AdFection: Targeted ads turned into a pipeline for zero-click mercenary spyware

Posted by jcomp 13 hours ago

351 points | 507 commentspage 4

pelagicAustral 9 hours ago|

You have to go about 5 pages deep on any search, anywhere, before you find something positive about "israel"

feb012025 5 hours ago||

Seems like a second-order effect to me, and this report is a good example

cultofmetatron 8 hours ago|||

they do have a really big and well stocked skin bank! Its positive as long as you don't start asking where it came from :P

causesothere 8 hours ago||

Committing a genocide does typically reduce one's cachet.

pbasista 7 hours ago||

I would be interested in knowing which devices were (or still are) vulnerable to these zero click exploits. And how those exploits (used to) work, specifically.

tintor 3 hours ago||

Very strong reason for everyone to install ad-blockers on all of their devices.

freakynit 10 hours ago||

Of course, who else could it be.

iamacyborg 8 hours ago||

The fact one of the spyware cos was named after the fish that swims up your dick hole is too funny

kleiba2 12 hours ago||

uBlock Origin ftw

tamimio 7 hours ago||

Plus a dns based blocker for other apps. Android has an option ready for that, iPhone it will be like VPN.

Melatonic 6 hours ago||

Actually you can load a configuration profile on iOS and force everything to a custom DNS. Works great for me on NextDNS

Then you can drastically reduce the mobile in browser block list which helps a lot with battery

rwaksmunski 7 hours ago|||

And wBlock on Safari.

fsflover 4 hours ago||

It does not support Manifest-v2.

dominojab 8 hours ago||

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hn_submit 10 hours ago||

I doubt it's that easy to click on a link and install malware without the user knowing. Most browsers are highly secure and finding a zero day isn't that easy these days because both sides use A.I. to find vulnerabilities and to secure against them.

iamnothere 10 hours ago||

It’s not “easy”, it requires a complex infrastructure of exploit devs (who can sell their findings for millions in some cases) and the companies who package these exploits together with implants and sell them.

https://www.packetlabs.net/posts/demystifying-the-market-for...

oulipo 10 hours ago|||

"Most browsers are highly secure"... erm no

LtWorf 10 hours ago||

One side uses AI to find them. The other side probably needs to keep the holes open for NSA, as the multiple 0 click root exploits that happened in the past to the iPhone with very similar techniques suggest.

andunie 10 hours ago||

Do ad blockers protect against this?

Lio 10 hours ago||

> Reuters has reported that billions of dollars’ worth of Meta’s ad revenue comes from ads for scams, illegal gambling, pornography and other banned content. In the US, ICE and other government agencies have bought software that uses ad tech data to track people’s movements.

I don't know if an ad blocker protects against Discover-Tech’s Controlium but in general you'd be a fool to allow ads in your browser in at this point. The ad industry is pretty shady all round.

MSFT_Edging 9 hours ago||

For years there was a strong segment of HN commenters who would come on and declare a moral imperative for not using ad blockers and looking at every ad you could in order to support a website.

One must wonder how many were genuine vs an influence op.

dualvariable 7 hours ago||

Or genuine people who ate an influence op before posting here.

The whole point of an influence op is to find a bunch of useful idiots to provide a large multiplicative factor.

And that's the problem with arguing that something is an influence op, because it is going to be mostly genuine people by the time it gets to you, even though you're not wrong.

c16 10 hours ago|||

On web, likely. If it's in app mobile then no. Run a DNS ad blocker.

chunkyslink 10 hours ago||

[dead]

jazzyjackson 3 hours ago|

This is what ad networks are for, by the way

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