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A Spotify Ad Slipped Malware Onto PCs and Macs (techhive.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes TechHive:
Spotify's ads crossed from nuisance over to outright nasty this week, after the music service's advertising started serving up malware to users on Wednesday. The malware was able to automatically launch browser tabs on Windows and Mac PCs, according to complaints that surfaced online...the ads directed users' browsers to other malware-containing sites in the hopes that someone would be duped into downloading more malicious software.
It didn't last long -- Spotify quickly posted that they'd identified "the source of the problem." And they're not the only company dealing with hidden malware in ads, since the same thing has happened to both Google and Yahoo.
It didn't last long -- Spotify quickly posted that they'd identified "the source of the problem." And they're not the only company dealing with hidden malware in ads, since the same thing has happened to both Google and Yahoo.
Why the f*ck would you allow actual 3rd party code to run inside your own software, to display an advert?
Most savvy users wouldn't which is why they use some kind of ad blocker or no script plugin. Even if asa weren't vectors for malware infection, video ads and trackers tend to chew through bandwidth and batteries as well.
If websites limited themselves to static images without the massive number of trackers, I'd be far more likely to turn off the blocker. But for whatever reason, advertisers pay websites more if they use the world's most annoying shit.