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Click Here To Infect Your Computer

Newspaper current event by tomtolman on 16 May 2007, tagged as internetnetworking

Security researcher Didier Stevens has been running a GoogleAd for the past six months which reads, “Is your PC virus-free? Get it infected here!” In addition, he hosted the ad on a .info domain since they are notorious for hosting malware. Over 400 users clicked on the ad. The ad campaign only cost him $23, or six cents per visitor. Stevens said, “I designed my ad to make it suspect, but even then it was accepted by Google without problem and I got no complaints to date.” Wired notes some may have “clicked on the ad because they assumed it was a joke, or because they simply misread it as an anti-virus ad.” Additionally users may have clicked because the ad was served on Google, which is a trusted domain. Either way, his experiment shows how easy it is to get computer users to click on nefarious links. According to recent Google research, one in ten websites may contain malicious code - yet another reason to read up on operating system vulnerabilities.

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Wet paint, do not touch by djofraleigh :: NR0

Hey, didn't we all click on

Click here to Infect your computer?

'nuff said!

Posted 16 May 2007, Hide, Reply
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only 400 by Anonymous :: NR0

I'm surprised it was only 400. I think that's a pretty good showing for the human race. Go us!

Posted 17 May 2007, Hide, Reply