Monday, June 6, 2011

Adometry: New Ad Hijacking Fraud Scheme Found

Austin-based Adometry, the provider of click fraud detection and related services for online advertisers and publishers headed by Paul Pellman, reported today that it has discovered a new, "sophisticated" advertising fraud scheme which is using ad networks to spread. The firm said it has found "ad hijacking" which uses advertisements to infect users when they visit web sites. The firm claims the new scheme does not require a user to click on or install any software, and results in search hijacking, display advertising impression inflation, and video advertising fraud via installation of a rootkit. Adometry -- formerly known as Click Forensics -- helps online advertisers avoid false impressions such as those created by the malware. The firm is venture backed by Sierra Ventures, Austin Ventures, Shasta Ventures and Stanford University.