Online gadget site Gizmodo was forced to apologise earlier this week after it was revealed that some banner advertisements on the site were infected with malicious software.
The site, which reviews consumer gadgets and upcoming technology developments, was temporarily hosting advertisements which were infected with malware and fake antivirus software earlier this week after falling victim to what was described as an “elaborate scam”.
“Guys, I’m really sorry but we had some malware running on our site in ad boxes for a little while last week on Suzuki ads,” Gizmodo’s editorial director, Brian Lam told readers in a blog post.
“They somehow fooled our ad sales team through an elaborate scam. It’s taken care of now, and only a few people should have been affected, but this isn’t something we take lightly as writers, editors and tech geeks.”
He urged readers, particularly though who thought that they may have been affected, to update their antivirus software in order to minimise the risk to their PC and privacy.
“Be careful, load up some antivirus and make sure your system is clean.”
It is not the first time that online advertising has been the target of malware attacks, with major publications proving to be a particular target.
Back in September, the website of the New York Times recently suffered a similar attack, in which users clicking on a box advertising antivirus software found their PCs infected with viruses and malicious software.
