LOS ANGELES — AdSecure has announced it has added auto-redirect ad detection to its arsenal.
According to the company, its ad verification tool is used by ad networks, ad operations teams, and publishers. The new feature alerts to auto-redirect ad formats that are considered to be annoying and also widely used by cybercriminals for distributing malicious advertising.
AdSecure’s Product Manager Mat Derval says that once a user is exposed to an auto-redirect, it takes over the browser and redirects him to another website page, and it all happens with no interaction by the user.
“One example of how auto-redirects are delivered to the user is through a malicious banner ad,” Derval explains. “Even if the banner is only displayed and the user has not clicked on the banner it will still redirect the visitor to another webpage.”
Derval says the banner usually contains a JavaScript and the redirected webpage is then used as a vehicle for some form of affiliate fraud or malware.
“Some auto-redirect scams go as far as hijacking the browser’s ‘back’ button or even trapping the user with a pop-up notification to prevent him from returning to the original site he was viewing,” Derval adds. “This intrusive technique affects desktop, mobile, and tablet.”
Derval notes mobiles are particularly affected by auto-redirects on both Android and iOS and these malicious auto-redirect ads not only affect junk websites but recently have been placed on reputable sites including The New York Times among others.
“AdSecure’s team and our technology have enabled us to quickly develop and get to market the software needed to detect this malicious ad format,” Derval concludes. “Ad platforms and publishers that use AdSecure’s all-in-one malware detection package benefit from keeping their users safe from being exposed to malicious ad formats.”
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