• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
    • SEO Expert Witness Service
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletter

Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

traffic analysis tools

Home » Internet Usage » FaceTime Says Traffic Stats for Chinese Sites Inaccurate

FaceTime Says Traffic Stats for Chinese Sites Inaccurate

Posted By Bill Hartzer on March 8, 2007at 5:57 pm

According to FaceTime researchers, a Trojan is falsely boosting traffic statistics for Chinese websites. FaceTime has discovered that the Symfly Trojan is abusing the Alexa Toolbar. Abusing the Alexa Toolbar causes a website’s traffic to be reported incorrectly.

FaceTime Security Labs, the threat research and remediation arm of FaceTime Communications, has discovered a Trojan named Symfly that is influencing Alexa Web traffic rankings for several Chinese Web sites. Customers who have deployed FaceTime Enterprise Edition, including RTGuardian, GEM and IMAuditor and configured for automatic filter updates, are automatically protected from this security threat.

According to their press release today, the Symfly Trojan downloads and installs multiple files to an infected PC, primarily via HTTP. The daisy chain of installations includes the Trojan Adcheat and can install an Alexa Toolbar from Renwu.info without the user’s consent. The infection causes the user’s PC to call out to various Web sites. If the Trojan has installed the Alexa Toolbar, the calls will register as legitimate hits and artificially inflate the site’s Alexa traffic ranking. FaceTime researchers have found that Alexa traffic reports on targeted sites peak in similar patterns, leading them to conclude that the infection is impacting the reported traffic rates.

FaceTime enterprise customers are protected from the Symfly Trojan through Web filtering at the gateway in combination with inoculation at the desktop. The RTGuardian perimeter appliance automatically updates its signatures to provide protection against the initial infection at the gateway. FaceTime’s Greynets Enterprise Manager provides an additional layer of protection with the ability to identify and remediate any infected endpoints.

The FaceTime research team offers a detailed accounting of the infection and the possible motives here.

FaceTime is headquartered in Foster City, California. For more information visit www.facetime.com or call 888-349-FACE.

Filed Under: Internet Usage

traffic analysis tools

Listen to "Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer" on Spreaker.

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is CEO of Hartzer Consulting, LLC, an SEO Consulting firm that includes services such as search engine optimization, technical SEO audits, domain name consulting, and online reputation management.

Recent Posts

  • Travis Bliffen on Link Building and Link Building Strategies April 6, 2021
  • Minimizing the Risk of Having Your Domain Name Stolen March 17, 2021
  • Beware of Google Ads Email Phishing Attempts March 9, 2021
  • Rebranding Your Business with the Brand Doctor Henry Kaminski, Jr. March 4, 2021
  • Moz Announces Speakers for 16th Annual MozCon Virtual Conference March 2, 2021
  • RightoftheDot Live Online Domain Auction February 25 February 18, 2021
  • Jabez LeBret on Digital PR, Journalism, and Media Coverage February 5, 2021
  • Someone Stole My Domain Name: Here’s What You Do February 1, 2021
  • 23 Top Level Domains TLDs Up for Auction January 27, 2021
  • GotConn Privacy Search Engine Launches January 26, 2021
  • Andrew Muller on Testing Google Ads Using Facebook Ads January 15, 2021
  • Mike Rhodes from Web Savvy On Google Ads January 8, 2021
  • How to Opt Out of Google Analytics December 16, 2020
  • Majestic Just Changed SEO and Linking Forever December 15, 2020
  • Yext Consumer Search Trend Predictions for 2020 December 8, 2020
  • SearchBox Launches SearchAI SmartSuggest, SearchAI Answers and SearchAI Personalization December 7, 2020
  • Google Poly is Shutting Down December 2, 2020
  • Domain Name Brokers Put FFF.com and HHH.com Domains Up for Sale December 1, 2020
  • Google Webmaster Tools Moves Twitter Account November 11, 2020
  • Email Deliverability, Setting Up DMARC, DKIM, and SPF on Your Domain October 29, 2020

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:



Industry Friends

WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Phil Drinkwater
Dixon Jones

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (19)
  • Bing Search Engine (6)
  • Blogging (42)
  • Branding (12)
  • Domain Names (201)
  • Google (228)
  • Internet Marketing (24)
  • Internet Usage (84)
  • Link Building (52)
  • Local Search (38)
  • Marketing (179)
  • Marketing Foo (30)
  • Pay Per Click (2)
  • Podcast (11)
  • Public Relations (8)
  • Reputation Management (9)
  • Search Engine Marketing (44)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (48)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (19)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (156)
  • Search Engines (203)
  • Social Media (187)
  • Tech (7)
  • Web Analytics (16)




Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.




Hartzer Consulting



Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Copyright © 2021 by Bill Hartzer and Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
Go to mobile version