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Google To Nix All Tech Support Provider Ads (itnews.com.au)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

Google will restrict advertisements placed by third-party technical support providers, in an effort to stem a rising tide of abuse and fraud by scammers who offer to fix non-existent problems on consumers' computers. Report says: The restriction for tech support ads comes after Google collaborated with law enforcement and government agencies to address abuse in the area, the company's director of public policy David Graff wrote. All ads for technical support will be restricted worldwide, even for legitimate providers, Graff said. Google's banned such ads because the company finds it increasingly difficult to tell scammers from legitimate providers, as the fraudulent activity happens away from the company's platform.

10 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. So they're blocking... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So they're blocking Windows and Mac support ads while keeping the "run to the cloud" cloud-migration partner ads? Seems like good business sense...

  2. About Time by scdeimos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Here's hoping they nix the "You need updated 32/64-bit Windows Drivers" messages that keep overlaying YouTube videos, too. I don't even own a Windows computer.

    1. Re:About Time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      They also need to block the PDF readers, antivirus, unzip and a bunch of other spyware out there. Google should be held responsible for the ads they serve.....

  3. Now, if they could just do something about by bobstreo · · Score: 2

    the phone calls from "Mictosoft Tech Support" on my cell phone,

      I don't have anything other than some old Xbox running old versions of XBMC from Microsoft in my house.

    The only entertainment I get is asking them, when they call, if it's Monsoon season yet.

    1. Re:Now, if they could just do something about by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

      C'mon, is it really asking too much to set up a VM with a Windows box for the guy? I mean, he's just doing his job and it's hellish funny to hear him explode after messing 30 minutes with a VM that you rollback in a second for him to start over if he so pleases.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  4. New line a business maybe? by Tyr07 · · Score: 2

    They'll "Fix" this problem.

    Then either offer a special verified IT support program, which unfortunately has some overhead and will cost more to place such an ad (Premium Premium ads)
    or you'll hear that google is offering to resolve IT problems and has their own outsourced IT company they advertise :P

  5. Babys and Bathwater by aldousd666 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't know about you, but my grandmother can't fix her own computer to save her own life. She NEEDS a tech support company. Are we really going to let some dipshit apples spoil the whole bunch for a giant swath of the public who NEEDS this kind of shit to even make Excel add the total of a column for them? We shouldn't. We should just tell people what to look for in a scammer. IE someone who calls you first about problems with your computer you didn't know you had. Also, someone claiming to be from 'Windows technical support' or anyone claiming to know shit about your computer, at all, preemptively. Just say no! teach anyone who owns a computer that, and you've instantly made it less profitable to be a scammer, and also potentially created tens of thousands of more hilarious youtube videos of people leading scammers on until they meet their inevitably obnoxious conclusion that you aren't falling for it. Sell Ads on THAT.

    --
    Speak for yourself.
    1. Re:Babys and Bathwater by rossz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem is there's only a couple of good apples at the bottom of a barrel filled with rotten ones. And good luck teaching your 80 year old grandmother how to avoid scams. The elderly are targeted because they are easy.

      --
      -- Will program for bandwidth
    2. Re:Babys and Bathwater by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2

      They are targeted because they trust people. When they grew up, the default in America was to trust others you don't know. And it was a good policy. We built a great nation on trust.

      Today, anyone who trusts strangers is viewed as a total moron who deserves to be victimized. You can ask anyone who comes from a non-trusting country how much they suck. And yet that's what America is turning into, to tremendous applause.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  6. Good for Google - It's a real problem by Torodung · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I had an experience a few months ago where I typed in "Netgear support" and the first hit I got was an ad for some firm that claimed it could fix routers. At the time, it was not clear that it wasn't Netgear support, and they claimed to be Netgear, both in the ad and on the phone. It was only until they asked for $100, for support on a brand new router, that I realized they weren't. I immediately terminated the call.

    They called back, again claiming they were "Netgear" (I had given them a callback number). I was rather upset that Google provided their ad result as the first item for Netgear. They were running a scam. I eventually got to real Netgear support, and they helped me with my problem.