Malvertisements

I, like 100 percent of PC users, have come across ads that when clicked (or often when they're not) start up some bogus virus scanner and try to get you to shell out hard-earned cash to solve problems you don't actually have.

Now thanks to Microsoft, there a word for this stuff: malvertisements. And Redmond's legal eagles are going after a handful of companies responsible for these scams. Go get 'em, I say.

For the record, I never click these nasties, but that doesn't stop 'em from running. In fact, yesterday and today, one company has been bugging me with fake virus scanning. Now, I use Task Manager to shut my whole browser down. But in fact, Windows 7 Task Manager wants to me to click and close the bogus dialog box before it shuts down that browser tab. Sorry, Microsoft -- I'm bringing down the whole dang thing!

Any malvertisement horror stories? Send your scariest to dbarney@redmondmag.com.

Posted by Doug Barney on September 21, 2009 at 11:53 AM