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Mystery links: New Web advertising tool gets results, draws criticism
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San Francisco Chronicle: mentions concerns about the ethics of covert advertising, and commercial firms outraged by links to competitors' sites.
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Slashdot: Don't Eat the Yellow Links
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Web owners upset by changed content; describes an "opt-out" procedure.
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Whirly Wiry Web: Fighting Ezula
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Discussion of web design to detect and defeat contextual advertising, including recognizing the HotText and TopText plugins.
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You got the yellow linking Virus?
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Gives information on how to remove/unistall TopText, and links to other more detailed resources.
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eZula and Surf+ Script Killer
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Provides a script killer for the eZula software. Also works on Surf+.
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WebHostingTalk Forums: KaZaa is Hijacking Traffic!
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Webmasters and surfers, mostly disapproving of the embedded advertising links.
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PetitionOnline: eZula
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Petition protesting insertion of advertising links on web pages.
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Advanced HTML For Beginners: Yellow links can destroy your day and your income
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Forum thread on the eZula "scumware" and possible responses.
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Applelinks: Another New Technology to Deep-Six
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Editorial suggesting "loud, pointed, organized protests" against this attempt to "take over your web pages."
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PCWorld: Latest Online Ad Gimmick: Hyperlinks
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"Advertisers try aggressive (and annoying) hyperlink technology to make the Web pay."
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ReveNews: CJ Profits from Ezula's Hijacked Links
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Article on Commission Junction's apparent blessing of Ezula's links, followed by a lively discussion.
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ThiefWare.com
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Information and resources primarily for webmasters who wish to fight unethical contextual advertising.
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Foistware
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Information to help users and webmasters identify when Top Text is installed.
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Ethics in Advertising
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Editorial asking "How far should advertising go?" Examines eZula's browser plug in as a specific example of unethical advertising.
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TrafficG Yellow and Green Link Killer
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Provides script to disable Top Text and Surf+. Documents source code alterations made by these programs.
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COTSE: You may have heard of Microsoft Smart Tags, but have you seen Ezula and Surf+?
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A webmaster's editorial accusing TopText and Intelsoft International's Surf+ of theft, false advertising, and deceptive self-promotion.
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Associate Programs Newsletter: How to stop Scumware from defacing your website
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Explains how Top Text and similar programs can negatively affect income streams, particularly for sites that use affilate programs.
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Salon.com: The parasite economy
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Examines the spread of both "spyware" and programs that add commercial links to websites. KaZaa's distribution of eZula is heavily featured.
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StopScum
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Resources, news and forums for the fight against contextual advertising.
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geek/talk Forums at GeekVillage
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Discussion about the eZula TopText defacement in the context of copyright violation.
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San Diego Daily Transcript: 'Poachware' Routes Computer Users To Alternate Web Sites
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Article about anti-competitive involuntary hyperlinks being placed by Top Text (aka ContextPro).
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c|net Tech News: Chorus of Gator critics grows
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Article on Interactive Advertising Bureau's possible regulatory complaint over Gator's ad insertion. Also discusses Top Text and the effort against it.
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Search Engine Watch: Forget Smart Tags; TopText Is Doing What You Feared
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Editorial decrying stealth download tactics, copyright and other legal violations.
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c|net Tech News: Peer-to-peer exchanges court advertisers
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Article describing the financial arrangements, briefly mentioning the controversy.
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c|net Tech News: Chorus of Gator critics grows
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Article on Interactive Advertising Bureau's possible regulatory complaint over Gator's ad insertion. Also discusses Top Text and the effort against it.
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