I Accidentally Joined a SpyWare Network

To Feed my AdSense Network

[Montresor]

Had six hundred visitors in a day. Early results don't look good though. Anybody else try this out?

[tebrino]

Try what?

[Mauricio]

What's (or what are your calling) a "spyware network" and how can anyone join "accidentally" something like this?

[mincklerstraat]

Welcome to Webmasterworld [webmasterworld.com], Montresor. Though you probably shouldn't name this network by name (might not jive with the TOS), it'd be helpful if you'd basically describe what kind of thing it is / what it does in general terms. Apparently a few of us are curious.

[loanuniverse]

If they are serving your site in the form of a popup. Then, I would suggest you get out.

[Macro]

<removed>
OT, sorry, I'll start a new thread.

[Montresor]

I saw an advertisement on a legitimate website, offering $XXX in free traffic. So I signed up. In twenty four hours I started receiving a noticeable uptick in traffic. My AdSense impressions went up.

So I called the account manager and was told that the visitors came from when people go to a search engine and they type in a query, a new window spawns with my website in it.

But it was an accident!

[jdMorgan]

I agree 100% with loanuniverse. You may be gaining traffic, but you are losing your reputation.
Most users hate popups, detest and loath them. Thay are annoyed by them. Other than that, it's your choice, of course. ;)

Jim

P.S. I don't mind popups at all, myself. But that's because I set my browser to disable them six months ago, and never see any.

[edited by: jdMorgan at 12:27 am (utc) on Dec. 3, 2004]

[Montresor]

This is a popunder. Popup blokers don't catch popunders, just popups. But it was an accident!

If all I want is for people to clik my ads, do I really have to worry about my reputation?

[jdMorgan]

Popups, popunders, pop-anythings are blocked... If I don't click, it doesn't show. Sorry. (I am trying to illustrate a growning trend in newer browsers, and warn those who depend on pops to find a new model before it is too late.)

So, you've joined an ad-ware (not spyware) network. Unsubscribe or cancel your membership. Failing that, insist that they remove your content from their network, and/or block their access to your server.

Jim

[loanuniverse]

There is an alternative. {serve a page without adsense as your pop under page}. You will still get some visitors to your adsense pages.

Of course, the best way would be to design a popup page that is nothing but a big, attractive and fully clickable image. That way you actually get true users. But going to all this trouble would be worth it only if you have invested a substantial amount of money on this.

/rambling off