Ask HN: Are Hacker News URLs safe to open?
Are user-submitted links safe to open? How does hacker news (or reddit, etc.) make sure submitted URLs are safe to click on?
10 comments
> Are user-submitted links safe to open?
No.
Well, most of them are, and when one that is unsafe is detected the mods kill it, and when the mods don't see it, the users put a comment and flag it (when it has enough flags, it is killed automatically).
Also, after a few (or even one) problematic submission, the mods may put the site in the autokill list, and ban the user. So most of the time the bad submissions are just [dead].
If you see something very bad, you can email the mods [email protected]
To flag the stories you need 200 karma. Here you get one! Use the flag button wisely when it is available to you.
No.
Well, most of them are, and when one that is unsafe is detected the mods kill it, and when the mods don't see it, the users put a comment and flag it (when it has enough flags, it is killed automatically).
Also, after a few (or even one) problematic submission, the mods may put the site in the autokill list, and ban the user. So most of the time the bad submissions are just [dead].
If you see something very bad, you can email the mods [email protected]
To flag the stories you need 200 karma. Here you get one! Use the flag button wisely when it is available to you.
This is an HN FAQ worthy comment!
Serious question: Where does this information come from? I'm not saying they're wrong but it seems there's no formal documentation on many of the HN rules/policies outside of word of mouth like this.
Observation in the course of forum use. Similar to unwritten social convention or rules.
email to one of the mods, there is a lot they will discuss when they have time, that cant be discussed in the open chat.
hit them up with a question or a concern, im sure they would rather answer a well thought out question than have to chase down a bunch of assumption based mistakes.
hit them up with a question or a concern, im sure they would rather answer a well thought out question than have to chase down a bunch of assumption based mistakes.
generally green names are brand new or have some low reputation until later, things like, but not limited to... bots, shadey IP ranges, obscene account names etc.
if the url comes from somewhere suspect use common sense thats your best defense. just like any open chat there are bad actors to recognize and avoid until you can flag.
if the url comes from somewhere suspect use common sense thats your best defense. just like any open chat there are bad actors to recognize and avoid until you can flag.
No, I sometimes, rarely there's even porn, gambling, shady websites selling video streams. We flag them when possible but there's nobody doing it 24/7. Those would be obvious bad submission, much harder to identify those hiding behind URL shorteners or logins (e.g. facebook groups).
i hang around here a lot and see that sort of stuff, it gets flagged, but im only 1 of me. i forget how many flags are needed to kill a submission, i thought it was only 4 flag to kill a green name submission.
Are there any links that aren't safe to open from a security point of view not a content point of view? Browsers are very good these days, are there any known approaches that a malicious person can put in a web page were merely opening the url can cause a problem?
Yes, absolutely.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21992491
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21992491