Malvertising: when ads attack.
That "sponsored" result at the top of Google? It might not lead where you think. Malvertising is now a top way businesses get malware.
You'd expect the top result when you Google "download Zoom" to take you to Zoom. Increasingly, that top result is a sponsored ad bought by an attacker, pointing at a lookalike page that delivers malware. It's called malvertising, and it's become one of the most common ways business computers get infected.
Why it's so effective
Sponsored ads appear above real results. They look identical. Search engines do some screening, but fake ads slip through constantly — especially for commonly downloaded software like Chrome, Adobe, Slack, Notion, or accounting tools. Employees click the first result instinctively. By the time anyone realizes, a trojan is installed.
Two recent incidents
“An employee Googled "Adobe Reader download" from a work laptop to view a client proposal.”
Red flag: The top sponsored result was a fake Adobe-branded page delivering an info-stealer. We caught it only because the EDR flagged the post-install behavior.
“A bookkeeper searching for "QuickBooks login" clicked the sponsored link at the top of the page.”
Red flag: Lookalike domain harvested her credentials. By afternoon, attackers were inside the accounting system.
How to shut it down
- Scroll past sponsored results. Always. Click the first organic (non-ad) result.
- Type the URL directly for known software downloads — adobe.com, zoom.us, microsoft.com.
- Deploy a DNS filter (Cisco Umbrella, DNSFilter, Cloudflare Gateway) — it blocks known malicious domains before they load.
- Use an ad blocker on company browsers. uBlock Origin is lightweight and free.
- Standard user accounts can't install software — that alone kills most malvertising payloads.
DNS filtering takes 30 minutes.
A managed DNS filter stops malvertising, phishing, and a pile of other web threats — one of the highest-leverage controls for the money. Ask us.
- 1Train your team to scroll past sponsored results and click the first organic link.
- 2Type URLs directly for any sensitive login or software download.
- 3Deploy a DNS filter across your network — it blocks malicious domains before they load.
- 4Remove local admin rights from standard user accounts.
- 5Install an ad blocker on every company browser.
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