Google Finds 85,000 Programs That Inject Ads

Programs that are undesirable in Internet hijack the browser and then inject all kinds of ads are a gigantic problem, according to research from Google and the University of California. The researchers wanted to know how big the problem of "ad injectors" actually is. This is software that injects ads on websites or replace existing ads.

Google had in the first few months of this year, more than 100,000 complaints received ad injectors. During the investigation it was found that 5.5% of all IP addresses that Google sites visits with one or more ad injectors infected. In total, the researchers discovered more than 85,000 applications that hijack the browser and inject ads. It involved nearly 51,000 extensions for Google Chrome and more than 34,000 Windows programs. Of that total, 38% and 17% malware that also made the booty credentials in the browser.

The extensions and programs appear to have been made by a small group of software developers who control most ad injectors, which in turn benefit from the advertising ecosystem. The extensions and programs are distributed through a network of partners who are trying to create installations as much as possible, by combining the programs with popular downloads, use malware to spread or apply marketing.

According to Google would be more than 3,000 advertisers, the ad injectors have been duped. The advertisers can often only the last click that ensures that traffic is on their side, but often do not know how this movement came about. So they do not know that traffic comes from unwanted software and malware, but must still pay for here. Google has already removed 192 Chrome extensions from the Chrome Web Store, added measures to protect users from ad injectors and also warned the advertisers who are the victims of ad injectors.