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(Ars Technica)   Google Ads now serving up malware links disguised as popular apps such as Adobe Reader, Microsoft Teams, GIMP, Tor, and Thunderbird   (arstechnica.com) divider line
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    More: Fail, Internet, Phishing, Anecdotal evidence, Microsoft, Software, Malware, Google, Microsoft Word  
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759 clicks; posted to STEM » on 03 Feb 2023 at 6:05 PM (6 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



19 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
Kar98
2023-02-03 6:16:57 PM  
Your own damn fault if you're still allowing ads on your devices.
 
scanman61
2023-02-03 6:22:58 PM  

Kar98: Your own damn fault if you're still allowing ads on your devices.


Didn't RTFA, eh?
 
talkertopc [TotalFark]
2023-02-03 6:23:25 PM  
Now?
 
Tom Marvolo Bombadil
2023-02-03 6:31:27 PM  
malvertising

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
mistahtom
2023-02-03 6:33:08 PM  
Google is a great product.   Google is far superior than anything anywhere any other company has ever done.   If you don't like Google, you need to loudly voice your opinions about it.
 
trialpha
2023-02-03 6:45:12 PM  
All of the examples in the article were marked as ads in Google's result page. So a workaround is simple: never click on anything marked as an ad.
 
Thoreny
2023-02-03 6:48:14 PM  

scanman61: Kar98: Your own damn fault if you're still allowing ads on your devices.

Didn't RTFA, eh?


No, Kar98 did. You didn't, tho, because if you did, you'd see the image that shows that it is an ad.
 
ISO15693
2023-02-03 6:55:23 PM  
Next they will be greenlighting fark links for "network topology mapping" tools, as their strategy
 
Kar98
2023-02-03 6:58:31 PM  

scanman61: Kar98: Your own damn fault if you're still allowing ads on your devices.

Didn't RTFA, eh?


I stand by what I said. First example from TFA, a google search for "visual studio download", goes first to a sponsored ad page, screenshot in article.

Screenshot of same search here:

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
greatgodyoshi [BareFark]
2023-02-03 7:07:07 PM  

trialpha: All of the examples in the article were marked as ads in Google's result page. So a workaround is simple: never click on anything marked as an ad.


My pi-hole won't let me, even when I actually do want the link. Usually, though, I can scroll down a little bit and there's a secondary link for the same thing. Not always.
 
Russ1642
2023-02-03 7:10:42 PM  
How is this new?
 
Kar98
2023-02-03 7:38:20 PM  

Russ1642: How is this new?


It's Not News, It's Fark.
 
The Smails Kid
2023-02-03 7:46:42 PM  

scanman61: Kar98: Your own damn fault if you're still allowing ads on your devices.

Didn't RTFA, eh?


That's generally frowned upon in these parts.
 
The Smails Kid
2023-02-03 7:47:51 PM  
You'll take Thunderbird out of my cold dead hands and not a moment before, Smitty.
 
Mad_Radhu
2023-02-03 9:24:27 PM  

trialpha: All of the examples in the article were marked as ads in Google's result page. So a workaround is simple: never click on anything marked as an ad.


Well WE know that, but it is still not great for all of the people who are tech illiterate and might not notice the small "AD" next to the result.

Hell, I went to renew my passport and the first FIVE search results were ads that went to really scammy websites that looks official but charged you fees to fill out the paperwork.

If you aren't paying attention it is increasingly easy to click the wrong link, so it's hard to blame people who are used to using Google to find legitimate links specially to avoid scams. Google has gone from "Don't be evil" to being willingly complicit in scams and malware distribution, and it is really disappointing.

I feel like supporting the internet with ads was just a bad idea and it is becoming increasingly unsustainable because practically every website has gone overboard with the advertising to the point their sites are unusable.
 
Enigmamf [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-04 1:49:18 AM  
> "GIMP, Tor, and Thunderbird"

... for some definition of "popular" apps....
 
JasonOfOrillia [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 10:37:28 AM  
enshiatification.
 
BullBearMS
2023-02-04 10:41:27 AM  
They have optimized their search engine for the only thing that matters to them... Ad revenue.
 
Robinfro
2023-02-04 6:52:37 PM  

greatgodyoshi: trialpha: All of the examples in the article were marked as ads in Google's result page. So a workaround is simple: never click on anything marked as an ad.

My pi-hole won't let me, even when I actually do want the link. Usually, though, I can scroll down a little bit and there's a secondary link for the same thing. Not always.


Adguard DNS on my router does the same thing. I leave it off on my phone though because I *want* the pre-filled search URL to go through instead of the main search landing page where I've gotta fill out 2 minutes of drop-down menus.
 
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