A technology company wanted its ads in front of people reading online about data storage. Instead, tens of thousands of dollars worth of ads landed on websites that belonged in the Internet's trash can. There was clouddatarecoverywebhost.info, where the firm's ad appeared on a page that featured a viral YouTube video of a woman whacking an attacker to the ground with a dog. Aside from their URLs, the websites had nothing to do with online storage. In the tangled ecosystem that is online advertising, such nefarious websites collectively reap billions of dollars annually bilking advertisers.

Internet users will find it harder to search for pirated films and music and illegally streamed live football matches under a new plan to crackdown on piracy websites. Search engine companies Google and Bing have signed up to a voluntary code of practice aimed at preventing users from visiting disreputable content providers. The code, the first of its kind in the UK, will accelerate the demotion of illegal sites following notices from rights holders. It means those who search for content such as music videos, digital books and football coverage will more likely to be taken to bona fide providers rather than pirate sites, where a user's security may be at risk. The changes are expected to be rolled out by the summer.