WARNING - Are you promoting ActiveX or download programs?

To celebrate my 100th post at this wonderful forum, I wanted to share a warning that is very important to all affiliates. This is also my current pet peeve. (It used to be Norton Blocks Affiliate Revenue.) Now it's affiliates that complain about parasites and then turn around to help spread them.

Do you realize that some of the ActiveX, free download, free screen saver & Toolbar programs you may be promoting are helping to spread parasites that STEAL everyone's affiliate commissions???

Have you looked at what you may be spreading around inside some of these apps? Some of them are filled with parasites and you may be helping to spread them! You may make some money selling these apps, but then you are also losing money when they steal your commissions from other programs.

Programs like this HURT the entire industry. Not only do they spread parasites, they muck up consumers computers with crap and programs like this increase the number of ad blockers, firewalls, anti spyware and anti adware programs - MANY OF WHICH EAT OR BLOCK AFFILIATE COOKIES SO THAT NO ONE MAKES MONEY!!!

I have seen affiliates talking about some of these programs on other affilate forums and the # of new programs and also discussions about these new programs is growing at an alarming rate! IMHO.

Please don't call yourself an affiliate and then spread a scourge that hurts everyone in the industry!

Thanks for letting me rant and yippee I finally hit 100 posts!!!

Congratulations Linda on your 100th post. Glad you stuck around.

Can you provide an example, or perhaps a link for further information?

Thanks.
McF

Hi Donna, thanks so much.

mcfox, sorry I don't want to post links to these discussions publicly because there are some lurkers who would sell anything for a buck. Also many forums don't like links to other competing forums so I wont take a chance post forum lnks here.

Great post. It's a good reminder that affiliates need to help each other when it comes to protecting commissions. The program you promote may not be stealing commissions from anything you promote (now), but who wants to encourage that kind of thing.

I love how you make affiliates aware of the parasite problem. I only found out about it a couple months ago (aside from the obvious problems with Clickbank), and I'm sure there are plenty of affiliates out there promoting without thinking about the consequences of some of these programs being out there.

The old saying goes.... Cut off your nose to spite your face...

Some affiliates don't realize that by promoting these programs that are not only hurting other affiliates, the affiliate marketing industry, but possibly hurting themselves without even realizing it.

Thanks for the post Linda. The more we can encourage merchants and affiliates not to work with these types of programs the better for all of us.

Congrats on your 100th post!

Thanks for the warning Linda - its hard enough trying to make an honest buck without someone trying to steal it from you

You are all very welcome.

Thanks Karen you are at 97 posts so you are almost there too!

Hi All,

I have had some PMs asking for more info about parasites and other forums to learn more. I won't post links to the forums discussing the new activeX type programs that spread parasites. But for those that want to know more about parasites in general I found a thread here at SeoChat that I did a long time ago that has links to the parasite forum for those that want to learn more.

http://forums.seochat.com/t6311/s.html

Congrats - im working toward my 100 posts too! I'll be joining the club soon.

My computer is hijacked because of Active X too. Lots of pop display and spend lots of time to remove it.

there are too many spywares today, you have to be very cautious, not download any activex you don't know, and remember always upgrade your windows and IE

i agree, but lets get REAL, and grow up......people HATE ads and ad cookies....so the industry will make this software to block either way...so why not make real money, why support the "affilate" crap companys that pay cents, why not make thousands!



either way people they are going to block your ads
either way people are gonig to download spyware/adware
are you going to get rich or are you going to stand by your mispaced morals and collect pennys and watch them block u no matter?
and besides

5starAffiliates, hum sounds like you might have other interest here

"5starAffiliates, hum sounds like you might have other interest here."

I very definately have other interests here! I am an affiliate advocate and work hard to help affiliates MAKE honest money. I also spread good news about the industry as well as bad news about things that can hurt the industry, like Norton BLocking Affiliate income etc.

I am also very anti-parasite and other types of unethical marketing. So yes, that's my hidden agenda. I try to kep keep it fair in revenue share.

Norton BLocking Affiliate income , common smell the coffe bro!
if you have affilate code you are alrdy hated as is!!!
no one likes you on the web
people hate affilte banners/code period
so they block it


i don't care if there was no activex installs..they would still block you., becasue to the end-user we are both scum...get your veiws stright


so make more cash for your buck