Bing Chat responses infiltrated by ads pushing malware:
Bing Chat responses infiltrated by ads pushing malware
Malicious advertisements are now being injected into Microsoft's AI-powered Bing Chat responses, promoting fake download sites that distribute malware.
Bing Chat, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 engine, was introduced by Microsoft in February 2023 to challenge Google's dominance in the search industry.
By offering users an interactive chat-based experience instead of the traditional search query and result format, Bing Chat aimed to make online searches more intuitive and user-friendly.
In March, Microsoft began injecting ads into Bing Chat conversations to generate revenue from this new platform.
However, incorporating ads into Bing Chat has opened the door to threat actors, who increasingly take out search advertisements to distribute malware.
Furthermore, conversing with AI-powered chat tools can instill unwarranted trust, potentially convincing users to click on ads, which isn't the case when skimming through impersonal search results.
This conversation-like interaction can imbue AI-provided URLs with a misplaced sense of authority and trustworthiness, so the existing problem of malvertizing in search platforms is amplified by the introduction of AI assistants.
The fact that these ads are labeled as promoted results when the user hovers over a link in Bing Chat conversations is likely too weak of a measure to mitigate the risk.
[...] The display of malvertising within Bing Chat conversations highlights the expanding frontier of cyber threats and makes it crucial for users to be wary of chatbot results and always double-check URLs before downloading anything.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 30 2023, @10:39AM (4 children)
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-remove-bloatware-windows-10/ [makeuseof.com]
Just uninstall everything useless in Windows.
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/disable-ads-iwindows-11/ [digitalcitizen.life]
Turn off advertising at the same time.
At our house, Windows 11 looks, feels, and behaves much like Windows 7. You don't have to put up with the invasive nonsense.
Also, log in with a password, not a Microsoft account. https://www.howtogeek.com/836157/how-to-use-windows-11-with-a-local-account/ [howtogeek.com]
The problems in TFA are problems that Microsoft has created. Just rip the problems out at the start.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 5, Touché) by Gaaark on Saturday September 30 2023, @11:00AM (3 children)
So....just don't use Windows? ;)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 30 2023, @11:29AM (2 children)
You know, and I know, that's really the best answer. I wish the family would allow me to just install Linux on everything. But, that's not the answer people want to hear. It's like they're emotionally invested in being exploited.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bart9h on Saturday September 30 2023, @12:21PM (1 child)
What I do is give the choice: either I install and maintain Linux (or any sane OS), or you're on your own. I'm not providing Windows support, not even for my mother.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Gaaark on Saturday September 30 2023, @02:39PM
Heh... that's what i did to my wife: she got another virus (this was a few years back) and so i wiped and installed Windows. Then it asked for a driver and i thought, "Hell. She can do this shit." So then i passed it off to her and told her to do the rest.
We had to use linux to download the modem driver, lol, then she had to search out the rest herself.
I'm nice to my wife usually, but yeah, i just got tired of installing windows AGAIN. She at least allowed me to install anti-virus this time.
With all respect to my wife, "As momma always said...."
I can't really do windows support anymore: i don't know it much at all now and what i do know is that it is a pain.
The one Windows computer at work that they locked down: central office admin took away the "Shared folder" desktop icon for security purposes and the one 'tech guy' needed access to it. The work around i found? Do a search on "Shared" and the link to the shared folder came up so you could click to access it.
**Good security, Microsoft!**
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 5, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Saturday September 30 2023, @10:54AM
And here's the problem in a nutshell.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by stratified cake on Saturday September 30 2023, @11:00AM (2 children)
Yeah, right. Modern ads are for all intents forced cloud computing where you are hosting other people's code except you don't know what you're hosting. In fact, the guys putting the code on your machine don't know what you're hosting, that comes from an ad network. Which also doesn't know what code is running on your machine, it's getting that from ad agencies. Which might not know what code you're running either if they just accept it from their customers.
That's not only several steps where any protections in place might fail, but all steps are incentivized to err on the side of letting bad stuff through rather than blocking legit ads.
That of course on top of "legit ads" that - if advertiser had their way again - were so bad that you'd rather not visit the site than do so without ad blockers.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 30 2023, @11:34AM (1 child)
That's where we differ. I don't think there are legit ads. When I need a widget, I can search Google, Duck, Bing, or Searx, or I can go directly to a vendor's site that I know offers that widget. If I don't understand the widget well enough to make an informed decision, there are Youtube and other channels filled with tutorials and reviews, many reviews comparing 2 or more comparative products from competing vendors.
Advertising is totally unnecessary in a world where information is only a few clicks away.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2, Insightful) by stratified cake on Saturday September 30 2023, @01:34PM
Well, I was using legit ad to mean actually just an ad (aka malware for your brain) instead of malware for PC.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Saturday September 30 2023, @01:34PM (3 children)
Eh, what that? You're saying Google did that deliberately?
Wow.
Of course I'm against DEI. Donald, Eric, and Ivanka.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday September 30 2023, @02:43PM (2 children)
I hear we're only 7 degrees away from losing Kevin Bacon ;)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 1) by cereal_burpist on Sunday October 01 2023, @03:01AM (1 child)
Han Solo could shoot Kevin Bacon in less than 12 parsecs!
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday October 01 2023, @10:48AM
But only if he shoots
firstlast.--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mojibake Tengu on Saturday September 30 2023, @02:35PM
Advertising companies should be hard responsible by law for malware they assist to proliferate.
There is a legal institute of complicity in crime or carelessness in any legal system out there. Such can be applied to facilitate the punishments out of books.
Since the technology is irreparably broken already, it's all down to jail those who are personally responsible for critically unsafe advertising model using the broken tech, nothing else would help.
Such approach is not a specific to ChatGPT or Bing or any other buzz of the week.
Rust programming language offends both my Intelligence and my Spirit.