Article printed from SiteProNews: http://www.sitepronews.com
  HTML version available at: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.html

Yahoo Used in Spyware Click Fraud Scheme 
By Jim Hedger, StepForth News Editor, StepForth Placement Inc. (c) 2006

Through its Overture pay per click search division, Yahoo has
been found facilitating fraudulent click activity generated by
known spyware (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware) makers
including 180solutions, Intermix, and Direct Revenue. The
Spyware - Click-Fraud Connection -- and Yahoo's Role Revisited
(http://www.benedelman.org/news/040406-1.html), (Apr. 4, 06),
shows how at least a dozen different spyware firms redirect
Internet users searches through their servers, inserting Overture
ad links on unrelated websites or with pop-ups triggered by those
sites.

Ben Edelman (http://www.benedelman.org/bio/) is a researching
PhD candidate at the Department of Economics at Harvard. In his
follow up to a Sept. 5, 2005 paper, How Yahoo Funds Spyware
(http://www.benedelman.org/news/083105-1.html), Edelman documents
a web of relationships between Overture and, "... a startling
number of notorious spyware programs."

A recent graduate of Harvard's Law School, Edelman lays out his
argument methodically, briefly explaining what constitutes
click-fraud and ways in which it happens. He also notes that
Yahoo has tried to sever its relationships with the offending
firms, often unsuccessfully, as they (spyware makers) continue
to include Overture code in their spyware programs. "When Yahoo
terminates one fraudster, that fraudster's partners find another
way to continue operations."

A few paragraphs down, he notes, "After I highlighted these
vendors in my August report (http://www.benedelman.org/news/
083105-1.html), it seems Yahoo attempted to terminate its
relationships with them. Yet 180 continued not just to show
Yahoo ads, but also to perform click fraud, as documented."
Eliminating spyware click-fraud is likened to a game of
Whack-a-Mole. When Yahoo moves to shut down one channel, another
is immediately opened.

Edelman calls the methods outlined in his study, Spyware
Syndicated PPC Fraud. "Suppose X, the Yahoo partner site, hires
a spyware vendor to send users to its site and to make it appear
as if those users clicked X's Yahoo ads. Then advertisers will
pay Yahoo, and Yahoo will pay X, even though users never
actually clicked the ads."

Using four detailed case studies, conducted between Dec. 17,
2005 and Apr. 2, 2006, Edelman traces traffic generated on test
PCs known to be contaminated with various spyware products.
Using packet logs, screenshots, images and video, Edelman
effectively demonstrates how each of his conclusions was drawn.

In one case, he shows a link inserted on a New York Times
document anchored to the word "prime minister". The link was
placed by Qklinkserver and would not appear on an uninfected PC.
It was placed without permission from the Times. When clicked,
the link sent traffic through Overture to a PPC advertiser.

The study names, Intermix, 180Solutions, Nbcsearch, eXact,
Ditto, Look2me, Ad-w-a-r-e, Improvingyourlooks, Qklinkserver,
Srch-results, Claria, InfoSpace, SurfSideKick, TrafficEngine,
HotBar and IBIS, as companies directly involved in spyware
click-fraud.

Edelman goes on to note, "Yahoo's problem results from bad
partners within its network." Because it distributes advertising
to third parties who might in turn syndicate those ads to
others, Yahoo has no real control over how its ad codes are used
to generate clicks.

The problem of click-fraud is an ever-present danger in pay per
click advertising, one that troubles Google as well. David Utter
at WebProNews (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/
wpn-60-20060404TrustEricHeCanStopClickFraud.html) quotes Google
CEO Eric Schmidt saying, "Believe me, as a computer scientist,
we have the ability to detect the invalid clicks before they
reach advertisers", juxtaposing the quote against the $90million
settlement (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/
wpn-60-20060308GoogleClickFraudSettlement90Million.html) Google
reached in the Lanes Gift and Collectables class action.

Edelman closes his study with a realistic but stern warning. The
problem is not going to go away. In fact, it is likely to get
worse. The market for spyware vendors is drying up, mostly
because consumers are aware of the problem and corporate
advertisers no longer want to be associated with it. The spyware
makers are increasingly turning to more complex systems,
including the money-rich PPC market, to find susceptible
targets.

Spyware makers have long been known leaches on the Internet.
Some, such as Claria receive support from large venture capital
firms such as US Venture Partners and Technology Crossover
Ventures. In some cases, they have become parts of much larger
companies, including some of the world's largest advertising
firms. For example, Intermix is a division of News Corp and owns
the social network MySpace.Com.

Now that several noted spyware makers have been shown to be
involved with click-fraud scams, Yahoo and Google should be
moved to immediate action. Aside from protecting the integrity
of their PPC programs and maintaining the trust of their
advertisers, they must be aware that the New York Attorney
General's office is watching.

In a speech sponsored by TRUSTe and the International
Association of Privacy Professionals, Ken Dreifach, chief of the
Internet bureau in the New York State Attorney General's office,
said that entities such as Google and Yahoo can be held
accountable for how their affiliates use their content.

In an article published by MediaPost (http://publications.mediapost.com/
index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=41604),
Shankar Gupta quoted Dreifach saying, "You don't want to ever
assume that the existence of intermediaries, whether it's two or
six, is going to immunize you from liability."
================================================================
Jim Hedger is a writer, speaker and search engine marketing
expert based in Victoria BC. Jim writes and edits full-time for
StepForth and is also an editor for the Internet Search Engine
Database. He has worked as an SEO for over 5 years and welcomes
the opportunity to share his experience through interviews,
articles and speaking engagements. He can be reached at
"jimhedger@stepforth.com"
================================================================

Copyright © 2006 Jayde Online, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

SiteProNews is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.