Google Ads Attacked

So, tell me, how much do you love Google? Do you get excited every time you see their logo? As we all know, Google takes precedence over a lot of the other search engine Web sites on the Internet today and their name just seems to show up everywhere. These days, it seems impossible to go to a Web site and not see the word Google on every page you visit. Of course, there are some sites that are Google-free, but from their search engine boxes to their advertisements, etc., Google is all over the place!

And that's precisely why we all need to be extra careful. It was discovered earlier this week (December 25, 2007) that some of the Google ads placed on certain Web sites were hijacked by Trojan software. So, what's that mean exactly? Well, the software started replacing the text ran by Google with ads from different providers. If you happened to click on one of those, you would be redirected to a third party ad instead of one placed by Google. The Trojan would then begin to infect your computer. It's a sneaky little thing, huh?!

Now, according to the security company BitDefender, the Trojan (going by the name of Trojan.Qhost.WU) is spreading at a low level and it is causing medium damage, but you still need to pay close attention to what you click on when you're browsing through Web sites. A Google spokesperson said they are working to remove the dangerous sites from their ad network and their search results. They have both manual and automated processes set up to enforce those policies. All in all, this is an unfortunate occurrence, but if you're extra careful when using the Internet, you will be just fine. Plus, it's comforting to know how hard Google is working to keep us all safe as well. Just giving you a heads up!

~ Erin