April 2009
Intermediate to advanced
302 pages
11h 18m
English
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Chapter 6. Securing Online Advertising: Rustlers and Sheriffs in the New Wild West
Read the news of recent computer security guffaws, and it’s striking how many problems stem from online advertising. Advertising is the bedrock of websites that are provided without charge to end users, so advertising is everywhere. But advertising security gaps are equally widespread: from “malvertisement” banner ads pushing rogue anti-spyware software, to click fraud, to spyware and adware, the security lapses of online advertising are striking.
During the past five years, I have uncovered hundreds of online advertising scams defrauding thousands of users—not to mention all the Web’s top merchants. This chapter summarizes some of what I’ve found, and what users and advertisers can do to protect themselves.
Attacks on Users
Users are the first victims—and typically the most direct ones—of online advertising attacks. From deceptive pop-up ads to full-fledged browser exploits, users suffer the direct costs of cleanup. This section looks at some of the culprits.
Exploit-Laden Banner Ads
In March 2004, spam-king-turned-spyware-pusher Sanford Wallace found a way to install software on users’ computers without users’ permission. Wallace turned to security vulnerabilities—defects in Windows, Internet Explorer, or other software on a user’s computer—that let Wallace take control of a user’s computer without the user granting consent. Earlier intruders had to persuade users to click on an executable ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.