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Heidi — How Malware Works Via Banner Ads
Published: 2012-01-06 00:54:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 27136; Favourites: 147; Downloads: 0
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Description
by $Heidi
How Malware Works Via Banner Ads
As many deviants know, deviantART has been working hard to combat malicious banner ads that infiltrate
our advertising network, and we've previously addressed this issue in
April 2011
and August 2011 .
In our ongoing effort to keep the deviantART community safe, we wanted to share the following
USA Today-produced
video that explains how malicious ads inundate the Web.
How Malicous Ads Inundate the Web
(Source: USA Today )
Protect Yourself
Malware advertising is an Internet-wide problem that affects many of the Net's top sites.
Keeping your browser up to date is one of the best ways to ensure your computer's safety.
Additionally, anti-virus programs offer another level of protection against malvertisements.
We strongly recommend that you download the latest version of your favorite browser.
Reports of Malware and Virus Advertisements
Our Ongoing Battle Against Malicious Ads
Related content
Comments: 769
Do you have a life? Commenting for the reason to stir up trouble
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Nah.. I do it by my inbox... not like you
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hey guys, give DA money by buying subs, and ads won't be a problem. LOLOL
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The answer is simple, but will have to evolve.
Have users "hard drives" in the cloud so that the only thing at home is the processor, terminal, and keyboard.
The cloud then need to be constantly monitored and cleaned.
I'm sure this is where it is all heading anyways.
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good thing I've a macbook pro that doesn't get trojan-horses,worms,or whatever
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Some good information I'll make sure to pass it on
Usually
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If you are smart, you don't click adds, you have firewall turned on, you have antivirus program which scans your system everyday, you do a disk cleanup everyday and you use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Thanks for your attention. 
In God we trust.
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Not clicking ads isn't going to help. If the ad just loads on the page, you can get infected.
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The other things I mentioned (...and didn't) will get rid of any threat on my system in 22 hours.
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Plus, NoScript and AdBlock. I don't do disk-cleanups that often, but otherwise I second this sentiment.
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All my security procedures are started automatically by windows scheduler at night, when I sleep.
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Ah, sweet. I just do regular checks when something seems to be wrong actually, since I don't really visit any shady websites or download things that often. Also, AdBlock is doing a good job so far.
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I believ it's up to dA to protect it's users. Stop working with ads if you can't keep them safe
IDK.
If I'm a interenet newbie who doesn't understand much I just shouldn't browse this site.
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dA DOES earn a good deal of money from those ads though.. It's one way or the other.
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They also generate lots of money from the artists prints that they sell here.
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Yeah, I know. But apparently not enough or else they wouldn't maintain the ads on the site.
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Its all profit from the ads bro. plus its not like they have to answer to anyone about us getting viruses or anything.
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Ah, I see. Of course they don't have to answer though, there are plenty of ways to block viruses from your computer anyway :\ I doubt anyone can blame dA for giving them viruses while doing nothing to get rid of them or even prevent them with a decent antivirus. They're doing everything they can to keep malicious ads of the site.
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not very many people are computer savvy. For instance i can build a computer myself. which may seem hard but really isn't. Its kind of like viruses. They don't teach you how to get rid of viruses like these in regular school you know. you learn to type and the basics of how to use a computers functions. Not everyone know how to do the extras. And especially past generations, when i was working for a non profit company that will not be named i remember one day i asked one of the staff to send me a document that i saved on their computer(my notes) so i can work on it from home. a week later i asked about the document that he never sent and he explained to me how he didn't know how to send an email. He was 24yrs old.
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I guess there are exceptions to everything then. The only people I know that aren't very computer savvy are my parents, so I guess we all have different experiences with computers.
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Well I know. I understand. They employ people and needs to pay them $$. Ads provide $$.
But dA was detected as unsafe site and as a malware site by antiviruses.
Basically they harm their userbase.
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That's weird though, I haven't had any malware/quarantined files since I joined dA! Must have been AdBlock blocking all of them then. In any case they ARE working on a solution, it's not like they purposely harm their userbase. I hope they can find a compromise soon enough.
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Yeah me too.
Some people said they get viruses from dA.
I never had a problem either but I don't have ads for some time
I know they do, but they anounced it first on April, I know it's not easy but they have to sort something to avoid that. Even if we don't install adblockers or anything
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The wonders of a subscription. Although AdBlock does basically the same.
True, but AdBlock is the best short-term solution. I can barely think of anyone who still uses Internet Explorer aside from my parents anyway. But dA'll come up with something.
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I actually seen lots of people who use IE. Mostly on family computers thru...
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Haha, no kidding. xD Only the younger generations know how to use Firefox and other browsers properly I think.
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My folks didn't want me to change IE
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Get Firefox and Ad Blocker for it. 
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In other words: be prepared:
Know where your installation discs are and back up your documents frequently.
Also, viruses (usually) only work in a Windows environment. Give Linux a try.
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I got a malware just like that once, without even clicking any ads. Just by visiting the wrong site. Wasn't even a shady site I kept visiting and getting the malware from.
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I'm glad I know more about this now. I've had experiences like that a couple times, where I'm just using the Internet and all of a sudden there's a popup that says I have a virus, which I close, and then something else pops up saying I'm infected. I always would shut the computer off right away. Now I'm glad I know where they come from and what they are.
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You should close the window immediately if those pop-ups come up. DO NOT click anywhere on the page. Oh, and if you do have a virus, try to use your antivirus first. Don't turn off your computer until you know your antivirus can't get rid of it. If you turn it off, you could let it start up with the rest of your computer.
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The noscript and adblock add-ons work just fine. Besides, considering how much people send on drugs (including tobacco) a few bucks a month for a membership to a site like this is not bad in my opinion.
One way or the other; here's also a NoScript add-on that works with Chrome: [link]
I've never gotten any kind of virus from adds. I use NOD32 and run scans with software such as SpyBot and Malwarebytes' product and all is good.
And in all truth; even if you get one of those fake anti virus programs, they can be cleaned. The worst thing that can happen is that you may have to run a Windows repair (if you use Windows). I've had to clean these up a few times in my last job and it's doable with software on a medium (such as a CD) that can't be accessed and Safe mode.
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I actually lost my precious hp to the "Anti-Virus" Trojan called Win 7 Anti-Virus. With these viruses you have to clean deep and thorough, since they usually invade your registry and are re-activated.
I've chosen to come here only with a Mac, since they're not affected by viruses (they can carry them, but not be affected). My hp stays off the internet aside from gaming and I only use it sparingly. I hope more people can block malware and be more aware of it, especially the Fake Anti-Viruses that are increasingly hard to get rid of.
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Very first time I got paranoid with using dA was with that virus. I remember freaking out so much as I never ever thought of backing up my computer files at all, and I barely had cash to take my comp to a shop to get it fixed. Curiously, I was able to log into a secondary account, download Malware Bytes, and that immediately cleaned it off my computer.
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Oh me too, and it was for that reason I was insane (since I had all my iTunes and files on the computer)! Thankfully it all worked out for you, Malwarebytes took it off my computer but it came back on a week later, so now I don't browse with Windows.
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Oh, that stinks. I just stopped going on dA for like...6 months after getting the virus. It was the only site I was on when I got it, so I just became paranoid. I would definitely buy a Mac if I had the money, but I was never a big Linux fan.
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I got something similar called "Windows Security Center 2011." It really trashed my computer. It corrupted code, deleted system files, and was viciously persistent at ruining my computer. What ended up happening was that I got Norton Antivirus (which was the only antivirus that could even find the stupid thing) and had to delete my original user.
Since then, I've also installed AdBlock Plus, which, combined with Norton, has kept my computer very safe. I can't even remember the last time that I was alerted of something more serious than a tracking cookie.
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I'm also glad the combination worked for you! (I'm using the same combination, haha) I don't feel as worried anymore now that I know.
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Yeah, it is nice. Especially since Norton comes with Safe Search. I never have to worry about stumbling onto an unsafe site ever again!
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Yes, I think that runs the same program; wow, mine never deleted files, it just would try to prevent me from taking it off! So Norton worked for you, that's good. Thank you for the info, I should try to combine antiviruses to check it out, even with daily check-ups the trojan managed to slip through
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Actually, I'd really advise against installing multiple antivirus programs. Adblock and Norton works because AdBlock isn't an antivirus program. If you install multiple antiviruses, they'll do nothing but fight each other. It's likely that you'd get constant warning messages from each to the point where your computer would be hard to use.
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Ok, thanks man. I've tried a bunch of them and a lot of them couldn't find the trojan except for the two that turn your comp into a Big Brother (Stopzilla and Spyware Doctor). So you say Norton's still the best bet?
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Well, Norton's not free, nor is it cheap. It's a strong security program, though some people have told me that it gives them trouble when they're playing games.
If you want a good antivirus that's free, I'd suggest "Microsoft Security Essentials." My dad is using that with AdBlock, and he's never had much trouble either.
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I have it no worries, XD My father uses it, but I always relied on malwarebytes. I should try the new Adblock and see if it helps my old HP, thank you for all the tips.
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I still have a free version of Malwarebytes on my computer, actually. It doesn't do anything automatically, so Norton pretty much ignores it.
Hey, no problem. Nobody likes viruses, so I'm glad to help whenever I can.
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UGH, did this thing keep popping up saying that your computer is infected and you needed to buy some stupid software that didn't exist originally on your computer itself? THAT happened to me, although I had Vista.
It was called Windows Defender and not even my anti-virus could pick it up. it kept prompting me to register and buy it and such and it also came with a malware that disabled all of my programs (for example, I'd click one, and it'd say "choose a program to open this with." No matter what it was.).
We got it fixed thank God, but oh my jesus that was annoying as hell.
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Yes, but mine was Win 7. This also wouldn't be picked up on my Malwarebytes, Windows Security Center...etc. It got picked up by the shittiest of anti-spywares that ruined my computer further, though!
Thank goodness you got it fixed! I may still have the virus somewhere on there but I've ultimately decided to keep it off browsing the net, hopefully you'll never encounter one like that again.
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Goodness, I wouldn't say it was the end of the world for our computer, but it sort of was XP before we could mess it up any further, we called in a technician that my mother seemed to know.
I recommend doing that before trying to take matters into your own hands (after all, the guy had the cure on a usb stick! what does that say about how easy it is? XD)--then again, I have no idea of your skill via computer hardware and such.
Several of my other friends had this same problem simultaneously (it must have picked up from a site that all of them go to...hmm...facebook? dunno)--but they got rid of it simply by ignoring it whenever it showed its face.Quite odd in my opinion.
Good luck with that and I hope it rids itself of your computer soon ^^
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