Posted on 06/15/2005 1:58:04 PM PDT by kerrywearsbotox
CHICAGO, June 15 (UPI) -- An auto repair shop owner buys some online ads and thinks he snagged a bargain by negotiating a deal with the advertising agency to pay only when Web surfers click on the banners. It sounds like a good deal, until the owner receives the bill: His $1 per click deal turns into a $1 million invoice, and he has no idea how many of the clicks came from legitimate prospects.
Welcome to the world of Internet click fraud -- crimes emerging from an increasingly popular practice of pricing online ads. By Gene Koprowski
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
What? There are frauds on the Internet??
Why didn't anyone tell me that before I started reading DU?
He agreed to $1 a click?
What an idiot.
Even a penny a click would be too much.
If I had some deal where I could charge someone $1 every time some banner was clicked on... I'd have a sprained finger right now.
Anyone who would pay $1 per click is asking to be ripped off
There is some sort of poetic justice about an auto repair shop getting ripped off...
"Many consumers use anti-spyware software to eliminate cookies -- the mini-files deposited on the hard drives of Web users that are employed by sites to track unique visitors. Now, advertisers are fighting back with new technology. United Virtualities, also in New York City, has developed a backup ID system for cookies set by Web sites and advertising networks. The technology, called the Persistent Identification Element, is tagged to a user's Web browser. It provides advertisers with a unique identification, just like a cookie, and the tags cannot be deleted by any commercially available anti-spyware software today.
"All advertisers, Web sites and networks, use cookies for targeted advertising, but cookies are under attack," said Mookie Tenembaum, founder of United Virtualities. "They are being erased by 40 percent of users, creating serious problems. PIE will give publishers and third-party providers a persistent backup to cookies, effectively rendering them unassailable."
The PIE software is contained in just one line of code, he said.
Tenembaum said that from the advertiser's point of view the erasure of cookies constitutes a threat to an array of server-side applications, not just advertising, but also site registration and traffic counting."
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Can anyone provide info on "PIE" software and how to deal with it?
Anyone who signs a contract that obliges them to pay an unspecified amount, to be determined by the other party at a later date, is an absolute moron.
The guy is lucky he didn't stick his hand into the fan belt of a running engine.. sounds like he has the brains for it.
Folks, follow the link, and see the part about "key words they know have been purchased." Either the columnist made that up, or the search engine company is lying about its policy.
No joke.. When I had a pay per click I was paying around .001 per hit (maybe less..)
And Koprowski incompetent to cover "telecommunications for UPI Science News" if he doesn't mention bots in that column.
It's essentially a cookie created by Macromedia Flash and stored separately from IE or Netscape cookies. Google for "Persistent Identification Element" and you'll see there are already free programs to delete them now.
"Can anyone provide info on "PIE" software and how to deal with it (PIE)?"
"It" is MacroMedia Flash. A very evil thing. I keep Flash turned off unless I specifically need it.
If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT!!
IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked.
I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now.
Thought you might like to get a heads up on this, per our FRmails.
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