Affiliate marketing 275
However, more recent examples exist of "thin" affiliate sites that are using the affiliate marketing model to create
value for Consumers by offering them a service. These thin content service Affiliate fall into three categories:- • Price comparison
- • Cause related marketing
- • Time saving
Virus and Trojan distribution through advertising networks
Server farms hosting advertising content are periodically infected by hackers who alter the behavior of these servers
such that the content they serve to end-users includes hidden I-frames and other exploits that leverage vulnerabilities
in various web-browsers and operating systems for the purpose of infecting those systems with malware. End users
frequently confuse the source of their computer infection with a particular website they were viewing at the time, and
not the advertising network that was linked to, by the website (commonly users themselves do not understand or
appreciate there is a distinction).Consumer countermeasures
The implementation of affiliate marketing on the internet relies heavily on various techniques built into the design of
many web-pages and web-sites, and the use of calls to external domains to track user actions (click tracking, Ad
Sense) and to serve up content (advertising) to the user. Most of this activity adds time and is generally a nuisance to
the casual web-surfer and is seen as visual clutter. Various countermeasures have evolved over time to prevent or
eliminate the appearance of advertising when a web-page is rendered. Third party programs (Ad Aware, SpyBot,
pop-up blockers, etc.) and particularly, the use of a comprehensive HOSTS file can effectively eliminate the visual
clutter and the extra time and bandwidth needed to render many web pages. The use of specific entries in the HOSTS
file to block these well-known and persistent marketing and click-tracking domains can also aid in reducing a
system's exposure to malware by preventing the content of infected advertising or tracking servers to reach a user's
web-browser.Adware
Although it differs from spyware, adware often uses the same methods and technologies. Merchants initially were
uninformed about adware, what impact it had, and how it could damage their brands. Affiliate marketers became
aware of the issue much more quickly, especially because they noticed that adware often overwrites tracking
cookies, thus resulting in a decline of commissions. Affiliates not employing adware felt that it was stealing
commission from them. Adware often has no valuable purpose and rarely provides any useful content to the user,
who is typically unaware that such software is installed on his/her computer.
Affiliates discussed the issues in Internet forums and began to organize their efforts. They believed that the best way
to address the problem was to discourage merchants from advertising via adware. Merchants that were either
indifferent to or supportive of adware were exposed by affiliates, thus damaging those merchants' reputations and
tarnishing their affiliate marketing efforts. Many affiliates either terminated the use of such merchants or switched to
a competitor's affiliate program. Eventually, affiliate networks were also forced by merchants and affiliates to take a
stand and ban certain adware publishers from their network. The result was Code of Conduct by Commission
Junction/beFree and Performics,[25] LinkShare's Anti-Predatory Advertising Addendum,[26] and ShareASale's
complete ban of software applications as a medium for affiliates to promote advertiser offers.[27] Regardless of the
progress made, adware continues to be an issue, as demonstrated by the class action lawsuit against ValueClick and
its daughter company Commission Junction filed on April 20, 2007.[28]