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Google Deletes Rogue Ads, Dangers Persist

Posted by Zonk on from the out-out-rogue-ads dept.

An anonymous reader writes passed us a link to a PC World article about attempts by Google to curb malicious ads via their popular service. The article is somewhat bleak, though, because researchers see the fix as nothing more than temporary. "'Search engines are just too easy a target for bad guys,' says Roger Thompson of Exploit Security Labs. On April 25, Exploit Prevention Labs reported that malware distributors were using advertisements placed via Google's automated AdWords system to infect unsuspecting end-users with spyware designed to capture bank login user names and passwords."

4 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Adwords has poor service. by Scott+Lockwood · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm amazed at what you can, and cannot do with the service. Just today, I found that you cannot remove an old bank account from adwords. Amazing. Even Paypal gets that right.

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    But this is slashdot. A slashdoter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber!
  2. M$ Search is Worse. by Erris · · Score: 2, Informative

    Microsoft's search excels in spreading malware. How's that for cold water on this Google slam?

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    DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
  3. This is not the root cause or solution. by Erris · · Score: 2, Informative

    From the fine article:

    If someone clicked a booby-trapped sponsored link they were the ad would redirect their browser through URLs that attempted to automatically download a virus program (MSO6-014) onto their computers before passing them along to the actual sites that were advertised.

    The problem is that so many people use a crappy browser that allows the attacks. Malicious people are going to put their stuff on the web and that's not Google's fault. To top it all off, Google is doing a better job fighting the problem than Microsoft's own search.

    The further away you get from M$, the better off you are.

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    DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
  4. no it doesn't. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    no it doesn't. I've deleted multiple bank and credit card numbers from my paypal account, and they have a way of magically re-appearing. It's freaky, and I really don't like it. I'm sure others have experienced this too...