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Gaming Google isn't just for [Google bombs][3] anymore. Virus and malware creators were [recently discovered][1] gaming Google's "sponsored links," the adverts shown alongside search results.
By taking advantage of fact that hovering your mouse over a sponsored link doesn't show the URL, the bad guys were able to create fake ads that appeared to point to legitimate sites, but in fact redirected users to an intermediary site.
The intermediary site then took advantage of an old flaw in IE to install malware for stealing passwords and other sensitive data.
Although Microsoft issued a fix for the hole these sites exploited nearly a year ago, many people have not updated their browsers to apply the patch.
Exploit Prevention Labs, which first reported the sponsored links exploit, said that most of the malware ads showed up on common consumer searches for terms such as "Better Business Bureau" or Cars.com.
According to Exploit Prevention Labs, Google has removed the sponsored links in question and indeed searching for any of the terms listed does not currently bring up any malware sites.
For the curious EPL has [posted a screenshot][2] of the offending ads from a week ago.
[1]: http://explabs.blogspot.com/2007/04/google-sponsored-links-not-safe.html "Google sponsored links not safe?"
[2]: http://www.explabs.com/CaseStudies/bbb/result.jpg "Google sponsored link screenshot"
[3]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/01/earlier_today_m.html "http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/01/earlier_today_m.html"
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