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Careful--Don't Click That Ad!

When browsing the Web I often encounter frames, windows, dialog boxes, and even such page elements as Close, OK, and Cancel buttons that appear to be a legitimate part of the Web site. When I click on any of them, however, the entire frame that holds them turns out to be a link to another site. Trying to "close" the object sends me to another Web site, which may automatically do something I don't want, such as present me with an unrequested download or subscription.

The next time you see one of these faux elements on your screen, move the mouse over it, but don't click. If the pointer changes to a pointing hand everywhere inside its boundaries, the element is actually a link. To avoid unwanted responses, just ignore it.

Mike Guerard, Wenonah, New Jersey

Good tip. There's nothing wrong with ads--you can ignore them, and they help pay for the free content you enjoy. But banner ads that try to trick you into visiting an advertiser's Web site by masquerading as part of the host site are even more obnoxious than suppertime telemarketers.

Another way to avoid camouflaged ads is to check your browser's status bar as you hover the cursor over suspect content (in this example on our site, of course, the ad is obviously an ad). Each hyperlink on a Web page is a URL--a Web address. When you place the cursor over any link, including a banner ad, the embedded link shows up in your browser's status bar.

By examining the domain name at the beginning of the URL (usually the part directly following 'http://'), you can often distinguish the ads from the site's content because their addresses contain the word 'ad' or 'ads', or the name of a prominent online advertising company, such as DoubleClick.

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