Latest Google Ads news

Arc browser’s Windows launch targeted by Google ads malvertising

A new Google Ads malvertising campaign, coinciding with the launch of the Arc web browser for Windows, was tricking people into downloading trojanized installers that infect them with malware payloads.
- Bill Toulas
- May 25, 2024
- 11:17 AM
- 0
Google ad impersonates Whales Market to push wallet drainer malware

A legitimate-looking Google Search advertisement for the crypto trading platform 'Whales Market' redirects visitors to a wallet-draining phishing site that steals all of your assets.
- Lawrence Abrams
- April 18, 2024
- 01:55 PM
- 0
Crypto drainer steals $59 million from 63k people in Twitter ad push

Google and Twitter ads are promoting sites containing a cryptocurrency drainer named 'MS Drainer' that has already stolen $59 million from 63,210 victims over the past nine months.
- Bill Toulas
- December 21, 2023
- 04:23 PM
- 0
WordPress hosting service Kinsta targeted by Google phishing ads

WordPress hosting provider Kinsta is warning customers that Google ads have been observed promoting phishing sites to steal hosting credentials.
- Mayank Parmar
- December 17, 2023
- 06:46 PM
- 0
Google ads push malicious CPU-Z app from fake Windows news site

A threat actor has been abusing Google Ads to distribute a trojanized version of the CPU-Z tool to deliver the Redline info-stealing malware.
- Bill Toulas
- November 09, 2023
- 11:09 AM
- 2
Fake Cisco Webex Google Ads abuse tracking templates to push malware

Threat actors use Google Ads tracking templates as a loophole to create convincing Webex software search ads that redirect users to websites that distribute the BatLoader malware.
- Bill Toulas
- September 14, 2023
- 09:47 AM
- 2
Sneaky Amazon Google ad leads to Microsoft support scam

A legitimate-looking ad for Amazon in Google search results redirects visitors to a Microsoft Defender tech support scam that locks up their browser.
- Lawrence Abrams
- August 21, 2023
- 01:52 PM
- 7
New LOBSHOT malware gives hackers hidden VNC access to Windows devices

A new malware known as 'LOBSHOT' distributed using Google ads allows threat actors to stealthily take over infected Windows devices using hVNC.
- Lawrence Abrams
- May 01, 2023
- 02:15 PM
- 3
Google ads push BumbleBee malware used by ransomware gangs

The enterprise-targeting Bumblebee malware is distributed through Google Ads and SEO poisoning that promote popular software like Zoom, Cisco AnyConnect, ChatGPT, and Citrix Workspace.
- Bill Toulas
- April 22, 2023
- 10:08 AM
- 0
Malicious Google ads sneak AWS phishing sites into search results

A new phishing campaign targeting Amazon Web Services (AWS) logins is abusing Google ads to sneak phishing sites into Google Search to steal your login credentials.
- Bill Toulas
- February 09, 2023
- 01:37 PM
- 1
Google ads push ‘virtualized’ malware made for antivirus evasion

An ongoing Google ads malvertising campaign is spreading malware installers that leverage KoiVM virtualization technology to evade detection when installing the Formbook data stealer.
- Bill Toulas
- February 02, 2023
- 07:04 PM
- 1
Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack

Bitwarden and other password managers are being targeted in Google ads phishing campaigns to steal users' password vault credentials.
- Lawrence Abrams
- January 26, 2023
- 04:40 PM
- 19
Ransomware access brokers use Google ads to breach your network

A threat actor tracked as DEV-0569 uses Google Ads in widespread, ongoing advertising campaigns to distribute malware, steal victims' passwords, and ultimately breach networks for ransomware attacks.
- Lawrence Abrams
- January 24, 2023
- 06:07 PM
- 2
Google Ads invites being abused to push spam, adult sites

Google Ads invites are being abused to deliver messages promoting spam and sex websites to users otherwise not necessarily using Google Ads or related products.
- Ax Sharma
- January 23, 2023
- 11:03 AM
- 2
Hackers abuse Google Ads to spread malware in legit software

Malware operators have been increasingly abusing the Google Ads platform to spread malware to unsuspecting users searching for popular software products.
- Bill Toulas
- December 28, 2022
- 02:12 PM
- 9
Google ad for GIMP.org served info-stealing malware via lookalike site

Searching for 'GIMP' on Google as recently as last week would show visitors an ad for 'GIMP.org,' the official website of the well known graphics editor, GNU Image Manipulation Program. But clicking on it drove visitors to a lookalike phishing website that provided them with a 700 MB executable disguised as GIMP which was malware.
- Ax Sharma
- November 01, 2022
- 06:48 AM
- 5