WebProNews

Botnets Driving Click fraud Traffic

There was a significant jump in click fraud traffic from botnets in the third quarter of 2009, according to the latest data from Click Forensics. Click Forensics told WebProNews that the amount of click fraud traffic from botnets generally hovers around 33 percent, and it believes the sudden rise may be to due to the increasing sophistication and proliferation of botnets. Botnets accounted for 42.6 percent of all click fraud in Q3 2009, more than doubling in the past two years and up from the 27.5 percent reported for the same quarter last year.

Massive Click Fraud Ring Shut Down

One of the largest click fraud rings ever detected, originating from China, has been shut down by click fraud monitoring firm Anchor Intelligence. "This is really the first time anyone has ever been able to catch click fraudsters 'in the act.' Anchor has identified fraudsters down to the publisher site, IPs used (likely via botnets), and even the names and address of some perpetrators," an Anchor spokesperson told WebProNews. 

Milestone Said to Be Reached in War on Click Fraud

The Interactive Advertising Bureau announced that a significant milestone has been reached in the "war on click fraud." In May, the organization released its Click Measurement Guidelines, and some of the top media companies have already passed the IAB's audits. These companies include Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, as well as Business.com. When we think click fraud, the major search engines tend to come to mind, but that is still not the entire picture, obviously.

New Tool Aims To Fight Click Fraud

Click Forensics has introduced a new tool to help marketers combat click fraud. The new tool is called "Block List" which provides ad networks with a continually updated list of visitor IP addresses and publishers known to generate online click fraud. Block List can be used with the Click Forensics platform to block invalid traffic and to shift  advertsing dollars to other sources that offer better results. The Block List tool could help marketers reduce the rate of click fraud between 15 to 25 percent according to Click Forensics.

Facebook Gets Double Dose of Legal Issues

Facebook is currently involved in a couple of separate lawsuits. One of them involves click fraud and the other involves data portability. The Click Fraud Suit

Facebook Click Fraud Jumps

There have been numerous complaints from Facebook advertisers about click fraud, which has apparently been ramped up in recent days. Facebook has acknowledged the issue and claims to be doing something about it.

Microsoft Sues Alleged Click Fraudsters

Reuters and the Wall Street Journal are both reporting that Microsoft is suing three people, accusing them of click fraud. The company apparently filed a complaint on Monday in a US federal Court in Seattle.

IAB Rolls Out Click Measurement Guidelines

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced today the release of its Click Measurement Guidelines aimed at establishing accurate buying and selling of cost-per-click advertising. The guidelines are supported by key industry stakeholders, provide a strong framework for identifying and discarding fraudulent clicks. The Click Measurement Guidelines:

Click Fraud Rate Declines In Q1

Click fraud declined in the first quarter of 2009 to 13.8 percent, according to Click Forensics' Click Fraud Index. That's down from the all-time high of 17.1 percent reported for the fourth quarter of 2008 and from the 16.3 percent rate reported for the first quarter of 2008.

Ask Makes Move to Cut Click Fraud

Ask.com has tapped Anchor Intelligence and will use its ClearMark software to score all of its paid search clicks. The goal of Ask's partnership with Anchor Intelligence is to protect its advertisers and partners from paying for fraudulent clicks.