The internet is one of the greatest things humankind has ever invented since its creation. It serves a huge variety of life`s needs, from finding solutions to life’s problems to having a moment of relaxation like playing casinos online while clearing your mind.

Every striving business or individual today uses the internet to advertise their brand, business, and themselves as well. The internet, to some people, is their only means of doing business. Hence, they can’t survive without the internet. But with the rising degree of privacy invasions and attacks on the internet these days, is advertising on the internet still safe, or can it be dangerous in any way? If so, how? And what can be done to avoid the dangers?

The Benefits of Advertising on the Internet 

Advertising on the internet is a way for companies to sell their products and services to other internet users or customers. A mortar and brick business is limited to its immediate circle. But a business on the internet is exposed to customers all around the world and has various advantages.

1. Global Outreach: Your business will reach customers from other parts of the world easily and quickly.
2. Attract The Most Needed Customers: Online advertisements are often designed to get before just the exact people searching for your product.
3. Fast & Less Expensive: Placing an ad online only takes a few minutes and less money but will quickly get to your audience. Unlike a traditional business model with TV and radio shows, etc.
4. Aftermarket Relationship: Advertising on the internet gives you the opportunity of building relationships with your audience before and after a sale. This brings more business.

The Dangers of Advertising on the Internet 

Though the internet is the lifestream to businesses and individuals around the world, it equally has some potential dangers. As much as it is being used by big brands and companies to increase sales, it is also used by cybercriminals for the same purpose, with “Malvertising” as the greatest of all cybercrimes.

Malvertising

Don`t mistake Malvertising for adware. Adware is an illegal software that displays advertisements and sends searches to other advertising sites. While Malvertising spreads harmful code through legitimate advertising networks, which are typically found on respectable websites. Last year, GeoEdge, an ad verification firm, reported that automatically driven redirects from Malvertising attacks amounted to $1.13 billion/year, and that number is climbing. According to organisations, pre-click attacks account for half the attacks from Malvertising.

How to Identify a Malvertising Attack 

With tones of ads popping up in your internet space each time you are working, how can you possibly tell which one is safe and which isn`t? Well, there are a few ways you can!

• Giveaways: An effectively curated Malvertising campaign is designed to offer giveaways and gift cards. Avoid such.
• Pre-Click: Most Malvertising doesn`t even need your action to download a file. As you visit the site, the download is automatically launched.
• Post-Click: In this part, the visitor is directed to content that looks safe and real, by clicking on it, the download of malware is launched.

How to Prevent Malvertising Attack

• There is an option on your browser called “Click to Play’, find it and turn it on. And all automatic downloads will be blocked.
• Install premium ad-blocker.
• Install a good antivirus on your computer, preferably premium.
• Not all that glitters is Gold, avoid content looks too good to be real.

There are indeed illegal practices on the internet, but that does not make the internet bad. We all live this life of getting to deal with criminals and four-one-Niners in our day-to-day lives. It’s just the same with the internet. Where people are gathered, for the fact that people are not the same, there will always be cases like this. You just must watch out for your security as you venture into the internet space. Failure to do so, you may lose years of hard work.