I wanted to share a couple of articles with you guys that I hope will shed further light on the redirect issue:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/06/sh...ecting-mobile-users-to-app-store-google-play/
https://blog.malwarebytes.org/malve...ctions-the-latest-annoyance-for-mobile-users/
This is what we're dealing with here. As you can see, it's plaguing many top websites right now, so it's NOT something that is exclusive to NikeTalk or Huddler.
In fact, I hope you'll agree that the response here has actually been ahead of the curve. The team is working extremely hard to isolate and remove any and all remaining instances of this, and we have successfully reduced the occurrence pretty dramatically.
Personally, I haven't come across one of these since last week - but we are aware that some of you have still been experiencing it and the team is on top of it.
I'm glad to see that some of you have reported a considerable improvement in your mobile experience since the team removed the primary culprit last week.
Im not sure, im actually curious now as to how it works now. Especially since I typically use an browser add-on called DoNotTrackMe which blocks cookie trackers. I did click a bunch of links yesterday to give nt some ad revenue *shrugs*
I've yet to receive any other reports of the issue you've described. Sometimes, as has been mentioned, it's a product of audience tracking, meaning the ads are triggered by browsing history, cookies, tracking information, etc.
In these cases, the result is difficult to replicate because testers aren't able to perfectly recreate the conditions required to trigger the ad. If it's being served by one of the networks we use, the ad is in violation of our terms and, if isolated, would be reported and blocked.
Sometimes, however, it can be a malware issue. In these cases, it's impossible for us to reproduce and the ad isn't actually being served by any of the networks we use. Some malware basically has the effect of replacing or adding advertising/pop ups to generate revenue for its creators at the expense of everyone else.
When it comes to really inappropriate stuff, like "adult" ads, this is unfortunately the most likely cause - as, in my experience, that stuff rarely ever manages to seep into the networks.
Whether that's the case here or not, it's always advisable for everyone to ensure that their Internet security is up to par. There's a LOT of nasty stuff out there, so it's just good practice to visit reputable websites and give a wide berth to anything unseemly.
If a site is dealing in questionable content, it's going to be very challenging for them to run respectable advertising. The networks won't touch them with a 50 foot clown pole. That's where you're most likely to find malware embeds, trojans, and so on.
I don't know what your browsing history is like and I don't mean to make any negative implications or assumptions there, I'm just trying to share some general advice on the subject that can help users avoid the types of abusive advertising you seem to be encountering.
If we receive any other reports regarding this ad from other NT users, we'll be sure to investigate. Right now, obviously the top priority is the app store redirects.
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