Is Spybot Killing Affiliate Links??? Do you have it?

[Linda Buquet]

This just in from CPA affiliates. It appears the immunize feature on Spybot Search & Destroy is killing CJ links. Here is part of the email David got back from CJ when he discovered his CJ links were not working after he had used the Spybot Search & Destroy Immunize feature.

Partial Email from CJ Support
"According to another publisher experiencing a similar error, the latest version of Spybot Search & Destroy v. 1.5 immunizes against our links. They had to remove the immunization for our links to work.

While you may not be using Spybot, I would assume that it may be due to similar third party security software which is not allowing the links to route through our servers to the destination page."

Read the rest and follow the conversation to see if javascript or link cloaking helps or if people can find any other type of work-around. CJ affiliates Spybot Search & Destroy Immunize is killing your Sales!

DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE IT? Can you do some testing?
Is it killing other affiliate links too? Can you check Linkshare
and Azoogle for example?

[longroad]

Spybot can remove all "tracking cookies" in one click. Basically once you run a scan it shows tracking cookies and you can choose to delete them all.

[Linda Buquet]

Yes that's true too most, unfortunately most spyware programs wipe out cookies
either automatically or with the push or a button.

What he was describing is another problem, where when he clicked a
link it would not even get to the merchant page - it would just go to a dead page.
So the link didn't even resolve and the surfer could not even find out about the product
and worse yet probably thinks your site has bad links.

[Linda Buquet]

From the info I'm reading at various places, this is not just standard cookie blocking like many anti-spyware programs do, and it's not like the Norton blocking that actually stripped the ad or banner. Evidently it will still allow your links and banners to show up but when the buyer clicks the link goes to a page not found error so in addition to not getting a sale it looks like you have bad links. People are saying cloaking does not help but I'm not certain how thoroughly anyone has tested.

DigitalPoint has a discussion going and evidently Ebay rover links are not blocked, only links that use CJ domains, as it appears it's blocking domains at the hosts file level.

(That's what I'm reading but again not sure if all if this is correct or how thorough anyone has tested. Just passing on the info I find.)

[Ginene]

Its leading mine to a dead page too. I wonder if the customers go to a dead end page too if they dont have spybot?

[Larwee]

No, that particular thing won't happen if they don't have Spybot Search & Destory installed.

Spybot Search & Detroy, as well as a few others have been known in the past to delete cookies. However this particular situation with Spybot Search & Destroy is a new and different one that started with the release of the new version 1.5.

[Ginene]

Oh ok. I just fixed it! You are the best!