Topic: BEWARE what you visit! Google's new design makes Ads look like normal results! (Read 238 times)

Thanks for sharing this info by starting this thread.
I also noticed this change few days ago. Google try to sell his ads by deceiving his customers. Let's see if we have decentralized search engine which enable us to monetize our data our selves.

Or better yet, we should be trained to use browsers with ad blocking extensions in the first place. Installing ublock origin seriously solves not only the ads problems, but it could also prevents some trackers. Quite mind boggling that people don't use adblockers by default. It's like going to some bootleg brothel without a condom.

Yup, and it had an outline to make it more distinguishable. But even with the current design, we should be trained to see the [Ad] before blindly clicking on them.

Not even Google would claim that their system is 100% safe. There is no such thing as 100% safe in the real world. There are always weak points in a system to be exploited. I think I went too far by saying google has got our back... I take my words back, they haven't got our back after all... I did a bit of Googling on keyword "Cloud mining" and I was presented with these four beautiful trustworthy websites 

Bitmain.Farm Ad is a perfect example of what you were referring to in your initial post and it looks like they aren't real Bitmain either according to this thread... Ultra-miner also looks shady as hell there is no thread of it on bitcointalk, What I did find was this thread. I think they are trying to steal agilmine's identity ^{( wondering what's up with this all this identity theft going in bitcoin space )}... As for eomining I couldn't find anything on bitcointalk either.

As I said earlier if they end up with something which blends ads with normal search results, We can easily then callout google for their hypocrisy. I will keep an eye on this situation and see where Google heads from here.

Nice catch, this will appear if you're use keywords upon searching the right website. But, if you will simply bookmark these websites, you will be far from this kind of trouble of dealing with these fake websites.

Yes, there is. But users that doesn't care about their browsing activity will not take a look with that small sign.

I wouldnt rely on anything without question but Ive started using ublock recently without going out of my way to config it especially and its got a good set of lists of bad sites, bad adverts for when you fall off the tracks without realising it.    Another utility or brand of related utilities Ive found easy to use and not too insistent on needing to purchase is Avast, that marks every result from google as recognised or not.   Iobit again is another set of utilities very easy to deploy and alot of quick help.   Worth trying because they arent the type to stop you from uninstalling if they just dont fit your usage, obviously they want people to be buying some kind of full subscription but I've not found them the wrong side of handy tools which a few are.

Thank you for taking your time to write this post with your thoughts. I am very aware of the AdWords situation and cryptocurrency ad ban they've imposed years ago. I just wanted to reduce the chances of an user reading this thread falling into a possible ad Google might miss to check properly, because human errors happen. You're right though, it became a subconscious thing to avoid the top links for me too. However, I assure you that although my dad reads forums & browses the internet hours a day, he could click on the wrong link. I remember him receiving a scam e-mail and asking me with a very stressed voice whether it is legit or not.

Now back to the reply, I'm going to answer "As for shady domain names, Google has already got the users covered" with a question: Do you think 100% of the Google Ads are properly checked and safe to click?



I'm not sure if you'll get my point, but we're like some kind of internet pros. You probably do know how to avoid most scams and all shady stuff that's present on the internet if you've spent so much time on it. This thread was meant for those who don't know how to distinguish Ads from normal results, for those who can't see a difference and might click on something they're not supposed to. I meant it to be some kind of "learn about this type of scam" thread combined with what Google's new design change means for those with less internet knowledge.

People have been using Google for decades now, for me at least it has become subconscious to not click on any of the top links and look out for "Ad borders"... Anyway, this new Rebrand isn't that bad... Even from the design perspective, the search results aren't that blendy if I am being totally honest... But you shouldn't be taking my word for it, I ain't Picasso. As for shady domain names, Google has already got the users covered. Google doesn't accepts any sort of crypto-related ads^[1] anymore except for regulated crypto exchanges in the US and Japan ^{( I believe this has been extended to EU regulated Exchanges as well because the "capital.com" ad you saw is one of the exchanges from EU )}. I believe they have introduced some filters of sorts where certain words like coin, block etc have been blacklisted, So anything like coinmarketcap will almost be instantly rejected... So what you are suggesting won't be happing as the lessons^[2] have been learned in the past.

The ad you saw is from one of the regulated Exchanges which google has whitelisted. According to Google, the ads are reviewed within 1 business day^[3] so even if someone succeeds to bypass the automated process it will get eliminated in the human review as google doesn't allow advertisement of Counterfeit goods^[4]. Also, I don't think Google will end up with this design as it's their policy^[5] on Adsense that the ads should stand out from the rest of the content on the publisher's website... So it will be hypocritical of them to end up with something which blends ads with their normal search results while banning publishers for doing the same. Give it time as @BitMaxz suggested they are probably testing different designs...

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Sources:
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/25/17901326/google-cryptocurrency-ads-ban-lift
[2] https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/featured/bitcoin-phishing-million-google-adwords/
[3] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722120
[4] https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6008942?visit_id=637154898465863788-3758733587&rd=1
[5] https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/3394713?hl=en

Believe me, I've re-checked on computer and smartphone too before posting. One who googles enough, notices this.
English is also not my mother tongue, but the truth is that I spend way too much time on the internet and I notice things like this almost instantly.
It's not about how fluent I am in English, it's probably due the fact I surf the internet since before Google existed.

The design for Google ads is not final it is early testing to experiment for desktop users and I think we see more changes in the design of the ads.

Look at this


Got the source from twitter here https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1220768243318571008

They are doing changes every week I guess.

It's visible to you, because you're looking for differences between them. But when you're in a hurry or when you're looking up a website and see the first result an Advertisement having a description, link and link text indistinguishable from the real one, you might not even see it before clicking.

Here's an example. When I searched for "bitcoin buy" on Google, the first link was an ad (even with AdBlocker on, they still show up). The text "Ad" is put right in the spot where other websites have their logos placed. Not to mention a lot of non-fluent English users don't even know what "Ad" stands for:

I think only newbies can't understand.but there is a text Ad in the left. Previously it was highlighted but now not highlighted,but majority percent will understand that is an ad.       

Besides, it is our responsibility to assure that our funds are safe and secured. It's the reason why newbies should learn how to do a proper research because it can help them determine various of information and details regarding that specific site. It's kind of difficult and laborious but it will guide them on finding which site is safe, though the problem is that some of them chooses to disregard the power of research. They don't analyze every single decision and action that they are making, they just keep on visiting a website without even thinking how it can affect their funds as well as their private information. They will just end up feeling remorse if they don't acquire from their experiences, especially that some of them doesn't even have an idea that they are getting deceived and played.

A bad experience with getting a spyware or other type of virus that intrudes your computer have a big impact especially for newbies who are just getting started. Losing all your crypto funds due to not paying attention to small.things could frustrate the hell out of some people.

I have always thought that "better be safe than sorry" is a very good proverb. It doesn't cost that much to do a little bit of research on how to protect your identity and belongings in the digital world.

There were multiple changes over time. I think that the latest change might be that they made the rest of the results look more similar than the "ad" ones.
But the AD is still there and it's pretty much visible. Of course, I understand OP point too, my wife too ignores the AD part gracefully and she always clicks on them

No. They either appeared with a different font color or with a different background color. They've slowly changed it until it became a very slight difference (the little "Ad" before the link).

I'm not really sure, but hasn't Google ads appear like this since forever? The only difference I see is that last time I remember, the "Ad" text was green. Not sure though, as I've been using the uBlock Origin browser extension as far as I remember lmao.

But seriously people, lookup and install the uBlock Origin ad blocker and you won't even need to worry about these problems. Not to mention that it will be a lot less annoying to browse websites and read articles due to all those flashy ads and ad window popups.

even it's hard for ads to be accepted in google it just good to be aware of this
the thing is they can promote it not only in google
so it's better to always check the link especially for newbies
this kind of thing is similar to what they called phishing online

I was looking through news and found an article about Google results. Upon reading the title, an alarm clicked inside my mind: this could result in a scam spree of the people new to cryptocurrencies!

Google has released a new design update which makes Ads on Google results indistinguishable from normal results.

With that being said, we, as cryptocurrency users, need to take extra care what we are clicking on. Knowing there used to be (and most likely still are here and there) scams promoted through Google Ads by creating links that look VERY similar to the real links, now that the ads are almost indistinguishable there are higher chances you could click on a fake link and be the next victim of phishing/a scam!

How does it work: someone buys the domain "bLtcoin.org". The website will look exactly like "bitcoin.org", but there will be download links to malware and trojans that are programmed to steal cryptocurrencies from your wallets. The fake website will be promoted through Google Ads. If you change "L" to a non-capital letter, the two websites now look like this:

1. (FAKE) bltcoin.org
2. (REAL) bitcoin.org

On mobile for example, the "l" and "i" are harder to distinguish due to the smaller font. Here's another example: "m" can be faked by using non-capital "RN":

1. (FAKE) coinrnarketcap.com
2. (REAL) coinmarketcap.com

And this isn't the only way you could enter a fake website. Buy "coinmarketcap.org" instead of ".com" and promote it, and I guarantee a lot of people will not notice the difference, especially those who have not visited the website many times.

The following photo was copied from the source link I put below. Look how similar ads look to normal results after the latest update:


Therefore, please be aware what website you're clicking on in the results page. A fake website could also imitate an exchange you're usually logging to, in order to steal your credentials and your funds.

Source of the news about Google changing its design: https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/tldr/2020/1/23/21078343/google-ad-desktop-design-change-favicon-icon-ftc-guidelines

I might copy this thread and place it somewhere in the Altcoins board in order to make sure this gets full exposure.