Zango Confirmed Sponsors List

[Linkster]

Just so that there is some basic understanding here:
First zango does run an affiliate program of their own called zangocash - which allows affiliates to make money off of installs
They also work with publishers/sponsors to provide content based on keyword searches and highlighting certain words on a web page
On top of that they work with anyone that will bid on certain search terms PPC which is where I think sponsors are most vulnerable - I can sign in right now and bid on cams dot com - and put my own ad on the surfers browser even if Im not cams dot com - I can also pop any other aff programs ad for that PPC ad - so if I were say promoting another personals/cams program I could pay to have their console with my aff code show up
Second - Zango is a small part of a much larger problem - there are somewhere around 400 programs that do this same thing - while zango has received a lot of attention because of their recent myspace attention - the ad I saw said basically "to view adult content on myspace - click here" which then installed zango - and explains part of the high rate of installations recently

As far as the idea of redirecting to a removal page - I have two problems - while we should be informing surfers - which is easy to do with a java popbox and a link imbedded in that box to take them somewhere to remove it
We should not be trying to sell them off to a removal program as most of those also install another program/toolbar
We also should not be pushing most of these removal programs as they also block cookies which defeats a good 50% of the affiliates we do use normally

Just some things to start thing about

[virgohippy]

Originally Posted by Linkster

Zango is a small part of a much larger problem - there are somewhere around 400 programs that do this same thing

Time to form our own organization to combat these sorts of threats as they arise?

Could start with a group responsible for handling and verifying anonymous tips (seems to work well with the ASACP?), another group deals with technical/creative solutions to the threat, and a third disseminates information to all parties concerned about how to deal with threat.

Obviously this sort of problem isn't going to go away if/when Zango's tamed... so why not lay down the groundwork now and create a system which treats it as such? The collaboration of ideas here, now, is really refreshing, but a more permanent system might be more efficient in the long run.

I nominate myself as the official whipping boy!

Just gotta think about funding now... money is a great motivator, afterall.

And Jim I think you make a good point about not turning this into a money making scheme to exploit the surfers. It's not in our best interest to turn them off from our valiant efforts to make the web a safe and fun place because of short sighted thinking... like the people at Zango practice.