Free Page-Level Threat Blocking

Block Malvertising Threats in Real-Time

Free Malvertising Protection—Up to 2M Pageviews/Month

  • Real-time page-level ad scanning
  • Protect up to 2M pageviews monthly – 100% FREE
  • Keep your ad revenue flowing – block malicious behaviors but make the bad actor pay
  • No code changes—just add our script
  • Dashboard to monitor threats and block events

 

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“Malvertising Defense was able to prove that we would never have to sacrifice revenue when choosing to block malicious ads.”
– Product Manager at Curiosity Media

Common Malvertising Attacks

Malvertising takes many forms, which makes it more difficult for legacy filtering to catch, and it can take site visitors and publishers off guard. These attacks often don’t rely on visitor interaction. Instead, they can execute as soon as the ad is served, making them especially hard to detect without the right tools in place.

Some of the most common types of malvertising attacks include:

  • Forced redirects: Visitors are suddenly sent to another website, often one built to steal data or money, or infect their device.
  • Malicious Landing Pages: A visitor is lured by clickbait imagery or language into clicking the creative, which leads to a landing page containing the malicious payload.
  • Drive-by downloads: Malware is installed on a visitor’s device without any clicks or action required.
  • Scareware or fake alerts: Pop-ups claim a device is infected and urge visitors to install a fake antivirus or fake updates: Ads imitate system notifications and prompt visitors to download bogus software.
  • Clickjacking: Malicious elements are hidden under legitimate content, tricking visitors into clicking on something harmful.

HUMAN’s real-time behavioral analysis stops these threats before they can even reach your audience. By monitoring ad behavior instead of relying solely on lists or offline scans, our solution catches suspicious activity as it happens. Even better, it works without having to interrupt the visitor experience or block legitimate ad revenue.

Malvertising FAQs

  • What is the difference between malware or malicious ads and digital advertising?

    Digital Advertising is the use of digital creatives to promote products, services, or content through banners, videos, or native placements while malware is software that harms, exploits, or steals from a visitor’s device. Malware can take the form of a virus, ransomware, spyware, trojans, and more. Malvertising, sitting at the intersection of the two, is when bad actors embed malware inside ads or use ad infrastructure to deliver a malicious payload. . A malvertising ad looks normal, but once it loads, can infect the visitor’s device without a single click.

  • How does malvertising (malware in digital ads) work?

    Malvertising works by injecting malicious code into an ad creative or its delivery path. When the ad is served, the code can exploit browser vulnerabilities, redirect visitors to fake websites, or silently install malware in the background. Because many digital ads are delivered through complex programmatic systems, it can be hard to spot the threat before it goes live. In many cases, the malicious behavior is triggered only when the ad reaches a real visitor in a real browser, making traditional detection methods like static analysis or sandbox testing far less effective.

  • What are some other things you can look for to protect yourself from malvertising?

    Some things to look out for to detect malvertising include ads with awkward grammar or misspellings, system-style alerts that don’t match your operating system, or pop-ups pushing free gift cards or miracle cures. You might also see strange redirects or browser freezes that happen without having to click on anything. Also keep an eye out for suspicious content on just the landing page of a creative. For publishers and IT teams, spikes in bounce rate, sudden drops in session duration, or recurring visitor complaints about sketchy ad behavior are red flags. If visitors are getting kicked off the page or pushed into support scam pages, something malicious may be slipping through.

  • How well does HUMAN’s free malvertising protection work?

    HUMAN’s free malvertising protection delivers real-time behavioral protection for up to 2 million pageviews each month. It actively analyzes ad behavior to detect and stop malicious activity as it happens. The result is a smarter, more adaptive solution that doesn’t rely on blocklists or fingerprinting alone. It protects your visitors while still allowing ad impressions and innocuous parts of the creative to serve, so your monetization isn’t impacted.

  • Should I use other forms of malvertising protection?

    Using HUMAN alongside your broader security stack significantly reduces the risk of malvertising slipping through. HUMAN’s behavioral analysis provides powerful frontline protection against even the most sophisticated threats, but you. can also take other measures, including vetting your ad partners, manually scanning creatives for malware, and setting up alerts for unusual traffic patterns.