Google finds, removes ads with malicious code
Cnet has reported that Google has pulled some of their sponsored link ads after it was discovered that the sites linked to contained malicious code, including phishing sites that attempted to steal users’ personal information, including passwords and SS numbers. Considering Google’s automated sign-up procedure for advertisers, which requires no initial contact with a person, but can be set up just over the web, it’s actually surprising that this sort of thing didn’t happen earlier. Google, in the article, claims they will be doing everything possible to prevent this sort of occurence in the future, but that seems like a rather impossible task, unless they decide to be more manual gatekeepers, and force potential advertisers to get their sites approved before Google will link ads to them.
As always, the best protection against online identity theft is to carefully check the sites you’re visiting for potential signs that it is a phishing or otherwise illegitimate site. Of course, with ads it can be more difficult, since there is no concrete way to tell whether you’re supposed to be visiting that particular URL, or if it’s a spoof, i.e. ebay.myrussianscamsite.ru rather than ebay.com. As always, Caveat Clicketor.
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