It was only a matter of time before someone figured out that data mining was only going to get them so far
Not that data mining isn’t profitable, by all means, it is! But, adsense is more profitable in the short term.
Jensense writes about a new virus that installs itself on your computer and then subtly changes the adsense ads you would otherwise view, to be ads the virus author wants you to see.
I could see this affecting a LOT of computers eventually, and becoming a problem because people 1. don’t know it’s there, and 2. don’t care if it’s there, because they don’t want to see the adsense ads anyway.
Not good news for adsense publishers.
You’re right vince, about it not being a concern for firefox users and adsense publishers…If you’re only concerned about the virus affecting YOUR computer. However, what about the non-technical high school and college kids who are clicking on your ads? What about the grandma clicking on your ads. They’re the ones you need to be concerned with. They’re the ones without the anti-virus software, they’re the ones using IE. It’s not the poeple publishing content for adsense you need to worry about, it’s the ones clicking on your adsense ads. Are they going to be clicking anymore? That’s the big concern.
The ones clicking on your adsense ads are NOT the ones using firefox.