How can a website owner be sure ads displayed by outsourcer doesn't install malware?

Question

First, let's disgard the obvious browser-related stuff (e.g. "Don't use IE, u luser") and get to the meat...

Let's say I start a web site and am able to justify advertising on it. Instead of peddling my site directly to advertisers, I arrange a business relationship with an organization (e.g. Google Ads) to provide advertising on my site for a cut of the click-thru-traffic pie.

How do I know that they won't present ads which in and of themselves install malware on my audiences' machines?

I'm not talking about when a user clicks-thru, I'm talking about a situation where the HTML for the ad itself includes an ActiveX control that installs spyware or other malware on the user's machine.

Is there a way that I, as the website owner, can automagacially check the included ads to ensure they don't have malware? or do I just have to trust the outsourcer/have it in the contract and make sure I can collect on breach of contract (e.g., don't go offshore for my outsourcer)?

Answer 1

Most of the reputable advertising companies such as Burst Media and even Valueclick (Fastclick) label the creatives that the advertisers provide. They usually have a flagging system to let their publishers know that the banner will be downloading something if run. In the rare cases that they were not aware, usually people complain and they are quick to rectify the situation.

Not Google, though. If you are running Adsense where you get paid for the ads shown on your site, there is no flagging system that lets you know what ads you are running. The moment you sign up, your only recourse is to check the ads (not by clicking on them as it is not allowed, but copying/pasting the URL) and see how good or bad the landing pages are and whether something is being installed. Your only weapon is their URL filter - but other than that, you never know.

My website has 5000+ pages so it is impossible for me to track which are the ads shown on a daily basis. What I do is to spotcheck some of the ads. In very few cases, a visitor will complain though no one has complained about malware being downloaded.

But yes, even if you signed up with advertising companies, the best thing you can do is to be vigilant as to what ads are being shown on your site. Most advertising agencies give you the power to select or deselect ads, so use that to your best advantage.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

Stick with a reputable firm such as Google. The heavy hitters are not going to allow their names to be smeared by pulling any funny stuff.