Dive Brief:
- Google is taking steps to block ad injectors – programs that hijack legitimate ad placements.
- The main step Google is making is adding an automated filter to DoubleClick Bid Manager.
- According to Google, the filter has blacklisted 1.4% of DoubleClick Bid Manager’s ad exchange inventory.
Dive Insight:
Ad injectors are programs that seize control of legitimate ad placements and display something other than the purchased ad, including potential malware. Google collected almost 300,000 complaints about injectors from Chrome users this year, and injectors are obviously a problem for both publishers and advertisers. In an attempt to shut the issue down, Google added a filter to its DoubleClick Bid Manager that blacklists affected inventory as well as removes impressions generated by injectors before bids are made.
A Google study from earlier this year found ad injectors had victimized over 3,000 advertisers, including some major brands, including Sears, Walmart, Target and Ebay. In 2014 Google found 5.5% of unique IP addresses, which represents millions of users, accessed sites that featured injected ads.