[IMPORTANT] Ezula is placing ads all over your site and stealing your visitors

[MattC]

The trouble with finding members sites with TopText links on them is that the keywords it underlines seem to have to do with loans, and other financial buzzwords.

I'm still looking but so far members page's don't seem to trigger it (only due to keywords it looks for, just wait until EVERYWORD is underlined )

-Matt

[MattC]

Got it, check this out:

http://comet.gv2.net/matt/geektalk.gif



-Matt

[paulj]

Originally posted by MattC
Was that your first time installing it?

Because I reinstalled it today and it everything except toptext was dechecked, it had remembered what I did last night (info is in the registry) .. but I remember by default that everything was checked!

Yeah, that popup can be found here:

http://www.ezula.com/TopText/pop-popup.html

-Matt

It was definately the first time I've installed Kazaa. I suppose it's possible TopText was previously installed by some other package that defaulted to unchecked and stored it my registry, but I'm pretty confident that isn't the case. The only other adware type program I have installed is Copernic.

[MattC]

Here's how to detect Ezula from a webpage:

http://www.whirlywiryweb.com/q/ezula.asp

[starluck]

I didn't know Premier Equity was such a big advertiser on Geek village.

I see the same thing as MattC demonstates in his link.

Visitors to my site have also informed me that the keywords casino, casinos, gambling, online casinos were hijacked. This included text inside a link. My workaround this so far is to put the words in a gif and link them that way, the drawback of course is increased bandwidth usage. The other way is to was to make keywords as part of a script. Neither of these is the ideal solution, however I think we're far away from any legislation which might prevent this in future.

[WildComputer]

Try doing somethng like this to defeat a link hijacking

<A HREF=http://www.somesite.com>C<I></I>as<B></B>i<S></S>n<U></U>o</A>

Can anybody write a Perl routine to automatically do this into supplied text?

[Steve_S]

Originally posted by MattC
Got it, check this out:

http://comet.gv2.net/matt/geektalk.gif



-Matt

<grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr>

Thank you. Can we please focus on these issues in this thread only as I'm about to take immediate action. I will ask nicely just once with a xxx number of hours and then I'm going to use my attorney. Respectfully, YOU had better be concerned about this even if your site is not yet defaced. If this issue is not stoped ALL sites will be defaced. Please excuse me for preaching

1) What is the exact URL of the above top text link on this BB?

2) Can you use our search to find other keywords that have toptext links? and provide the exaact URL which they lead to?

3) What are all the terms that are currentlty bidded?

4) Can you please create a post in our Test Forum with these bidded terms in them and provide the exact URL each of them lead to.

Thank you.

[hammer]

The way I see it, this could in fact be the means to the end of online advertising for web site owners.

If this is not put to an end, companies will more than likely switch their current methods of advertising, or at the very least place a very low priority advertising with the current main stream ad networks.

Propagating the software will be their first major move, once this is completed I suspect they will own a large part of the market.

This type of ad will probably be very appealing to a majority of companies. Why bid for a search term when you can bid on a word that has the potential of being seen by millons on even the most obscure web site ( without the surfer having to do a thing ).

With banner ads lacking (flat), pop-ups and unders agrivating surfers, this newest hi-jacking software could kill the mom and pop web site owner.

CURIOUS - Does anyone know if this software does the same hi-jacking on Yahoo, goole, CNN ?

[starluck]

My apologies upfront for making you wade through this long bit of code. This is a partial source of the dialog in the thread above by MattC. I certainly does appear to alter your site.

<FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" size=2>The trouble with finding members
sites with TopText links on them is that the keywords it underlines seem to have
to do with <SPAN
onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='yellow';t his.style.color='black'"
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"
onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparen t';this.style.color=''"><SPAN
onmouseover="window.status='';return true;"
title="Apply today for a PremierEquity loan!"
style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:/PROGRA~1/eZula/images/new.gif); CURSOR: hand; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-DECORATION: none"
onclick="top.location.href ='ezula:/rlk;3148;1;http://www.ezula.com/KaZaA/redirect/..._ID=201011&amp;UV_ID=4309628;';window.event.cancelBubble=true;wi ndow.status='';return false;">loans<SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>,
and other financial buzzwords. <BR></FONT>

Incidentally, the same links also appear on major bank sites I visited today to take care of business. They all go to the same destination as yours does. Every one of the banks I visited was affected by this. I wonder if they even realize this.

Another screencapture just as an FYI, this is one of Chase Manhattan bank.
screen capture click here

The keyword list is changes daily, as casino is not lighting up today, but was over the last several days.

[gagsplus]

I wonder what it would do in an HTML type mailer if it would do the same type of thing or not? I have a test list setup on my server that we could whip up an example if anyone still has this nasty program installed, we can test this feature out.

Being in the humor/entertainment business it does effect me but not as much as some other larger sites. I do most my advertising in newsletters, but I would think this program would make a site look messy.

Wonder if KAzza/top text is available for MAC's?

Added info:

Funny thing is ezula has a link in the news section to an article:
http://www.ezula.com/news/media_coverage1.asp

talks about how some webmasters are ******, but some advertisers don't mind it from the brief view I read of it so far

[MattC]

Wow!

Thanks starluck for pointing that out... I was basing my observations on this page:

http://www.google.com/search?q=loan

where if you look at the link it makes, the HTML doens't have a <HREF> tag or any sign on a link.

Description: Marketplace for mortgages, auto financing, credit cards and business financing.



-Matt

[MattC]

I just checked this page and I didnt' see that code you mentioned.. could it be TopText (still have it installed) is preventing me from seeing this?

-Matt

[OC]

This is going to be an uphill battle.

Kazaa was downloaded by 705,652 people on this week alone (it's only Wednesday). Kazaa has hovered around the same amount for weeks (if not tens of weeks). I'd estimate a good 3-5 million computers are all ready 'infected'.

[hammer]

Am I correct in assuming this software will not "infect" Flash sites?

If so, this will be my next option for total site design.

It appears a web site owners can request not to have hyper links placed on their site by the toptext software by emailing support at support@ezula.com

Whether or not this will work remains to be seen..

http://slashdot.org/features/01/07/31/2015216.shtml

[Even Steven]

I believe this is illegal.

I don't think it is illegal for readers of our content to modify it for their own use.

But that's not what is happening here. Our readers are using a tool to modify the appearance of our content. The company who creates the tool is able to generate revenue from our content.

Our content was created to for the use of our readers, not for the profit of other companies.

If a company like toptext wants to use our content to generate revenue, they have to license it from us.

Short of obtaining a license from us, they have effectively stolen the content. Our readers may have chosen to use this tool, which is within their right, but it cannot be used for someone else's commercial benefit.

Maybe a better analogy is if a company created a device that can be inserted into a CD-Player, such that everytime a CD is played, and the word, "water" is sung by the singer, the device replaces the word with "Cola-Cola". Then Coca-Cola pays the company 10 cents everytime the device makes the word substitution.

You'd better believe that the recording industry, as well as the recording artists, will go ballistic, and sue the pants off of them.