"Injected Ads" Are An Annoying Security Risk Affecting Millions Of Internet Users
Consumerist
Legitimate advertising is an annoyance that most of us tolerate and do our best to ignore. But there are more pernicious forms of advertising that aren’t just a nuisance but actually pose a potential security risk, like the “injected ads” that find your way into your web browser through software and extensions.
Ad injectors work by replacing the ads that are supposed to be served to your browser or by inserting completely new, unwanted and unapproved ads. Many users affected by these injectors acquire them through free software downloads or extensions for their browsers.
On Google’s Online Security blog, the company says it has identified more than 50,000 extensions and 34,000 applications that worked as ad injectors.
And nearly a third of these downloads also acted maliciously against users, stealing account credentials and hijacking search queries.
The injector-infected pieces of software are distributed through more than 1,000 different networks that pay affiliates each time someone downloads one. The more clicks, the more money for affiliates.
Injectors pull their ads from “injection libraries” run by companies that source ads, often from legitimate advertising networks. This is how companies like Sears, Walmart, Target, Ebay, and Wayfair end up paying for injected ads they don’t know about.
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