Searching for (Unintentional) Supporters of Spyware? Try Google - Say it isn’t so, Ben!
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Edelman’s post –- and research –- took a close look at the role played by intermediaries in Internet advertising. He examined ads displayed by advertising software from 180solutions. As an example, he showed that PCs with this software, when visiting the American Airlines website, are “treated” to a pop-up of Expedia’s website. He explained that 180 did not show this ad directly, though presumably it could. Rather, it passes through an intermediary, invokes the intermediary’s tracking software, and then displays the ad. According to Edelman, this type of routing is far more common than the direct display of ads.
For those who think that 180solutions might not fit the definition of spyware (or adware, its close cousin), Edelman links to video proof that its software “is often installed with no consent at all…via misleading promises at kids sites, in poorly-disclosed bundles, and otherwise without appropriate notice and consent…” This makes the company a good place to start for hunting down whose advertising budget is going into spyware maker’s pockets. So Edelman fired up his software robots to find out whose ads are being displayed by 180solutions…and that’s where things got interesting, and complicated.
Of 88,388 current pop-up ads run by 180solutions, 4,678 –- about five percent –- were Google AdSense ads. How is this possible? Google has had a policy in place for a year that effectively prohibits any of its AdSense partners from using spyware to promote its ads! Surely the search engine giant would never allow a known spyware company to become an AdSense partner, would it?
Perhaps I should say that it would never knowingly do so. Remember, this particular path is paved with intermediaries. So Google might pay its AdSense partners, who are acting as intermediaries and have promised not to associate with spyware companies –- but then the AdSense partner may use another intermediary, that is under no such obligation. The AdSense partner is not required to check the conduct of its partners –- and in the advertising business, who has the time, right? So this intermediary does deal with a spyware company, and that’s how Google AdSense ads get displayed in spyware. In some cases, according to Edelman, the AdSense partner itself hired 180!
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