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Anatomy of an Attempted Malware Scam
Dynamoo writes "Malicious advertisements are getting more and more common as the Bad Guys try to use reputable ad networks to spread malware. Julia Casale-Amorim of Casale Media details the lengths that some fake companies will go to to convince ad networks to take the bait."
They've been on my HOSTS block for years, ever since one of those annoying GIF popups damn near gave me a seizure bouncing in its frame. Have they improved since?
I read the article, and in doing reference checks in the digital age, esp when there is a large chance of fraud, that checking domain reg's etc only came in last. It's not hard to program in automatic checking, and by the sounds of it, would stop how easy this type of scam would be implemented. Also they could do reverse phone number checks etc as well. I'm quite sure if they had that information automatically populated during an application, any attempts to defraud the companies would be found out with alot less time.
I'm comforted to know that Casale Media will pass on obnoxious mortgage refinance advertising from only verified and legitimate predatory lenders!
These checks aren't in place out of any concern for the security of ad viewers. Casale Media here is only concerned that the phantom business will disappear without paying once the botnet is established. Ad networks have demonstrated they don't give a damn so long as they get their cut.
My AdBlock Plus stays on.
And site owners and advertisers wonder why users go to such extremes with Adblock plus and NoScript to block ad's.
If the sites (or ad distributors) can't guarantee the safety of their own sites, then users have to do whatever is necessary to protect their own systems. If that means no advertising income for those sites - tough luck.
But if a WHOIS lookup on a new customer's domain isn't in your SOP from the get-go, you're strictly amateur hour.
But, I'm not really surprised the lengths these "fake companies" will go. Money is a precious thing in this world and if you can't 'seem' to make it legally, you may just turn to crime. Even people who would have never considered doing something like this may be driven to new heights in desperation.
However, some of these people may or may not be the desperate, dirt poor, starving, "means-to-an-end" people I portrayed but, take a minute and think of the things you would probably do if there was truly, no other way you could think to survive in this messed up little world.
*Process is Irrelevant, Progress is Paramount*
In so many words others have expressed what I have summarized down to "advertisers don't respect their audience." Their approach has almost always been the capitalist "what the market will bear" approach and as people have grown accustomed to being assaulted with ever more eye-catching colors, styles, techniques and technologies, the limits of what the market will bear erode. People no longer realize they are being disrespected. Their paid-for internet connection are being utilized. Their time is being wasted. They will install software that resists being uninstalled and drains performance and stability from their computers. I see no end to what they will do.
There is a blurry and indistinguishable line between "reputable ad networks" and "the bad guys." The reputable are certainly not constrained by morals and not by law. How can we know they aren't simply being complicit?
There are plenty of pages where the site just will not load unless you give permission to run layers and layers of 3rd,4th,5th party scripts. What can we do as consumers or developers to prevent such behavior on the part of websites?
There are plenty of pages where the site just will not load unless you give permission to run layers and layers of 3rd,4th,5th party scripts. What can we do as consumers or developers to prevent such behavior on the part of websites?
Install User Agent Switcher and browse as Google.
nobody blows off Google.