Troubled about Adware? inside...
 

First let me just say i am amazed at how little knowledge people have about this stuff. Zango has been around for ages. Just search for 180 solutions. They are btw pretty easy on the surfer. There is some shit out there that would make you shudder if you could see what is does. Believe me i know.

With the VAST amounts of traffic we control the answer is simple. Educate the surfer. Point them to the myriad of Adware removal software programs offered for free. (If "free" is a word you are allergic to than webroot has an affiliate program for spysweeper).

If you have traffic throw up some links to any of the following:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/...e_personal.php
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...e/default.mspx

If you are an affiliate you would show a great deal of good will by mailing your customers with information about adware and links to removal tools.

For those who are going to whine about anti-spyware software removing cookies imho its a very small price to pay for the volume of lost sales due to adware. Remember porn is an impulse buy so your cookie is safe. These programs dont usually run more than once a day so you will still get credit for your sales.

Educate the sufer. Thats really the ONLY way to combat this shit. All the posting on GFY won't remove the last barrier. The integrity of the surfers computer.

:2 cents:

porn industry has a wide media reach. with right campaign it can move mountains.

I will look at this later.

ad-aware is a great program :thumbsup

I have links on all my sites for free and paid spyware removal programs, porn and mainstream as well as a big "bookmark us" button. I don't count on "cookie" sales much. I'd rather lose a sale to a clean sponsor than lose it to scumbags.

However, I believe that educating the surfer is our last resort, but it doesn't hurt to alert them. It's a lot easier to hammer some sense into the heads of sponsors than it is to try to educate millions of people, many of whom are just starting to surf and may have never heard of spyware/adware/malware.

And even many who are aware, don't even have any computer protection, no firewall, no spyware blocker, no antivirus software. They think it will never happen to them, they just don't care, they don't want to spend the money. I know people like that and they make me bang my head against a wall. I'm always the one who has to fix it when they end up in popup hell and/or surfing at snail pace.

Missie

Educating the surfer is on the same level as trying to shut down fusker by teaching people not to submit pages to them. It doesn't work to any great degree.

Removing the monetary reward for having toolbars installed, making it impossible for people to make money with the product, well, that changes things very quickly indeed. A big sponsor like SexSearch or Cams/AFF coming out and cancelling and not paying a few big accounts that are using this would suddenly change the game for everyone involved.

It all boils down to money. Remove the money, and the problem goes away.

Anyone been to fusker recently? It sure ain't stealing no more bandwidth or abusing copyrights.

Alex

I agree 100% Sponsors need to stop accepting this traffic. However we have seen time and time again that greed often outweighs moral or ethical considerations in this industry.

I would be hard pressed as an affiliate owner to kill my top whale?s accounts regardless of their traffic generation methods. Hence the problem. We can get into the "wink wink nudge nudge" situation we are in w/spam and affiliates "control" of their affiliates. We all know they officially discourage the practice but in reality MANY if not MOST programs turn a blind eye to shady join generation if the numbers make sense.

That?s why I think a the solution isn?t just shaming the affiliates into putting some GYF placating copy into their T&C. A comprehensive approach must include blocking this software from reaching the consumer from the beginning.

It's a tough problem w/no easy solution however I firmly believe that a very important step towards resolution IS surfer education and not just the "good will" of affiliate programs to put systems in place to detect and terminate accounts - all of which i applaud btw. This method of revenue generation is very difficult to detect however.

Here's the problem! The top whale is NOT a whale, it's a top THIEF. Get that account shut down and you'll see an increased number of affiliates making sales and the sponsor will get their 100% of their direct sales without having to pay commissions. Sponsor loses nothing, affiliates do.

I don't disagree that surfers need to be educated, however, it's not our job and it's way beyond our control. It won't stop the money that funds the scums and that's where the door has to close first...

Missie

Wow, just wow.

If you are all amazed by zango and its potential to fuck you out of your commissions you are REALLY missing the boat when it comes to adware and its ability to generate revenue.

zango only offers the ability to pop windows over target urls. This just scratches the surface of what is really happening in the world of this type of software.

So we can have affiliates claim to be against the zango pop-over. It’s a start I guess... but really a small drop in the bucket. Zango is getting hype because it’s easy to figure out. The real money makers in this space fly well under the radar and are more nefarious than anyone could possibly imagine apparently.

I still stick by my gut in thinking the most important thing to do is remove this crap from our potential sales computers.

:2 cents:

This isnt just about zango we all know that, but its a start, and we'll move on the others as time goes on and deal with the other aspects of fighting this battle.
yes educating the surfer is one aspect of that..but its not the entire solution.