Ad Hell

[trickykitty]

While sitting next to me on the couch last night, eldest nephew tried to download Skype. He had already clicked to start the download of the installer, and he wanted me to walk him through the install process to make sure he didn't install any bloatware, as I've been harping on them to watch and read EVERY screen before they click through during the download process. I saw the Skype logo, I wondered why there where a couple of terms of agreements as I actually watched him go step-by-step through the load process, but the last one he clicked Agree for before I could read it, and it looked slightly different from the others and set off my red-flag instinct. He saw me say okay to the first couple screens and assumed I would say okay to that last one. I instantly told him something was wrong, and he wanted to back out of it, but it was already done with the install and waiting for him to click Finish. Sure enough, it popped open IE with some new home screen and search engine loaded. I spent the next hour removing 3-4 malwares without a sign of Skype to be found.

He's only been using this laptop since last week, and now I know why I keep having to clean up their laptops in that house. Mom and the boys keep insisting that they haven't downloaded anything bad, and in their minds they think they're right. I keep telling them that they have downloaded something, because that's the only way this stuff gets on there. Mom even tried to make sure they only ever downloaded games from Big Fish Games (as per my instructions) a while back, but there's always something else getting downloaded here and there.

After cleaning his as best I could tell, we started over from scratch, doing a simple Goggle search for Skype. Sure enough, the top Ad link was marked as clicked instead of Skype.com which was 3 links down and the first link below the Paid-For advertising line in the search results. Those Paid-For results are the bane of my existence.

Lesson time. I explained to him how the top three links all say AD next to them and not one of them is Skype.com. I know I'll have to give the same lesson to Little Bit and Mom at some point soon. Right now, both of their laptops are running slower than molasses. I know I cleared a few programs off of one of them a couple weeks ago, but I don't think I got them all (it was late and I was getting ridiculously tired, so I stopped for the night). They are your everyday, average users, and they trust Goggle (or whatever search engine) to show the best results at the top, but those damned Paid-For links are what are getting them, and the people that make those links are bona fide assholes that know exactly what they're doing by preying on the unsuspecting.

Yeah, I could go in and create an Admin account on all their computers for which only I know the password and force them to only download stuff while I'm around, but that's not going to happen. I'd rather train them on how to look out for this stuff and pay attention to what they are doing. Either way, I feel kind of dumb that I didn't notice that eldest had already selected a bad setup link in the first place. Hell, I even showed him, after getting the correct download direct from Skype, how one was called "skype_setup.exe" and the other was "SkypeSetup.exe" - seriously they are tricky little bastards attempting to fraud you at every turn. I get so frustrated that this shit isn't somehow illegal, but because they can claim you knowingly agreed to the terms of the download, you really have only yourself to blame.

I keep forgetting to make sure I have AdBlockPlus on their browsers, which at least lowers the chance of them seeing those Paid-For links in the first place, but I'm leery of putting something on there that will make them more complacent, which is another reason why I won't Admin lock their computers completely. I'm not going to be there to approve every single download as the boys grow up and eventually flee the nest. They HAVE to learn this. It's now one of those required life lessons that I think everyone should have to learn, much like brushing your teeth.

Those of us X-geners who grew up around computers watched as these jackasses learned their step-by-step tricks. We learned how to look out for them right along side them as they learned how to implement them. My nephews' generation is different. They are growing up around user-friendly, user-trusting colorful boxes on their screens that are teaching them to follow their curiosity and click on everything, because it's amazing what each new click can offer. Every new box that's been preloaded gives new features and new possibilities to make life more fun, enjoyable, easy, and manageable. Why wouldn't that same philosophy hold true with search engines and websites? What IS that link over on the side? It claims riches and gold made from alloy! Let's click it!