AdSense Virus/Trojan

[NewBeing]

Just read an interesting piece on Jensense blog

http://www.jensense.com/archives/200...ous_softw.html

Malicious software targets Google AdSense ads

It was only a matter of time before a trojan or virus targeted AdSense or YPM for malicious activity, and the time has come. A new trojan horse discovered by an Indian publisher replaces Google AdSense ads with their own ads, advertising sites including dating, sex, viagra and weight loss. This trojan is very recent, because it not only converts regular AdSense ad units, but also the Google AdSense and Firefox referrer buttons into text links.

Something to be aware of

[Indian]

I dont think so...unless u blindly download things from those pop ups which ask u to download stuff etc. Interersting post tho for ppl who actually dont know what such msgs/pop ups are....thanx

[Seiya]

He means for us because if a lot of morons get this our sites will get less click through :P

[kniveswood]

Techshout.com reports that a new, deceptive Trojan Horse program has surfaced. The program is engineered to produce fake Google ads that are formatted to look like legitimate ones. The ads are incorporated in Google AdSense, the program that lets website owners display ads from Google’s list of advertisers. The Trojan Horse apparently downloads itself onto an unsuspecting computer through a web page and then replaces the original ads with its own set of malicious ads.

http://www.jensense.com/archives/200...ous_softw.html

Oh dear...Anyone seen this in action?

[fryman]

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=47126

[kniveswood]

Oops my bad. I did a find-on-page for trojan instead of virus and came up with nothing. Mods feel free to remove this.

[dotcompals]

An Indian web publisher claims a Trojan program that replaces Google ads with a different set of ads has been found in the wild.

A report (http://www.techshout.com/internet/20...-publisher/)on the TechShout website said a Trojan affecting AdSense has been discovered. Google has not confirmed this yet on the AdSense blog, but a web publisher named Raoul Bangera is said to have contacted Google about the problem.

Google reportedly confirmed the information provided by Bangera, including screenshots, logfiles, and system files, demonstrated the ads displayed on his site were not legitimate.

"We can confirm from the screenshots that these are fake Google ads, formatted to look like legitimate ads. We agree that this phenomenon is likely the result of malicious software installed on your computer," Google reportedly said in response.

"Most of the ads were about gambling or adult content, which are banned categories in Google AdSense, clearly indicating a suspicious origin," Bangera said in the report. Only small publishers appear to be affected, not premium publishers or Google sites.

Site publishers should review their ads, and report any unusual ones like ads that violate Google's terms of service to Google for follow-up.

[Jean-Luc]

It is in the best interest of each computer user to make sure that there is no malicious software in his/her computer.

Google and web publishers cannot do anything about it.

Jean-Luc

[dotcompals]

Originally Posted by Jean-Luc

It is in the best interest of each computer user to make sure that there is no malicious software in his/her computer.

Google and web publishers cannot do anything about it.

Jean-Luc

Exactly, I agree with you there.

[Bliss]

Well, they didn't get it quite right. Only 2 o's in "Ads by Google"?

[dotcompals]

Originally Posted by Bliss

Well, they didn't get it quite right. Only 2 o's in "Ads by Google"?

Where did u saw that type of add?

[ServerUnion]

http://www.techshout.com/internet/20...web-publisher/

The ads are incorporated in Google AdSense, the program that lets website owners display ads from Google’s list of advertisers. The Trojan Horse apparently downloads itself onto an unsuspecting computer through a web page and then replaces the original ads with its own set of malicious ads.

[Nasruddin]

Hello Everybody


"Google AdSense Trojan prowls cyberspace
Dirty tricks done dirt cheap

Hackers have developed a Trojan horse program that produces fake Google ads posing as the real thing. The as-yet unnamed Trojan replaces legitimate ads served via Google AdSense with promos for penis pills, porn sites and the like. The ads are, of course, not contextualised and infection would be relatively easy to detect"

Is it a fake news or..........

[sachin410]

If not the viruses, then it will be click fraud that brings down PPC model.

An interesting read -

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...aud&topic_set=

Pay-per-click advertising is big, big, big business. So are bogus hits on Internet ads. It's search giants against scam artists in an arms race that could crash the entire online economy.

Everyone should diversify their revenue sources - that's all I would say.

[wilbur]

I'm not happy about this news, but I'm not suprised either... sooner or later someone will find a way to cheat any system.

[Nasruddin]

Even more nasty malware in the news, a new Trojan that exploits Google's Adsense is in the wild now. It is able to falsify search results that are turned up by Adsense, which is used by many sites. Once infected, ads look legit, aside from perhaps the titles, but are actually filtered by the trojan to produce whatever it wants. The article explains.


”The working of the Ad has a specific procedure. Wherein when the ad is clicked it forwards the user to 3 different sites one after another. What follows next is that the user finally lands himself to a page having a bevy of ads and links to more ads. Through this malicious program advertisers and publishers are the ones who are being deprived of their revenue.”

Google AdLinks are unaffected, and it's important to note that this is a user end infection, not a server compromise... but with the high use of Google and how often people take searching for granted, it's good to be careful.

[wilbur]

Have you not noticed this thread with multiple replies already?

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=47126

[devin]

i guess he must be wanting to start a new thread to earn him money .