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From some of the sources i've read, including the very reputed Ad awate anti spyware, tribal fusion is supposed to be adware and quite dangerous too, it's under the 'blocked sites' list of ad aware...i was just wondering,becase it's used here in daniweb as well...wondering if dani knows about this side of Tribalfusion or if i'm just completely mistaken...

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asked whether a flagged domain means infection, and and pointed out the site-owner angle. What the thread doesn’t dig into are practical, non-technical ways to decide if a problem is an ad network doing its job or an actual adware/hijack on a machine — and what a webmaster can do to reduce risk for visitors.

For end users: inspect browser extensions and installed programs for anything added around the time the ads started. Check whether your homepage or default search was changed. Use the browser developer tools (F12) to view Cookies and Local Storage for unfamiliar third-party domains and note expiry and flags. Run a reputable anti-malware scan (for example, a modern on-demand scanner) in normal or safe mode to detect PUPs/toolbars. If behavior changes with extensions disabled or in a new browser profile, the cause is almost always an extension or local add-on, not the ad server itself.

For site owners: require pre-approved creatives, limit ad categories, and use the network’s creative filters. Serve third-party creatives in isolated frames where possible and adopt strict content controls on pages that show user-entered content. Regular visual QA of served creatives and a small sample of clicks on new campaigns will catch misleading or fraudulent creatives quickly. Consider server- and browser-side controls (e.g., limiting popups, sandboxing iframes, and enforcing HTTPS) to reduce attack surface.

Final notes: many search hits mentioning “hijack” come from users whose browsers were changed by poorly written installers or malicious toolbars, not from legitimate ad hosting. If privacy or tracking is the concern, blocking third-party cookies and using a tracker-blocking extension reduces exposure without needing a full scan.

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Member Avatar for JonathanD

TribalFusion is a legit company, and a good company, I don't know why you'd be hearing that they're involved with adware and such.

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Just search 'tribalfusion' on google, in the 1st ten results you get stuff about tribalfusion browser hijack and deleting its cookies and as i said before tribalfusion.com is in the blocked site in ad aware's blocked sites list and several other sites claim they've had 'spyware-filled' experiences with TF

Member Avatar for JonathanD

I'll see what Dani thinks about this, hopefully she will make a comment here shortly.

Member Avatar for Dani

TribalFusion is a very reputable ad network / site representation firm. Depending upon the category in their network a website who uses them is placed, you might get some of the uglier Punch-the-Monkey type of ads, but those can typically be filtered out IF the website owner chooses.

Tribalfusion.com is blocked by AdAware because it is an ad server and hence blocking it would prevent ads from loading. That doesn't make it evil. It makes it what it is :)

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mmhmmm,but then wouldn't they be blocking adsense, adbrite and the other ppc companies as well?

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oh well, anti spyware apps block only ads which are a potential threat to a users' system, and as described by most anti-spyware and discussed in anti-spyware related forums that tribalfusion leaves a 'nasty' tracking cookie on the users' system.

Anyway I still don't trust TF.

Member Avatar for Dani

Tribal Fusion is different from AdSense, etc. in that TF allows the advertiser to supply the banners or creatives after they meet their approval process. With AdSense, they're just plain old text links.

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