back to article Yahoo! pimping malware from banner ads

Over the past three days, Yahoo has been exposing visitors to banner ads that try to trick them into installing malware, and there's no indication anyone at the company is even aware of the problem. According to Microsoft MVP Sandi Hardmeier's "Spyware Sucks" blog, the ads are displayed across a wide swath of the web portal's …

COMMENTS

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  1. Derek Balling

    Check Cleared

    They don't need to know that it's malware.

    All they know is that the check cleared for the display ads.

  2. Del Merritt
    Linux

    Ads? What ads?

    Yeah, between NoScript and AdBlock, surfing is pretty fast and (generally) safe. I always try to keep my family and friends on the Mozilla Kool-Aid.

  3. Daniel B.

    Thanks El Reg!

    I shall thank Dan in giving me one more host to add in my squid's blocklist.

    I'm now getting used to see "PAGE BLOCKED - UTTER SHITE AD SITE!" sprawled around the erstwhile ad spaces. However, I still keep googlesyndication, at least those don't flash me with "YOU'RE THE 99999999999 VISITOR! YOU WON!" or stuff.

  4. Alex
    Coat

    oh

    BTyahoo!

    ??

    malware?

    microsoft?

    phorm?

    gah!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    This is old news

    Back in about April 2007 were the first spam mails I saw that set off a script delivering ad hosted at Yahoo! and Google.

    If I recall, even way back then, I never got any response when I sent Yahoo! and Google a copy of the email.

    Surfing with no javascript, no plugins, no cookies, no 3rd party anything: it is the only way to go.

    Goodbye Web2.0, it was nice knowing you.

  6. André

    Re: Ads? What ads?

    AdBlock Plus solves 99.9% of problems here.

    I hear site owners rant and rave about how I "steal" their content... but until the online advertising industry gets its act together, which IMHO means:

    * Proper vetting of banner ad providers;

    * Promptly (response time of minutes rather than days) yanking malware-spreading, fraudolent and/or otherwise non-kosher ads;

    * Do away with intrusive ad formats

    I will continue to do everything I can to get rid of online ads.

    As things are now, it appears that online advertising is truly "the pits", as in pushing advertising that no other mainstream media would accept.

  7. Stephen
    Paris Hilton

    Old news

    No no, just a few days old this one ;)

    Paris because AC had a blonde moment!

  8. Elmer Phud
    Pirate

    suckers

    "Yahoo Astrology"??

    Yeah well, some people will believe anything put in front of them.

    You just need a "the stars predicted you will click here" link, if their machines get taken over it will be some sort of manifestation of the energy of the planets so nothing to worry about as it's in their horoscopes anyway.

  9. Robin

    Ad-Nauseum

    A few years ago while working on web-development, I was asked to help out with littering the site with ads.

    My protests that it would infuriate users were met with the response "but they make us money."

    "So would prostitution," I retorted. He asked someone else after that.

  10. Andy ORourke
    Joke

    @ Alex

    Cant wait for Phorm, they'll put a stop to this wont they, I mean what with webwise and everything.........

  11. Nick Askew

    Ah yes! Content for free.

    I sympathise with all of you with your struggle against advertising, especially malware disguised as advertising. It is clearly the responsibility of the agents to vet the adverts they are pushing onto other peoples sites. So Yahoo clean up your act!

    But those of you who object to advertising on principle, and install ad blockers just because you don't want to see adverts, are forgetting something. The sites that display adds sometimes use that to keep their sites free. For example this site is showing Google adds and has been for a long time. Perhaps you would prefer to pay a subscription fee for the reg.

    Right I'm off to click on a few adds to help keep the reg free.

  12. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    @Robin

    A great big thumbs up for you !!

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Nick Askew

    Once sites pay me for the bandwidth and time I waste downloading their mass of text / image / flash based ads which are never relevant, I will turn off Adblock & NoScript. Till then they can suffer in their jocks!

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