Phony Ad Clicks at Record High

Those domains most likely to house ill intent, security study finds

(NEWSER) - A study by antivirus software firm McAfee warns Web surfers to be cautious of sites on certain domains, the AP reports, with corner-cutting registration companies often skipping security precautions. The domains .hk, .cn and .info were found to be riskiest. More»

Firm is responsible for delivering people to more than half of all websites

(NEWSER) - Hackers managed to break into the servers of a crucial web company responsible for delivering users to more than half the websites in the world. VeriSign doesn't believe the attackers infiltrated its Domain Name System network—which is responsible for directing traffic to .com, .net, and .gov addresses on the Internet—but it can't rule it out. The attacks occurred in 2010, but only came to light today, when Reuters spotted them in an October SEC filing. More»

US sues creators of inescapable online ads

(NEWSER) - You’re probably sick of them by now: those ads that promise “1 Tip for a Tiny Belly” next to a drawing of a shrinking stomach. Don’t believe it, the government says: In different lawsuits, federal officials are pursuing those behind the ads, calling them a giant fraud, the Washington Post reports. The ads have garnered “tens of billions” of views, says a US lawyer, and have brought in more than a billion dollars—but they’re rife with misinformation. More»

No matter how great those online ads are, celebs still rule

(NEWSER) - In examining an Advertising Age slideshow on online ad rates, one of the things that caught Joe Coscarelli's—and no doubt most readers'—attention is that Kim Kardashian earns a whopping $10,000 per tweet when she shills for companies. Kardashian, who has 2.7 million followers, earns such big bucks by hooking up with the company Ad.ly, which helps celebrities make money off their Twitter accounts. Generally, they're limited to one such commercial tweet per day. More»

(NEWSER) - The Internet has a big problem, argues one of the big names in online security—anonymity. With that weapon, cybercriminals will always have the advantage. And the best solution is to introduce "Internet passports," Russia's Eugene Kaspersky tells ZDNet in an interview. All countries would have to play along and buy into international standards. "And if some countries don't agree with or don't pay attention to the agreement, just cut them off." More»