Disguised Ads
From Dark Patterns
Contents |
Definition
Adverts that are disguised as other kinds of content or navigation, in order to get users to click on them.
Example: Softpedia.com (July 2010)
Softpedia.com is a free-to-use software download site. According to alexa.org, it’s the 356th biggest site in the world (at roughly the same ranking as bestbuy.com, slideshare.net or ikea.com). You’d hope that to get to that sort of size in today’s world, they’d have to behave responsibly. Not so. Check out this download page below (26-July-2010). Can you work out which is the correct link to click to download the file? (Hint: It doesn’t include the word ‘download’.)
Example: zdnet.com (October 2010)
Clicking anywhere on the orange background down the sides of the page will take you to the SAP site, as if you had clicked a banner. This applies for the full space of the orange area, even 6 to 7 screens further down the page.
Of course, clicking on an empty page background is a common trick users employ to restore focus to a browser window.
Example: thechive.com (November 2011)
Similar to the znet example above, clicking anywhere on the background opens up a page with an advert.
Of course, clicking on an empty page background is a common trick users employ to restore focus to a browser window.
Example: protect-pcu1.com (January 2010)
Explained in some detail in this forum post, this website uses a third-party ad provider who provided some highly deceptive ad content. The ad pops up a message box using Javascript reading: "Warning!!! Your personal computer needs to install antivirus software! Personal Security can perform fast and free scan of your computer ."
Clicking either "OK" or "Cancel" will take you to the vendor's webpage. It pretends to be running a virus scan, then pops up a "Windows Security Alert" saying it found a virus. The fact that it did not request permission to run or install special software should be the tip off that in reality, it is a simple animation, and is not in any way affiliated with Windows. The pop-up window cannot be closed (the entire window is a bitmap linking to a software download). Google has since labelled it as a malware site, and the website has been taken down, but similar deceptive tactics are often used by actual antivirus software vendors, who will claim you need to buy their software to eliminate fictitious viruses.
Example: userstyles.org (November 2011)
Userstyles.org is home of the popular Stylish extension for Firefox and Chrome. It hosts user-submitted styles which, once installed, will be automatically applied to targeted sites. Unfortunately, its use of disguised ads leads many in the wrong direction:
Ironically, Stylish is popular with many people who identify with the Dark Patterns project and write styles to hide deceptive ads/interface elements found on many sites.
