Ad Networks Lay Path To Million-Strong Browser Botnet 105
jfruh writes "Every day, millions of computers run unvetted, sketchy code in the form of the JavaScript that ad networks send to publishers. Usually, that code just puts an advertiser's banner ad on a web page. But since ad networks and publishers almost never check the code for malicious properties, it can become an attack vector as well. A recent presentation at the Black Hat conference showed how ad networks could be used as unwitting middlemen to create huge, cheap botnets."
And they're wondering... (Score:5, Insightful)
...why we use adblock and noscript, whining that we deprave them of income.
It's not that your ads are obnoxious, albeit even that alone would suffice as a reason. They're dangerous to us.
Re:Somewhat scary (Score:4, Insightful)
The problem is less that I need all the bells and whistles. The problem is more that a sizable portion of webpages simply doesn't work without its bells and whistles.