Ad blocker: what is it and why is its use important to keep us safe from cybercrime?

On December 21, 2022, the FBI alerted that cybercriminals are using ads in search results to distribute malware. For this reason, the US agency points out that users should use an ad blocker to avoid falling into the trap of cyber scam.

In his specific PSA that the attackers are made “go through brands and direct users to malicious sites that host ransomware and steal login credentials and other financial information”.

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But how are they managing to deceive users? The FBI explains that Its methodology is based on buying the ad services offered by search engines such as Google. For example, the technology company has Google Ads, a product for “promote, sell, publicize and increase the traffic of a website”, this is how it reads in its Help Center.

Now, the problem of the matter is that the cybercriminal is making use of this type of resources to position fake websites that look similar to an official website in the first search results.

“In cases where a user searches for a program to download, the fraudulent website has a link to download software that is actually malware”, warns the FBI.

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Even, to make his misdeeds more effective, the cybercriminal analyzes what a user is mostly looking for.

“They are seeing where we access the most. And on that, they develop impersonated pages”, explains Elmer Quiroz, a cybersecurity specialist and professor at the Universidad Científica del Sur.

Faced with this risky situation, the federal investigative agency sees an ad blocker as a great help.

“Use an ad blocking extension when searching the internet. Most Internet browsers allow a user to add extensions, including extensions that block ads. These ad blockers can be turned on and off within a browser to allow ads on certain websites and block ads on others.”, the FBI advised.

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What is an ad blocker?

They are web browser extensions that “eare designed to hide or remove content identified as advertising”, indicates the cybersecurity expert.

Also, TechCrunch notes that things like auto-playing videos and ads that often take up half a page are removed. At the same time, this tool gives users more privacy since “prevent tracking code from loading inside ads“, it states.

In this way, no advertising company can follow your steps while you browse the websites.

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What does an ad blocker save us from?

For Quiroz, “the objective (of cybercriminals) is to obtain users’ personal data”. This means that by using an ad blocker we stop being potential victims for them.

Specifically, we would be saving from ransomware or phishing attacks. The first is about a hijacking of files or the entire device until the attackers are paid; while the second refers to the theft of personal information such as bank credentials.

Cybercriminals have the main objective of stealing user data. (Photo: File)

An ad blocker can help

“It is a measure to protect ourselves against cyber attacks”, Quiroz comments.

Although, he recommends that as a starting point we must have our equipment updated. And at the same time have security software such as an antivirus and ad blocker.

On the other hand, although the FBI does not dare to recommend a specific ad blocker, TechCrunch does.

This suggests to us uBlock Originwhich “works for most browsers, including Google Chrome , Mozilla Firefox , Microsoft Edge and Opera, plus the extension is open source so anyone can look at the code and make sure it is safe to run.”

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More recommendations

To avoid falling into the cybercriminal’s trap, that is, getting caught on a fraudulent website, Quiroz suggests check the URL and identify that it is true. For example, if we want to consult Plaza Vea, we must verify that it is written as follows https://www.plazavea.com.pe/.

“If I suddenly find plazavea.com.org, I should already be surprised”, he maintains.

Along these same lines, the FBI also warns: “a malicious domain name can be similar to the desired URL but with typos or a misplaced letter”.

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In any case, the federal investigative agency advises writing the URL of the company or institution in the address bar of the browser in order to directly access the official site.

In this way, it can be affirmed that it is the user who should be aware of these habits to improve your cyber security. And it is that sometimes it is about the attitude of the user as the journalist Tomas Germain, a reporter for Gizmodo, comments.

“When I write about online scams, people often tell me that they are too smart to fall for it. This, unfortunately, is the kind of attitude that gets you ripped off. Protecting yourself requires constant vigilance, which is undermined if you think you’re not vulnerable. All it takes is ten seconds of supervision or even a single click to get into trouble”, points out.

The FBI also encourages victims to report fraudulent or suspicious activity to its Internet Crime Complaint Center. (Photo by Liz Dufour/AP)

Source: Elcomercio