Recently CNET reported that Avast (Anti-Virus) has tracked over 2.6 million instances of malware that have been delivered to unsuspecting web surfers since last December by ad services such as Yahoo’s Yield Manager, Fox Audience Network’s Fimserve.com and even some from Google’s DoubleClick. Some high-profile sites include The New York Times, Drudge Report.com, TechCrunch and WhitePages.com. The practice has been dubbed ‘malvertising.’ I usually suspect the users of ‘careless web activity’ when I delouse a PC, but now I’m going to have to give some the benefit of the doubt (maybe, just maybe). However, it’s interesting to note just how much promotional computer and technology products have had an effect on the advertising world. It seems the days of focusing on creating custom brochures and flyers to market yourself have taken a backseat to the internet.
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