You may remember that earlier this year we partnered with Microsoft's Internet Safety Enforcement team to take down a click fraud scheme that was compromising our advertising network. As we promised then, we have continued to work together to tackle these criminal issues to better protect advertisers and consumers and to ensure the integrity of our advertising network. There’s no better example of this commitment to safety than in today’s actions, in which Microsoft filed five civil lawsuits, the first of their kind against a very nasty phenomenon known as malvertising. More information on the specific lawsuits can be found at the Microsoft on the Issues blog.
Malvertising works by tricking Internet users into clicking on ads that appear to be harmless, but which really drive users to fraudulent and deceptive content. Some of the biggest perpetrators of this practice are websites that advertise rogue security software, also known as scareware, which falsely claims to detect and prevent malicious threats on the computer. Malvertising may also directly infect a victim’s computer with malicious software, all while the user thinks they are preventing their computer from attacks and protecting their machine with legitimate software.
While malvertising and scareware scams may be difficult to detect at first glance, here are a few good habits that you can adopt to help ensure the safest online experience possible as well as to better avoid fraudulent scams:
· Only download programs from Web sites you trust. If you're not sure whether to trust a program you are considering downloading, enter the name of the program into your favorite search engine to see if anyone else has reported that it contains spyware.
· Read all security warnings, license agreements, and privacy statements associated with any software you download.
· Never click "Agree" or "OK" to close a window. Instead, click the red "x" in the corner of the window or press Alt + F4 on your keyboard to close a window.
· Make sure you’re using legitimate and up-to-date anti-virus, firewall and anti-malware/spyware tools.
· Be extra cautious about offers to secure or scan your computer with security software or programs you don’t recognize.
· Don’t give out personal information or credit card information unless you know the site is secure.
Additional information on how to optimize your online safety can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/protect.