Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim
Right now, Sparky says there are about .8% of surfers infected so, it really isn't a lot.
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I have seen estimates ranging from 0.5% to 3%, but whatever the real figure, let's not forget that Zango is only one of more than 20+ scumware operations. Another way to provide some perspective is that we pay only 1% for things like "free" trading scripts which might otherwise cost hundreds of dollars.
I know we want to be doing something, but I cannot escape the feeling that this particular route risks us taking our eyes off the ball. Even if we can persuade a percentage of surfers to clean their PC's - and not damage ourselves in the process - we are unlikely to do much more than scratch the surface of the problem.
According to Business Week, scumware is a $2 billion a year industry and even if that is exaggerated and of course it includes mainstream business,
these people are only middlemen: the actual value of the traffic which is being stolen is far higher.
IMO the only serious way to attempt to tackle this issue is by punishing the sponsors who are scumware customers and/or who turn a blind eye to affiliates who are. And that means not only pulling links from such sponsors, but by saying so publicly so that they can see what their activities are costing them.