Why do small advertisement pop-ups become "stubborn diseases" because of frequent tricks and long dominance on screens
In the beginning of the 21st century, browsers appeared to block web page pop-up windows, allowing users to decide whether to block web page pop-up windows, but now a new type of pop-up window technology has appeared, which changed the way the pop-up windows are opened, which caused the original blocking The technology of the pop-up window is invalid.
Song Yubo
Associate Professor, School of Cyberspace Security, Southeast University
There is no close button or the button is not eye-catching, and it cannot be closed with one key; the pop-up frequency is high, the number of one-time pop-up advertisements is large and the web page size is too large; the software is installed by default without prompting, and other software is forced to be bundled and installed...
Did the frequently pop-up web pop-ups when surfing the Internet ever make you have the urge to abandon the Internet and smash your computer?
Not long ago, the Jiangsu Consumer Rights Protection Committee (hereinafter referred to as Jiangsu Consumer Protection Committee) held a press conference to report the investigation of the personal computer (PC) end application software network pop-up window. The above-mentioned network pop-up window "severe disease" is here. It was disclosed intensively in this investigation.
On August 2nd, relevant experts said in an interview with a reporter from the Science and Technology Daily that at the beginning of its birth, online pop-ups were once an innovative form of advertising, which attracted users' attention by inducing users to close the pop-ups.
However, with the widespread use of network pop-ups, huge economic benefits have led to malicious abuse: collecting user personal data, stealing user account information, and enticing users to download malicious software are common occurrences, which not only cause visual pollution, but also normalize users. The Internet life and data security brings hidden dangers.
Why do ads favor pop-up ads? The conversion rate of pop-up ads is much higher than other ads
In the Internet age, Internet pop-ups are like "psoriasis", infiltrating all corners of the online world.
In this survey by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission, most Internet consumers said they were troubled by pop-ups.
The results of the questionnaire survey showed that 78% of consumers said they had encountered network pop-ups, and the problem of installed tools was prominent, followed by audio-visual and system tools; 58% of consumers said they often encountered shopping ads, followed by Game advertisements, film and television advertisements; 52% of consumers said that the closing button of the online pop-up window is not easy to find; 60% of consumers said that they are often asked to bundle other software during the installation of PC-side application software...
In the experience survey results announced by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee, 11 of the 30 applications downloaded from official channels have problems with network pop-ups, accounting for 37% of the total survey.
Among them, three software pop-up windows, including 360 security browser, Baofengyingyin, and Kuwo music, have a higher frequency of pop-ups.
The 360 security browser pops up 9 times within 15 minutes, Baofeng Yingyin pops up 6 times within 15 minutes, and Kuwo Music Search plays once.
"In fact, the Internet pop-up window has been closely related to advertising since its birth. The business model of the Internet mostly depends on advertising revenue, and the effect of advertising depends on the audience's attention to advertising." Song Yubo, Associate Professor, School of Cyberspace Security, Southeast University I detailed the past and present life of the Internet pop-up window to the reporter.
He introduced that in the late 1990s, the form of Internet advertising was to embed advertisements in page content.
However, advertisers at that time worried that when consumers browse negative content, they will associate the advertisement with the negative information that consumers read, which will adversely affect the brand.
Therefore, the web hosting site trippod.com at that time used web scripts and invented a method to publish advertisements in newly opened windows. This is the origin of web pop-ups.
"Different from other forms of web advertisements, users must manually close pop-up ads, which can attract users’ attention. The conversion rate of their ads is also much higher than other types of ads. Therefore, pop-up ads have been very popular since they were born. Favor. Especially for commercial discount advertisements and application promotion and installation advertisements, and especially like to use the form of network pop-up advertisements." Song Yubo said.
What is the technical difficulty of blocking pop-ups? As a part of web content, it is difficult to block
However, with the widespread use of Internet pop-ups, the huge economic benefits have gradually led it to a "crooked road" and become a hotbed of illegal and vulgar content.
The nature of "mandatory" presentation also causes visual pollution to users, and causes great inconvenience to users' normal web browsing and application downloading behaviors.
In Song Yubo's view, in addition to affecting Internet life, network pop-ups also have a serious impact on users' data security.
"Many software with network pop-up window functions are resident in the background, which will affect the performance of user equipment; malicious network pop-up window content will induce and cause users to click on malicious software by mistake, causing economic losses." Song Yubo said in recent years , Common attacks using online pop-up advertisements include collecting user personal data, stealing personal account information, and enticing users to download malicious software.
How is the "inevitable" network popup technically realized?
Song Yubo said that there are generally three types of web pop-ups, one is web page pop-ups on websites, the other is desktop pop-ups for software running on computer laptops, and the third is App pop-ups on smartphones.
Web page pop-up windows are usually implemented by scripts embedded in the web page; desktop pop-up windows are implemented by software that resides in the background; and App pop-up windows can only be used by the user due to the restrictions of the mobile operating system’s security mechanism. Show when App.
"Browsers appeared in the early 21st century to block web page pop-up windows, allowing users to decide whether to block web page pop-up windows, but now a new type of pop-up technology has appeared, which changes the way the pop-up windows are opened, leading to the original The technology to prevent pop-ups is invalid.” Song Yubo said that at present, hovering ads are the main technical form of web page pop-ups, which are pop-up ads created using technologies such as dynamic HTML and JavaScript.
They "hover" on the page and hardly follow the scrolling of the web page. Since the content of the hovering advertisement is a part of the web page content, it is difficult to be filtered and blocked by traditional pop-up window blocking software.
"Among the three types of network pop-ups, the current interception technology for desktop pop-ups is relatively mature. There are many professional software that can block desktop pop-ups. However, because most users lack understanding of professional interception software, the main domestic Security software vendors are not keen on providing network pop-up blocking functions, which has caused the proliferation of domestic desktop pop-up windows." Song Yubo said.
In addition, he pointed out that the smart phone App pop-up window is currently a blind spot. Due to the security mechanism of the smart phone operating system, the App cannot control the mobile phone to pop up the pop-up window in the background. Usually the pop-up window appears when the user uses the App, but this also causes Other software cannot block the internal pop-up window of the App.
How to better restrain pop-up ads, increase illegal costs, and incorporate bad behavior into the credit investigation system
In my country, Internet pop-ups do not constitute a direct illegal or criminal act. The "Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising" can only propose "ensure one-click shutdown" on the condition that it does not affect users' normal online experience. The minimum principle.
According to this principle, those who fail to clearly mark the closing sign and ensure one-click shutdown will be fined from 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan; those who trick the user into clicking on the content of the advertisement by deceit, or if the user sends it without permission. Anyone who attaches an advertisement or an advertisement link to an email shall be ordered to make corrections and a fine of 10,000 yuan up to 30,000 yuan shall be imposed.
"This restriction on pop-up behavior is actually very loose. Compared with the huge economic benefits that pop-up advertisements can bring, it is not worth mentioning. The cost of illegality is low, and it is also the cause of the proliferation of malicious online pop-up advertisements. One." Song Yubo suggested that relevant laws and regulations should be improved to increase the cost of violations, and provide institutional guarantees for the governance of pop-up advertisements; at the same time, the supervision should be improved, the access accountability system should be improved, and a diversified and open supervision system should be established. The company conducts key supervision and incorporates bad advertising behavior into the credit investigation system.
"In addition, to achieve normal governance, regular compliance inspections and training and rectification of online pop-up advertisements should be implemented to achieve industry autonomy and standardized supervision; convenient channels for netizens should be provided, and the masses should be encouraged to report online pop-ups to achieve bottom-up The whole network protection." Song Yubo said.
Huang Hongzhen, a professor at the School of Humanities of Hunan University of Science and Technology, suggested that relevant departments should encourage software developers to study system software and application software, use technology to screen out and filter bad information, and promote the development of related industries while maintaining the green security of the Internet.
(Reporter Jin Feng)