1.0PC Matic Bloghttps://www.pcmatic.com/blogDavehttps://www.pcmatic.com/blog/author/dave/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="B6ScHZwWCS"><a href="https://www.pcmatic.com/blog/shameless-optimism/">Shameless Optimism</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.pcmatic.com/blog/shameless-optimism/embed/#?secret=B6ScHZwWCS" width="600" height="338" title="“Shameless Optimism” — PC Matic Blog" data-secret="B6ScHZwWCS" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.pcmatic.com/blog/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script> https://www.pcmatic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/pcmatic-fallback.png19201080Take a look at our in-depth investigation of infected files distributed via BitTorrent P2P networks and you'll start to understand how hopeless it is to expect the adware industry to police itself. In some cases I think the problem is that adware companies are truly naive about how they are being played by their affiliate networks. In others, it's easy to see that the companies are working hard on their see-no-evil position to futher their own company goals. Whether they're being played for suckers or silently participating in this nasty business, the outcome for consumers is the same.