Decrease Of Malicious Advertisements In The Second Half Of 2017

The number of malicious advertisements that Internet users tried to infect with malware, tried to deprive data or attempted to defame it in another way, was reduced in the second half of 2017, security company RiskIQ claims. In the third quarter, the security company detected 53 percent less malvertising than in the second quarter of 2017. In the fourth quarter, this decline continued and 10 percent fewer malicious ads were detected.

The use of advertisements to attack unpatched internet users, for example through vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader or Internet Explorer, decreased by 36 percent in the third quarter and 20 percent in the fourth quarter. Other malware in ads decreased by as much as 67 percent in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter, however, saw an increase of 16 percent in the number of ads pointing to a scam, but overall there were fewer rogue ads in both the third and fourth quarters.

Adware Disables Updates For Chrome And Firefox

Adware is limited not only to the display of advertisements, aggressive adware variant fact also brings the systems of users at risk, so warn researchers. Where most adware is only nests in the browser, the DynamicPricer-adware first switches off the automatic updates for Chrome and Firefox, and then install an older version of Chrome.

In this old Chrome version, which dates from February 2014, the adware displays all kinds of ads, reports anti-malware company Malwarebytes. The adware is installed via so-called software bundles, which besides the desired program to install all kinds of additional software. Recently warned researchers also adware already installed browsers on the computer trying to replace.

This trojan was hosted at cdn[dot]searchbook[dot]me. Which currently resides at an IP-address that has quite the history (198.232.127.32). If you know where to look you will be able to find other and more recent installers, but they are password protected zip files which will be unpacked by the bundle installer under “normal” circumstances.

VirusTotal Report

Daily Mail Spread Malware Via Infected Adverts

On the website of the popular British newspaper the Daily Mail are infected ads appeared which attempted to infect visitors with malware. The ads were supposedly advertisement for shoes, but let visitors actually load a page with the Angler-exploitkit.

This exploitkit uses vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and Adobe Flash Player to infect computers with malware. These are known vulnerabilities. Users whose software was up-to-date therefore were not at risk. In the case the attack was successful CryptoWall-ransomware is installed. After being informed by anti-malware company Malwarebytes the advertisements of the site were removed. The Daily Mail gets 156 million visitors monthly and is according to Alexa at the 100th place of most visited websites on the internet.

German Publisher Loses Lawsuit Against Adblock Plus

One of the biggest publishers in Europe have lost a lawsuit in Germany against Adblock Plus, with the German court the popular AdBlocker declared legal. Axel Springer SE in more than 40 countries and is responsible for publications as Die Welt, Bild, Sport Bild, Fakt and Business Insider.

According to lawyers for the publisher, the press has the fundamental right to advertise and advertisements would not be using products like Adblock Plus may be blocked. The lawyers argued that the publisher Axel Springer AG as the core task is displaying ads to visitors. "Journalistic content is only a means for readers to show the ads," so they let the judge know.

The judge ruled that Adblock Plus, which has tens of millions of users worldwide, is legal and therefore just can remain. In a response saying the developers of the AdBlocker that they continue to work with publishers, advertisers and websites in order not to encourage intrusive ads, finding new ways to improve and achieve a sustainable internet ecosystem for everyone advertisements. In April and May pulled German publishers and television companies in lawsuits against Adblock Plus even though the short straw.

Washington Post Blocks Adblock Users

The Washington Post website is a test begun blocking Adblock users, such as Adblock Plus. Who visits the website with a AdBlocker get a pop-up that states that the advertisements of the newspaper are safe and respect the privacy of readers. You will then be prompted to turn off the AdBlocker, otherwise it is not possible to read articles.

Other readers report that they are being redirected to a page that asks you to sign up for the newsletter and gain access to the desired article. "Without income from subscriptions or ads, we can not deliver the journalism that people have come to expect. We are now various ways to the test to see what these readers can move to allow advertisements in the Washington Post, or to subscribe" , as a spokesman opposite let BuzzFeed know. Meanwhile, users on the Internet ask how they can block the bypass.

Firefox Displays Ads When Opening New Tab

Mozilla has started displaying ads to Firefox users as they open a new tab in the browser, so the browser developer via a blog posting disclosed. The ads appear in the form of "Suggested tiles".These are ads that are based on the user's browsing habits. This would be taken into account with the users of privacy.

To make the ads relevant is a limited amount of data sent to Mozilla there. Since then it is analyzed and shared with the partners of Mozilla. According to the developer, the browser via Suggested Tiles possible to display relevant ads that users' privacy is respected and he or she is in control of the data.

The first partners who advertise via Suggested Tiles is now gone live, said Darren Herman, Vice President of Content Services at Mozilla. It involves Yahoo and several new titles including well-known Fortune Magazine and quartz, as well as "mission-oriented" partners such as Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. According to Herman, these parties are chosen because they add value to Firefox.

Mozilla is not paid for displaying the advertisements of those parties. Therefore, the advertisements are only labeled "Suggested" instead of "Sponsored". According to Herman should improve the tiles eventually advertise digitally, both increase by transparency in the industry and to ensure that users understand what is happening and how they control this themselves. So Firefox users via a single click of tiles showing off in a new tab.

Microsoft: 3 Million People Affected By Phone Scammers

In the first six months of this year more than 3 million people are affected by phone scammers posing as employees of large tech companies and trying to educate people on the phone, so Microsoft has to know. Often these scam artists posing as Microsoft Employee. They call consumers at home that there are problems encountered on the computer.

To solve its users, the scammers access to their computer and then must be paid. There are also variations active with pop-ups and advertisements are used for computer problems or warn occur if the helpdesk of a tech company and thus try to mislead consumers to call the phone scammers themselves. According to Microsoft goes mainly to American companies that use foreign call centers.

In a little less than half an hour Microsoft is organizing a panel discussion in Washington DC where trends are discussed in phone cams. Will also examine how consumers can protect themselves against scammers and what steps they should take if the scammers have gotten access to the computer. The panel discussion is live to follow through this page.

Microsoft Is Addressing Misleading Advertising

According to Microsoft, there is an increase in the number of misleading advertisements on the Internet, allowing users with malware or unwanted software come into contact. Reason for the software giant to tackle this kind of advertising. The deliberately misleading ads trick users usually have to do something whose consequences are not immediately obvious, such as visiting an infected website or downloading a program that has a "negative impact" on the Internet.

Therefore, Microsoft has a number of requirements established where ads from June 1, 2015 must meet. So ads can not be fooled, they should be distinguished from the website, they may not contain malicious code and may not lead to downloading files. In the event ads do not meet these requirements, Internet Explorer will soon give a warning and the website which can be seen blocking the ads.

Anti-virus Company Provides Alarm After 22 Million Toolbars

Antivirus company Avira has sounded the alarm after the last month 22 million toolbars, plug-ins that display ads, programs that hijack search results and other "potentially unwanted software" (PUA) detected on users' computers. In most cases, the toolbars and adware are bundled with other programs. The virus fighter calls the installation procedures of this type of program is misleading.

The virus scanner from Avira will also detect all software that injects malicious content or an excessive amount of requests personal information. "We believe in free Internet and therefore accept advertising as a means to sponsor content. Downloading software does not mean that you agree to install unwanted or unknown applications on your device," says the virus fighter.

Notorious programs

The five programs Avira most encountered are iLivid, an app that results to ilivid.com forward and all browsers try to infect your computer, SeaSuite, a tool bar that displays ads and injects websites Soft Pulse, a bundle that installs toolbars, NexLive, a browser plug-in that modifies browser settings and OptimizerPro, which monitors the browsing habits and pop-up displays advertisements.

The virus fighter has recently released new guidelines for software developers who need to reduce the amount of unwanted software. It is about rules and behavior where the software should adhere to. It does not, it can be labeled as unwanted software and removed. "Nevertheless, it is extremely important that users understand the risks and protect themselves," Avira says.

Oracle Removes "Adware" From Java Installation On Mac

Recently there was great controversy when it became known that Oracle is the Ask Toolbar was bundled with the installation of Java for Mac OS X, but now the company seems to have stopped here quietly along. The Ask Toolbar is labeled as "adware" by various parties.

The toolbar uses the Ask search engine, which would be full of bad classified ads. Advertisements that are not of the "organic" results would be distinguished in most cases. In addition to installing the toolbar were Mac users with the Java installation also asked whether they wanted to change their home page in Ask.com. Both options were selected by default.

Oracle Java installer now delivers without Ask Toolbar this is now confirmed by both The Safe Mac as security Intego . The virus of the company blocked the toolbar. Report Although various parties that the Ask Toolbar is no longer installed, Oracle late own site know that the toolbar is also installed on Mac OS X. However, it may be that the website has not yet been adjusted.