A - C
- Adware
- A software package, which displays ads in an unexpected and often unwanted fashion. Adware can be covertly installed on computers through one of two methods: users can be tricked into clicking a malware link, or users may use a file-sharing program to install freeware that secretly includes adware. Some forms of adware automatically activate pay-per-click advertisement links to perform click fraud.
- Backdoor
- A method of bypassing standard authentication procedures while attempting to avoid detection. A backdoor may be installed on an individual’s computer through a vulnerability in the operating system or through an existing piece of malware, such as a Trojan horse, worm, or rootkit. The backdoor turns the computer into a zombie, enabling attackers to run scripts to invisibly surf the net, load and reload pages that support ads, and click on ads.
- Bot
- A software application that performs automated tasks online. These tasks are generally simple and structurally repetitive, such as web spidering. Bots can be used maliciously to commit click fraud by botnets through a command-and-control infrastructure. Newer versions of bots can scan their hosts for vulnerabilities and weak passwords and use such information to self-propagate.
- Botnet
- A network of compromised computers, also known as zombies. Botnets are probably the most widely known tool in the click fraudster’s toolkit. Bot programs are covertly installed on computers by means of worms, backdoors, Trojan horses, viruses, or other forms of malware. The bot herder, e.g. the fraudster in charge of the botnet, issues commands to the zombie computers via a common command-and-control infrastructure. The commands typically run through IRC servers, providing a degree of separation and an additional layer of protection for the herder. Botnets are used to wage distributed denial of service attacks, propagate spam, log keystrokes, and perpetrate click fraud. In the case of click fraud, herders command bots to visit websites - which are either owned by the herder or someone who pays the herder for the service - and click on the ads hosted by those sites. The site owner can thus generate a significant amount of revenue, which is paid out by the ad network or search engine distributing the ads. Large, global botnets generate clicks from many different IP addresses, giving the illusion of legitimate traffic.
- Clickbot.a
- A notorious bot used to perpetrate click fraud. An investigation of Clickbot.a served as the basis for a detailed case study on botnet click fraud attacks by Neil Daswani, Michael Stoppelman, and the Google Click Quality and Security Teams.
- Click farm
- A “farm” of people, often outsourced by an organization that is paid to generate clicks on behalf of a third party. Newspapers around the world advertise opportunities to participate in these groups as easy careers for people working from home. Click farms often reflect the global nature of our economy, in which workers from developing nations seek an opportunity to easily earn a few dollars a day, at the expense of advertisers looking to attract legitimate business to their websites.
- Click fraud
- Also known as Malicious traffic. Click fraud is the act of producing clicks or impressions that have no economic value to the advertiser due to malicious intent on the part of the clicker. A click may be fraudulent when the clicker has no intention of converting, giving the advertiser no chance to reap a return on their investment in that click. One motive for engaging in click fraud is direct financial gain. Publishers can make money by inflating clicks on ads that appear on their site. For example, a blogger who posts several ads on his site can profit by using malicious software to automate clicks on his site. He can also hire low cost workers to click his ads. The second most common motive involves creating unfair competitive advantage. Imagine a local real estate agent who seeks to drain her competitor’s ad budget by clicking on his ads. Afterwards, her ads show up for users looking for a real estate agent in her city since her competitor has run out of ad budget. This may also mislead her competitor to stop buying particular keywords since the fraudulent clicks will skew the performance of the affected campaigns. Click fraud is a significant concern in online advertising because fraudulent clicks reduce the ROI of an advertiser’s campaign.
Note: click fraud is a sub-type of invalid clicks; however, not all invalid clicks are click fraud. Double clicks, traffic from known crawlers, and internal test clicks are invalid and should not be charged to advertisers, but they are not generated with malicious intent and are not captured within the definition of click fraud as a result. - Click fraud farmer
- Members of click farms and one of the least sophisticated profiles of click fraud perpetrators. In some cases, click fraud farmers are website owners who click on ads appearing on other members’ websites; other times, they are contractors to an organization that is paid to generate clicks on behalf of a third party.
- Computer worm
- A program that self-replicates through a network. Computer worms typically spread by exploiting vulnerabilities and bugs in operating systems and outdated applications. As a worm spreads, it can create a network of zombie computers known as botnets.
- Cookie stuffing
- A fraudulent method used by affiliates to increase commission numbers. Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) advertisers typically pay affiliates a commission each time a customer browses an affiliate’s Web site, clicks on a product link with an embedded affiliate code, and then purchases the product that corresponds to that code. Cookie-stuffing leads affiliate’s tracking systems to believe that a user has clicked through a tracking link, when no such action has occurred. By manipulating affiliate-tracking systems, affiliates can get credit for purchases they had nothing to do with.
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