Browser warnings

There has been some talk in my comment section and also around the internet that Google has been busy labeling certain websites as being potentially harmful.

The first sign I noticed a few weeks ago was the little warning box in my address window saying that a site was "NOT SECURE" because it would not accept a https:// (notice the s) connection, which is a secure connection. See the photo below when I visit my own blog.

Now apparently Google is maintaining a database of websites which have had complaints from people who say they have downloaded malicious software from that site. Any web hosting site is going to be on that list (except GoogleDrive, I bet) because the hosting sites have no way to scan for viruses -- even Google will warn you when you download a file that it is too large to scan for viruses. (sorry no screenshot here).

So this is the warning people are getting when attempting to download material from adrive.com, which is my web hosting service:

Notice that your browser is warning you that the website may try to trick you into downloading some apps you don't want. I think anyone who has used Zippyshare or Mediafire has noticed the very aggressive popups and warnings to download the latest version of Flash, etc etc. 

If anyone notices such popups or warnings coming from adrive.com, please let me know.

Finally, I decide to click on the link in the warning box to check on websites. When I entered adrive.com the database said it was potentially unsafe but maybe not the entire site. Then I entered the exact URL address of the download and i got this:

As I was going through some old posts on my dear friend Tawfiq's blog "Oriental Traditional Music on LPs and Cassettes," I noticed a comment on one of his posts from February 2015. It reads:

Anonymous said...

To admin; apparently A-drive has been blocked by "google safe" due to containing harmful malware on the server downloadwww.31.adrive.com. In other-words I cannot download this album. Thank you for for your wonderful blog. I'm able to find many treasures here I would not be able to find.

Sincerely.

19 February 2015 at 08:07

So this has been happening off-and-on for almost five years. 

In the meantime, I am going to keep using adrive.com. You and I will both notice this sort of warning coming up frequently. 

I truly thank every one of my readers and I sincerely hope that you are deriving benefit from the music available here and on other similar sites listed to the right. 

I hope you will study this beautiful music and give it your full attention. 

I also strongly hope that you will do your best to see Indian Classical Music concerts in person and help support the artists in that way. There are Hindustani and often Carnatic concerts everywhere -- not just Asia but every country in Europe, every country in North America (including Mexico, where a friend of mine just toured), and even at least one in Africa (South Africa). These are not always well publicized but they can be found with a little looking around on the internet and also mentioning to others about your love of this music.