
Adware Bundler IronSource Raises $105M to Buy Startups Ahead of IPO - ex-adware
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/02/25/israeli-unicorn-ironsource-raises-105-million-ahead-of-ipo/
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ex-adware
I've worked for adware companies for a long time. I find it crazy how many
news publications, investors, and technologists don't realize how many
companies are part of the adware ecosystem.

Iron Source is one of them and they just raised a lot of money from JPMorgan
and Morgan Stanley to fund acquisitions in preparation for their IPO.

AMAA.

~~~
infogulch
I'll bite. Here's a question I saw in a thread about lenovo/superfish (can't
find it now), followed by some of my own:

What's it like building software that _literally no one_ wants on their
computer?

Is that last question wrong, and are there actually people that _truly,
unequivocally_ enjoy adware?

Is there a reality-distortion-field where some people building such software
actually believe that they're making things that most people want?

Are meetings/discussions about building the adware ever openly malevolent
towards users? Or is it always "just business"?

~~~
exadsthrowaway
Another ex-adware person here:

Building software nobody wants is pretty soul-crushing (I've since left the ad
industry altogether), and I haven't heard a case of anyone actually wanting my
previous employer's software.

Of course there's rationalizations ("That's just the way the internet works",
"If we don't do it someone else will", and the insane "They agreed to the
terms"), but I don't think anyone has the mental capacity to convince
themselves people actually want malware.

People making adware generally aren't openly malevolent, but there seems to be
the consensus that 'users' who install the software are idiots (sometimes with
the implication that this makes it okay to scam them).

That said, it's still lucrative (and with very low risk of any repercussions),
so most of the industry just wants money and doesn't really care.

~~~
PinnBrain
Those that install adware are less intelligent--no need to paper over that. Do
the writers of educational shows for small children think it ironic that they
are more intelligent than their customers?

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DanBC
Since adware often uses dark patterns to trick people into installing it I'm
not sure you can draw any conclusions about intelligence. Ability to
scrutinise every panel of an installation script, and check or uncheck a
variety of boxes that might be described with double or tripple negatives --
and that's for the adware that is polite enough to tell you ot's going to
install itself.

~~~
PinnBrain
But the presence of a nuisance toolbar afterwards will be quite obvious.

~~~
DanBC
Ignoring for a moment all the adware that doesn't install toolbars --
superfish doesn't -- you seem to have no idea about actual users. Most people
would not notice an extra toolbar, or would think it's part of the default
browser.

~~~
tmzt
Not knowing how to repair something can result in a form of learned
helplessness, a belief that you are less of something than someone else.

There are efforts to show people that they don't need to buy a new computer,
or install software that intentionally limits what their computer can do, or
pretends to fix it for a fee. Even the programs that actually work to remove
these kinds of threats (including AdAware and SD Search and Destroy) can blur
the distinction between actions that are necessary to repair the problem and
things that are a different kind of nuisance but not directly a threat to the
operation of the computer (like tracking cookies). Software that makes
installing it to use it optional is preferred, as the ongoing monitoring can
often tax the computer as badly as the software being removed. (Note I'm
talking only about anti-adware software here, not general anti-virus
software.)

I would love to give a better option than re-install your operating system all
of your software, and even that is often a difficult option since the re-
installation mediums aren't even shipped with the computer in many cases. I
don't want to direct a person to a service where they take the computer to be
fixed that often charges more than seems fair for the hands-off approach they
take to re-imaging.

Oh, on your last part, I've encountered more than one laptop where all of the
installed browsers had been limited to a fraction of the screen being readable
due to the number of toolbars, and general search engines being inaccessible
or unusable due to the number of injection adds and popups.

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maimspyware
This is hilarious because Rolfe Winkler took a shot
([https://twitter.com/RolfeWinkler/status/571079879497781249](https://twitter.com/RolfeWinkler/status/571079879497781249)
) at Reuters yesterday for their article about this because apparently no one
has read Ben Edelman's recent post (
[http://www.benedelman.org/news/021815-1.html](http://www.benedelman.org/news/021815-1.html))
tearing IronSource's business practices apart.

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bsder
Completely misread that title.

Thought that IronSource was buying startups ahead of the _startup 's_ IPO, not
their own.

My reaction: "Damn. That's both sneaky and a nice idea."

~~~
simonebrunozzi
It should be "...ahead of its own IPO". Please, HN moderator, be nice today.

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WhitneyLand
Wouldn't work for such a company if they doubled my salary. However have a
friend with a degree from an elite school who went to one recently so I know
people don't do it for lack of opportunity.

Ethical and soul crushing concerns aside I don't see how investors aren't
concerned that some technical shift or filtering will render them with
significantly less penetration.

~~~
ex-adware
Which company did your friend go to? The adware companies often times don't
explain that they're adware to new recruits. And the pay, benefits, and perks
are usually really good.

Regarding investors, I wonder if they just don't understand.

~~~
WhitneyLand
Out of respect for their privacy I'll only say the company is of significant
size and has connections to Israel (not Superfish).

~~~
exadwareguy
Conduit / Perion?

