I’m looking, and it seems like at the bottom of each thread, there’s a set of “ads by google” links. Is this something the boards have adopted, or is it spyware on my computer?
Just happened to me a minute ago, so I’m guessing it’s not spyware.
They seem to be appearing randomly for me. Some threads have them, some threads don’t.
I was testing something for a few minutes. It’s now been turned off.
Jerry
Solves that mystery then.
Except for the ominous question of why it was being tested…
Presumably to see what kind of ads show up. If they are ads that are likely to be utilized by dopers, I wouldn’t mind. The ones I saw were not intrusive, just inappropriate. Google ads are definitely better than pop-ups, pop-unders, garish flashing banners, etc.
Oh good someone else saw them too. I thought I was halucinating.
Its not spyware, Mac’s are immune.
indeed…I wouldn’t mind if they were shown to logged out users though.
You just had to show me didn’t you? Now, how will I sleep tonight? I want my Performa 575 back!
I don’t see the second as a threat to me, since No one cares what I do, I’m retired. 
I wouldn’t worry picunurse. Just because there was a possible exploit on an older version of the OS doesn’t mean that anyone has taken advantage of it. And a company selling spyware for the Macintosh doesn’t mean that there is any.
I have a virus-checking program on my Macintosh, and its only function is to remove Windows viruses from e-mail attachments. The virus catcher is actually pretty useless as far as my personal computer on MacOS is concerned.
I use Firefox 1.0.6 with an extension that kills paid-for links on Google searches. I don’t know how it does so. But if Google’s ad links use a particular server or servers, and if the ads on Straight Dope linked to the same Google server or servers, could that account for me not seeing them? Or did I not see the ads because they existed for too brief a time?
Echoing Arnold Wikelried, the spyware vulnerability referred to in the above posts was eliminated 16 months ago, and that prior to the fix the likelihood of being hit by it was next to none, anyway.
Maybe a Mac expert could clear this up (Mr. Winkelried?), but it’s my understanding that even if a user had downloaded the above spyware, the code couldn’t spread from the victimized machine without deliberate actions at each end, that this is the case with all such malicious code — so far — and that this barrier is one reason why a virus epidemic aimed at Macs fizzles immediately.
The other spyware code referred to isn’t a virus or trojan. It’s a “legitimate” application that requires cash money.
Too bad that Jerry isn’t a “Mystery Men” fan. Else he could have played with the line:
“I’m a publicist, not a magician.”
to respond to Captain Amazing.
Thanks, Actually, I was being a bit sardonic. I’ve never worried about my good ol’ Mac being invaded. The fact that The fact that there’s nothing on here anyone would want, not withstanding.
I do pine for a simpler time, however. My G-5 iMac has so many capabilities that I will never use. Business has taken all the fun out of computers-as-toys. 