subresource Integrity and a strict Content-Security-Policy to limit what external scripts can do (these help against compromised third-party code but not browser extensions).

  • As a defensive UI trick (not a cure): wrap sensitive text in a container and neutralize added anchors via CSS, for example:

    .no-inject a { pointer-events: none; color: inherit; text-decoration: none; }

    Use this with caution—legitimate links inside the container will be disabled.

To assist clients, document evidence: side‑by‑side screenshots of view‑source vs live DOM, the curl output, and results from running an anti‑adware scanner. Posts from and pointing to JavaScript/plugins are consistent with these steps. The fundamental reality is that site-side control is limited when an end‑user’s browser or local network is injecting content.

Recommended Answers

All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for pritaeas

Is there some Javascript code that does this?

Member Avatar for HoverportMedia

That's a good question... I looked through my code and there doesn't seem to be anything that would cause it, but if you want to look at the site, here it is:

If there is some Javascript that can prevent this, that would be ideal.

Member Avatar for pixelsoul

I see no link for "ingredients". Are you sure it isn't just browser plugin you have installed?

Member Avatar for JorgeM

I dont see any links either. If its only happening on your browser, its likely to be a plug-in of some sort, maybe a toolbar that you have loaded.

Member Avatar for HoverportMedia

This actually isn't happening on my browser. It's happening on my clients. I believe there is a unwanted program / plug-in that causes this problem, but I'm not sure which one. What I'm wondering is there a way to stop these sort of problems, besides just disabling the suggested program / plugin. Also, has anyone seen this sort of problem before on other webpages?

Member Avatar for pixelsoul

If the problem is truly being caused by something on the clients machine or browser, there is nothing you're going to be able to do on the website to circumvent that. The best thing to do is to edjucate the client on why it might be happening and have them open the site in a different browser (or incognito mode if they're using chrome) if they need some convincing.

Member Avatar for pixelsoul

If the problem is truly being caused by something on the clients machine or browser, there is nothing you're going to be able to do on the website to circumvent that.

It's like I said, there's nothing you can change on the website it self to fix it.

Edited by pixelsoul
Member Avatar for mildred2013

its one of those browser plugins

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