J_K9 @ Linux

Google AdSense - Statistical Errors?

March 19, 2006 on 8:54 pm | In Hyperactive |

I have been thinking about this for a while now, and I am not sure whether this issue has been raised before. Neither am I aware of whether this would work or not, but if it works then there is a serious blunder in Google’s advertising system.

Let’s call our attacker X. If X spoofed his IP address, then any replies to packets sent from his computer would never reach him again - unless of course the spoofed IP address was of a compromised computer. So, X decides to write a script which will spoof his IP address to something else every five seconds, and writes another script which opens URLs in a browser and then closes the window - also in five seconds. X then goes onto my website and gets the link to one of the ads in my AdSense bar (which is, coincidentally, paid by the advertiser per click and not for a certain click limit). He hard codes it into his script, and then runs both scripts simultaneously.

Now, Google would see this as a click from a unique IP address every five seconds, and so would count it accordingly. Therefore, not only will the person running the AdSense bar (me, in this case) get far more money, but the person who is paying for the advertisement via AdWords will have to pay Google for every click. It’s making me rich, and robbing the advertiser of his money.

Obviously, the scripts would have to be more complicated than as I have described them, but the same concept applies. Would this work? And if so, isn’t this a critical error in Google’s advertising system? I hope I am proven wrong..

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I think that this is a critical flaw in any model which relies on clicks. But, at the same time, I believe that Google’s customers tend to be on top of this. If, suddenly, you go from receiving $20 a month to receiving $2000 a month, an alarm bell would ring somewhere.

I believe Google recognise this, didn’t they just have to settle a claim over something similar?, and either they or their customers keep an eye out for it.

Comment by ray — March 20, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Windows XP
Most of them probably do know about it - but there must be some more foolish ones who have the money and not the brains, and will not care whether they spend 10 times as much one month as the previous - they might think it is just more clicks, because it is becoming more popular? It is, in some ways, quite easy to fall into this kind of trap..

I’m not sure if Google have had any trouble with this lately - although the reason I thought of this was because I was explaining to my dad about how Google’s AdWords/AdSense functions, and the flaw just popped into my head. Either of the two may be on top of the issue, but if it were Google and not the customer, I feel that Google might just let it slip by.

I’m not sure whether a full protocol handshake is needed or not to count as a ‘click’ on AdSense, but I’ll try to find out.

[offtopic] Going back to your short story post - which are the wittiest/funniest of the ones you posted? I’m going to need something entertaining for the flight

Comment by J_K9 — March 20, 2006 #
Using Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows XP
Well, if you haven’t already read it, The Monkey’s Paw is a great short horror story - it’s been copied many times, but the original is always the best.

I also kicked off reading the Sheckley shorts and Silverberg is always good. If you can get hold of any Philip K Dick stories, they are always to be recommended.

Comment by ray — March 20, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Linux
I remember reading “Monkey’s Paw” sometime in the past. I don’t remember the details though. Sounds interesting.

Also going to the topic, Adsense is a pretty strange device for making money. Of course, google’s policies ensure that nobody ever talks about it, but I can assure you that they do pay. I got the cheque in the past, although I did discontinue it.

They did tell me though that I can register again any time I want to.

Comment by hari — March 21, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 on Debian GNU/Linux
Thanks for the recommendations Ray - I’ve just got The Monkey’s Paw, so will be reading that on the plane. The other authors don’t seem to have books on the internet, so I’ll look into them when I get the chance
Hari, I have never received a cheque, but I’ve been darn near it.. Why do you think it’s strange? It seems to work - as long as you’ve got enough visitors!
I’m literally about to ask about this, because I’m not sure if a confirmation handshake is needed to count as a click - and I’m eager to find out if it is or not, because if it is then it’s a REAL issue.

Comment by J_K9 — March 22, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Windows XP
I think it’s strange because nobody ever clicks the ads… if you get a couple of clicks per day on a medium traffic website, that’s quite good. Only on very high-traffic sites does it make sense to use adsense.

I think you should actually email adsense support and ask them about the other issue you have in mind. They’re quite responsive (reply within a few days) and confirm how it works.

I don’t think they’ll reveal the inner workings, though.

Comment by hari — March 24, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.4 on Windows 98
But, on some high traffic sites it also looks out of place, so I guess it’s just trying to achieve some kind of balance. I think I know how Google gets past the issue I brought up, but I’m not sure.. I might email them to ask them - it doesn’t hurt, does it?

Comment by J_K9 — March 24, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Windows XP
You might have to sign an NDA!

Comment by hari — March 25, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.4 on Windows 98
I could only wish they’d give me that much detail

Comment by J_K9 — March 25, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.4 on SuSE Linux
It’s called click fraud, look it up

Comment by Duncan — April 2, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Windows XP
Yes, click frauds are damn common.

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Using Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows XP
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Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.7 on Windows XP
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