BotNet Commits Pay-Per-Click Fraud

The Clickbot.A Trojan installed on 34,000 vulnerable PCs has been exploiting pay-per-click advertising programs, and the amount of money stolen this way could make the legendary robberies of the past pale in comparison. Forget about . The Clickbot.A Trojan's potential haul makes that look like, well, a movie. With antivirus firm Panda Software advisory: This allows the perpetrators to define, for example, the web pages on which the adverts are hosted or the maximum number of clicks from any one IP address in order not to arouse suspicions. Similarly, the number of clicks from the bot can be monitored as well as the computers online at any one time. The system used can evade fraud detection systems by sending click requests from different, unrelated IP addresses. Panda did not name company whose advertisements are being targeted by the Clickbot.A network. The Trojan activates on infected machines whenever a user launches Internet Explorer. The financial impact of the fraud scheme could be tremendous. Depending on the number of clicks and cost per click of each ad, the numbers may reach into the billions. Publishing 2.0 writer Scott Karp Tag: Add to DiggThis | Furl Bookmark murdok: David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.