Rogue Ad Traps New York Times

The New York Times had problems created by an unauthorized advertisement. Its website contains a rogue ad displayed in their banner ad spaces.

What is a rogue ad? A rogue ad is a type of advertisement online which will convince you purchase, download or install an application into your computer. That application can bring problems to your PC. It alerts the readers that their computer may be infected with a virus redirecting to a site that offers antivirus software. It’s like a Trojan horse which will tell you to click something to make your computer faster or warn you that you have to fix your Windows problems. You may think that this ad is beneficial for you only to know that it is just displaying ads on your computer or redirecting you other sites. Visitors who clicked on these ads, experienced abnormal operations on their computers such as popup ads or hijacked internet connections.

So how did the New York Times website get the rogue ad? New York Times is a victim of a social engineering bait-and-switch at the human level. They were approached by a person buying an internet ad space on their website. At first, the ad seems to have no problem but it was exchanged for a suspicious ad a few days later. The attacker of this rogue ad did this for monetary gain to get money or to steal credit card numbers. The ad will offer you a download to fix problems that you are unaware of. They will ask you to enter your credit card to buy some software. You will also be redirected to other websites where you can buy things from them.

NYTimes solved the problem right away and removed the ads. According to security site GeekPolice.net, best-antivirus03.com is the hijacker using fraudulent to promote fake security software. For now, be careful in browsing sites that are promising so many good things, like free music or movie downloads. Keep away from those sites and don’t even click those ads.

Here are the steps to protect you against rogue ads:

1. Stay away from websites or ads telling you have computer problems (ads cannot diagnose your PC).

2. Always keep your antivirus running and updated.

3. Allow parental controls to prevent unauthorized downloads.

4. Avoid clicking the “cancel” button to make these windows disappear. Try clicking the little red “X” in the upper right hand corner instead.

5. Never input your credit card number into websites unless you are definitely sure with the product you are buying.

6. Turn off your computer quickly if you suspect that there’s something wrong. The longer you stay online, the worse infection you can get from it.

Attackers have been targeting big sites like New York Times, to get money or steal credit card numbers from computer users. For now, you should be careful in browsing websites and clicking ads to keep you and your PC secured. Do you want to keep your computer clean and protected? Contact Techie Now for PC support services including virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. With Techie Now, we give the caring support you need.