Beware Spyware and Adware Disguised as Affiliate Link Cloakers
Over the past few weeks and months the demand for affiliate link cloakers has skyrocketed. As more and more people become aware of the risks posed by exposed links, the gradual shift towards cloaked links has been swift and sure. After all, who wouldn't want to protect their links from being hijacked, and who wouldn't want to make their links more appealing?
Due to this natural shift to cloaked links, and the increase in demand for affiliate link cloakers, there have emerged a fair amount of people who are seeking to take advantage of the situation. Generally speaking, affiliate link cloakers fall into two broad categories, consisting of the free varieties, and the paid varieties. If you've tried out some in the past, you'll undoubtedly know that almost all of the free affiliate link cloakers do not cloak links completely, and thus marketers find themselves having to pay for more comprehensive hidden links.
As a result of this, there are many marketers who would jump at the opportunity to own an affiliate link cloaker that actually does fully cloak links while not having to pay a dime. Over the last few months, some have emerged - but unfortunately, most of these have proven not to be genuine link cloakers, but rather simply products from those who seek to exploit the demand that exists.
Almost always, these affiliate link cloakers actually tend to be spyware of adware disguised as affiliate link cloakers.
Mind you, not all of these 'fake' affiliate link cloakers are really all that fake. Some may even appear to do the task that they're required to and could actually end up cloaking your links. However, hidden somewhere there'll inevitably be some form of malicious code that normally turns out to be spyware or adware. Unless you happen to scan your computer regularly, you may never even realize that it has been infected!
Now that you know that this threat exists, you need to take steps to ensure that you're not at risk. Be sure to scan your computer regularly for both spyware and adware. More importantly however, you should probably avoid affiliate link cloakers that seem to be 'too good to be true'. Remember: If something seems as though it is too good to be true - it probably is.
Don't fall victim to this latest tactic of spreading spyware and adware. Be sure that your computer is well protected. After all, the last thing you want is that your entire computer become compromised due to the fact that you were trying to protect your links! Keep your eyes open and treat any offer of free affiliate link cloakers with skepticism!
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