---
title: "Pixalate Week in Review: July 2 - 6, 2018"
description: Pixalate reviews this week's news in the programmatic ad fraud space. Find the most critical ad tech and privacy news from 2-6 July 2018.
image: https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/email-search.gif
---

[![pixalate-full-logo](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Pixalate_Logos/pixalate-full-logo.jpg?width=150&height=60&name=pixalate-full-logo.jpg "pixalate-full-logo")](https://www.pixalate.com)

Search

**Menu**

** **

![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/email-search.gif)

[Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps) |

 2 min read

# Pixalate Week in Review: July 2 - 6, 2018

 Written by [Tyler Loechner](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/author/tyler-loechner)

 Jul 6, 2018 3:40:11 PM

This week's review of ad fraud and quality in the digital advertising space.

### **1. WSJ report: Third-party apps are 'sifting through your Gmail'**

![email-search](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/email-search.gif?width=600&name=email-search.gif)

According to the [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/techs-dirty-secret-the-app-developers-sifting-through-your-gmail-1530544442), "[Google] continues to let hundreds of outside software developers scan the inboxes of millions of Gmail users who signed up for email-based services offering shopping price comparisons, automated travel-itinerary planners or other tools." The WSJ added: "Google does little to police those developers, who train their computers—and, in some cases, employees—to read their users’ emails, a Wall Street Journal examination has found."

### **2. MRC video measurement guidelines address OTT**

**![OTT-video-player](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/OTT-video-player.png?width=600&name=OTT-video-player.png)**

As reported by [AdExchanger](https://adexchanger.com/digital-tv/mrcs-video-measurement-guidelines-address-ott-for-the-first-time/), The Media Rating Council recently "released an [updated version](http://mediaratingcouncil.org/Digital%20Video%20Served%20Impression%20Measurement%20Guidelines%20(MMTF%20June%202018).pdf) of its Digital Video Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines, which advises on server-side ad insertion (SSAI) and OTT platforms for the first time." The article added: "The new guidelines specify that JavaScript or other APIs can be used to measure video ad impressions on OTT platforms and that the same standards for digital video ad measurements should be applied."

### **3. Programmatic guaranteed deals rise with introduction of GDPR**

![gdpr-target](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/gdpr-target.png?width=600&name=gdpr-target.png)

"Much as contextual targeting is experiencing a rebirth due to the arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation, ad-buyer demand for programmatic guaranteed deals is also increasing for some publishers," wrote [Digiday](https://digiday.com/media/gdpr-giving-new-life-programmatic-guaranteed-deals/). "[T]he pressure some advertisers still feel around GDPR-compliant ad buying is spurring an increased interest in programmatic guaranteed deals," the article added.

### **4. Cryptocurrency mining operation uncovered**

![cryptocurrency-600-300](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cryptocurrency-600-300.jpg?width=600&name=cryptocurrency-600-300.jpg)

[Malwarebytes](https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2018/07/obfuscated-coinhive-shortlink-reveals-larger-mining-operation/) this week published a blog detailing a large cryptocurrency mining operation. "In the past weeks, our crawlers have catalogued several hundred sites using a variety of CMS all injected with the same obfuscated code that uses Coinhive’s shortlink to perform silent drive-by mining," wrote Malwarebytes on their blog.

### **5. New malware chooses between ransomware of cryptomining**

### **![malware-microscope](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/malware-microscope.png?width=600&name=malware-microscope.png)**

As reported by [Dark Reading](https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/new-malware-variant-hits-with-ransomware-or-cryptomining/d/d-id/1332221), citing [research](https://securelist.com/to-crypt-or-to-mine-that-is-the-question/86307/) from Kaspersky Labs, known malware (Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Rakhni) has "a new variant [that] does a search of files on the victim's system and decides whether to launch ransomware — or simply use the computer to mine cryptocurrency."

*Sign up for our blog to stay updated with new stats, trends, and analysis of digital ad fraud.*

### Search Blog

Search

### Follow Pixalate

<https://twitter.com/pixalateinc> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate> <https://www.facebook.com/pixalate>

### Subscribe to our blog

*By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy)

Previous Story

[← Pixalate Week in Review: June 25 - 29, 2018](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-june-29-2018)

[** ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog)

Next Story

[Pixalate Week in Review: July 9 - 13, 2018 →](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-july-13-2018)

## You May Also Like

These Stories on Weekly Recaps

[![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/pixalate-week-review-june-13.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-20-2025)

[Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps)

### [Pixalate Week in Review: June 16 - June 20, 2025](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-20-2025)

 Jun 20, 2025 11:09:13 AM |

 3 min read

[![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/pixalate-week-review-june-13.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-13-2025)

[Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps)

### [Pixalate Week in Review: June 9 - June 13, 2025](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-13-2025)

 Jun 13, 2025 11:39:50 AM |

 3 min read

[![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/June-6-Pixalate-Recap.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-6-2025)

[Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps)

### [Pixalate Week in Review: June 2 - June 6, 2025](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-6-2025)

 Jun 6, 2025 1:00:13 PM |

 2 min read

**

### Subscribe to our blog

*By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy)

![pixalate-logo-red-small](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2018NewTemplate/pixalate-logo-red-small.png?width=208&name=pixalate-logo-red-small.png "pixalate-logo-red-small")

**

 By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy)

Products

[Analytics](https://www.pixalate.com/products/analytics) [Blocking](https://www.pixalate.com/products/blocking) [Media Rating Terminal](https://www.pixalate.com/products/mrt) [Publisher Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [Seller Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [IoT Device Rankings](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=iotDeviceReach)

Resources

[Blog](https://blog.pixalate.com/) [Press](https://www.pixalate.com/press) [Careers](https://www.pixalate.com/jobs) [Team](https://info.pixalate.com/pixalate-leadership-team)

Contact

Email

[** sales@pixalate.com ](mailto:sales@pixalate.com)

[** privacy@pixalate.com ](mailto:privacy@pixalate.com)

US:

[** +1 888 749 2528 ](tel:+1%20888%20749%202528)

EU:

[** +44 (0)800 011 2050 ](tel:+44%20(0)800%20011%202050)

Slack:

[Join ATSAPI Slack Channel ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email)

Offices

Global Offices

US

1775 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 425, McLean, VA 22102

UK

20 North Audley Street   
London, W1K 6WE, United Kingdom

EU

10 Earlsfort Terrace   
Dublin 2, D02 T380, Ireland

Singapore

10 Anson Road, #22-02 International Plaza, Singapore 079903

[![facebook](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/pixalate) [![x](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/twitter-x.png) ](https://twitter.com/pixalateinc) [![linkedin](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/linkedin.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate) ![wechat](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/wechat.png) [![slack](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/slack.png) ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email)

[Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) [GDPR Compliance](https://www.pixalate.com/gdpr) Disclaimer

Copyright © 2025 Pixalate

[Back to top **](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-july-6-2018#)

# Disclaimer

 Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that - opinion, not facts or guarantees.

 Per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC, “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.”

**

**

*By clicking Download and entering your email address, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and have read and acknowledge our [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/2024-08-20_Pixalate_Privacy_Policy.pdf).

*Copyright © 2025 Pixalate** *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

*

×

## Subscribe to the Pixalate Blog

The first step in ad fraud prevention.

Loading...

 By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy).

![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png)

##### Contact Us12

Loading...

![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png)

##### Download GSTI

Loading...

Schedule your demo today

Please complete all fields

Loading...

By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy).

*

* *

*

*