MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 19, 2008 -- According to research conducted by click fraud experts at Anchor Intelligence, Internet Protocol (IP) address blacklisting is not an effective long-term solution for eliminating click fraud. A comprehensive click fraud solution must leverage the behavioral and reputational characteristics of traffic in real-time.

"Despite use by some ISPs and the general industry, blacklists are a 1980s approach to a modern-day problem," said Ken Miller, CEO of Anchor Intelligence. "The online advertising industry has already witnessed firsthand the deficiency of IP blacklisting, as it is highly ineffective for catching other types of malicious activity on the Internet, including payment fraud and spam. It's time to evolve our approach to click fraud if we really want to solve the problem."

In July 2008, Anchor Intelligence conducted a study of IP transience over a three-week period. Analysis showed that more than a quarter of all users were tied to two or more distinct IP addresses, or were from a single IP address that was tied to multiple users. Using an IP address as an identifier for a fraud perpetrator is a broad stroke effort to a very complicated problem.

Another issue that reduces blacklist effectiveness is that IP addresses can be compromised by malicious programs such as botnets, which are used to commit fraud or conduct other illicit activities on the Web. Because the users of these IP addresses may have no idea their machines have been compromised, and may also be engaging in completely legitimate activity online, blacklisting them can result in missed opportunities to drive profitable traffic and clicks from search marketing efforts.

"In the case with email, IP blacklists have been used to block unwanted emails from being sent to users and have provided some level of protection in the short-term," said Walter Harp, Director, Windows Live Product Management for Microsoft. "However, blacklisting IPs is not a singular solution -- ISPs need to take a more comprehensive and nuanced approach to fighting junk mail while ensuring that legitimate email gets delivered to the inbox."

Anchor Intelligence Moves beyond Blacklists

IP-based reputation and other IP-related intelligence is only one component of Anchor Intelligence's comprehensive anti-click fraud solution, ClearMark. ClearMark scores each click in real time based on behavioral characteristics for a given user as well as fraud signatures that match with other known malicious activity identified across the Anchor Intelligence network. These methods enable Anchor to link bad actors across the globe and keep up with the ever-changing nature of click fraud.

"Between IP blacklisting and doing nothing to combat click fraud, blacklisting will provide some value," added Miller. "However, a solution that leverages behavioral and reputational characteristics of traffic in a timely manner will do a much better job in identifying non-billable clicks, reducing the number of clicks that are incorrectly classified as non-billable, and, in turn, bringing a higher level of accountability to search engine marketing."

To learn more about this extensive study and the impact of click fraud on the online advertising ecosystem, please contact Carla Vicens, blast! PR to arrange an interview with Anchor Intelligence experts. Or, visit the company at booth #630 at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose on August 19-20, 2008.

About Anchor Intelligence:

Anchor Intelligence Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, CA, is a leading online advertising traffic quality and click fraud solutions provider. Anchor Intelligence provides ad networks, advertisers, and agencies with cutting edge solutions to reduce click and impression fraud, identify high performing traffic, and ultimately optimize their business offering to their customers' needs. Anchor Intelligence is funded by JK&B Capital; angel investors include Ron Conway of Baseline Ventures, Ram Shriram of Sherpalo Ventures, and Rajeev Motwani, Stanford Professor.

     Media Contact
     Carla Vicens
     blast! PR for Anchor Intelligence
     (919) 757-1154
     Email Contact