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The motivation is a monthly paycheck from an ad network without having to build a real audience for your website. If you can generate fake views and clicks at a
by dangrossman 11y ago
The motivation is a monthly paycheck from an ad network without having to build a real audience for your website. If you can generate fake views and clicks at a lower cost than the network pays you, and convince the network the bot-generated activity is genuine, you're printing money.
- codezero 11y agoEdited, sorry for misnaming, and thanks for the insight. Doesn't this model only work if you are driving traffic/clicks to _your_ site? What is the benefit for bots that are hitting other people's sites?
- dangrossman 11y ago> What is the benefit for bots that are hitting other people's sites? That's the "convince the network the bot-generated activity is genuine" part. A site where all the "people" clicking ads are never seen on other sites stands out like a sore thumb. Having a bunch of background benign-looking activity lets you hide other kinds of fraud, too: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/07/service-drains-competitors-online-ad-budget/ http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/07/service-drains-competitor...
- codezero 11y agoGotcha. Bummer.