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Alliance Against Bait & Click Website - http://www.stopscads.org/ - Focuses on Safeguarding Search

NEW YORK, July 23 — Ever wonder why you end up at one product’s website when it’s not what you wanted or even thought you clicked on? You may have just been suckered by a "scad," a scam ad lurking in sponsored search results that leads consumers to sites unaffiliated with the brand entered in their search.

The risks of scads to consumers involve more than wasted time or frustration because scads often take unsuspecting internet users to unsecured sites - exposing them to fraud, viruses and spyware.

A recent study showed that over 75% of online consumers are confused by these scads, but help is on the way. The Alliance Against Bait & Click (AABC), a coalition launched today, is focused on arming internet users with the information they need to avoid scads and safeguard their search.

Leaders from across industry sectors have joined together to form AABC and launch the website - http://www.stopscads.org/. AABC’s goal is to raise awareness of "bait & click", the practice which lures consumers to potentially dangerous sites by using unauthorized and unaffiliated brand names in scads. The site also provides internet users with tools to avoid the pitfalls of deceptive search practices.

"Search engine listings remain plagued by scams and tricks. Consumers deserve to find what they are searching for, but search engines often feature whichever advertiser is willing to pay the most," said Professor Benjamin Edelman, a member of AABC. "Search engines should protect users from deceptive ads, but if they won’t, we will."

Despite rules that protect consumers from similar practices in offline marketing, this deception continues to be profitable to the search engines and deceptive marketers, while undermining consumer confidence in brands. Search advertising continues to be the largest online revenue format, generating over $6 billion in 2006, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.(1)

Members of AABC include 1-800 Contacts, IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group), Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Northwest Airlines, Rosetta Stone and Cyveillance. Prominent experts on information technology and business strategy, including Professor Eric Clemons of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Professor Benjamin Edelman of the Harvard Business School, have also lent their support to the effort.

Unknown to many internet users, advertisers can buy the use of another company’s trademarked brand name from search engines to trigger their own ads. When the brand name is entered as a keyword in a search, the scad appears - hijacking the consumer to the competitor’s site.

Many times, the scad will attempt to mislead the consumer by including the brand name in its title or text, despite having no affiliation with the brand. Research commissioned by some members of AABC focused on travel-related searches found that three quarters of respondents were confused when viewing a sponsored result that contained the name of the specific brand they searched for.

Once a consumer has been tricked into clicking on a scad, it not only wastes time, but it can also pose direct risks and harms. Compared to ordinary organic listings for the same search terms, sponsored search results lead to twice as many sites possessing spyware, sending spam, or distributing false marketing claims.(2) Scads may also charge consumers for dubious or unwanted services. For example, several scads direct users to sites that charge for Firefox, a popular free web browser. Other scads lure consumers to websites using outrageous and false claims - for example, promising "free ringtones" even though in fact a paid subscription is required.

In addition to providing tips and tools to internet users on how to spot and avoid scads, the AABC website also provides avenues for action. The AABC site features a petition to the FTC calling for tighter controls. The AABC site also lets interested consumers contact the search engines directly to report scads and request tighter filters.

"We encourage consumers to look before they click and avoid ads that look suspicious. The less people click on bogus ads, the less money the search engines and fraudulent advertisers will make and the quicker the scads will go away," said Jarrod Agen, spokesman for AABC. "Most importantly, if it’s not what you’re looking for when you land, you should leave."

For more information on the Alliance Against Bait & Click or how to spot "scads", please visit http://www.stopscads.org/.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE AGAINST BAIT & CLICK

The Alliance Against Bait & Click protects consumers from deceptive search engine marketing practices. We believe that buying & selling search terms for brands you don’t have the right to use is wrong. Internet users should be able to click on an ad without worrying about being misled or getting ripped off. The impact of scads - or scam ads - spreads beyond their effect on legitimate advertisers. When a user can’t trust the results of sponsored links, it erodes consumer confidence in search. Join the Alliance Against Bait & Click. Stop scads.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

New England Journal of Medicine Reports

In Additional Subgroup Analysis, ISENTRESS Helped to Increase CD4 Cell Counts and Decrease Viral Load in Patients Predicted to be Poor Responders

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — ISENTRESS([R]) (raltegravir), Merck’s first-in-class HIV-1 integrase inhibitor, suppressed HIV-1 viral load and increased CD4 cell counts through 48 weeks of combination therapy with other anti-HIV medicines compared to placebo in combination with other anti-HIV medicines in HIV-infected patients with triple-class resistant virus failing current therapy. These results from two pivotal Phase III studies of 699 treatment-experienced patients who were failing other antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In October 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted ISENTRESS accelerated approval for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced adult patients with evidence of viral replication with HIV-1 strains resistant to multiple antiretroviral agents. The approval was based on analyses of viral load reductions and CD4 cell count increases from baseline through 24 weeks in two Phase III studies of ISENTRESS, which are ongoing. The 48-week data reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine represent additional data from those studies.

The use of other active agents with ISENTRESS is associated with a greater likelihood of treatment response. The safety and efficacy of ISENTRESS have not been established in treatment-naove adult patients or pediatric patients. There are no study results demonstrating the effect of ISENTRESS on clinical progression of HIV-1 infection.

"HIV disease is very complex and is especially difficult to manage in patients whose virus has become resistant to therapy. The 48-week results for ISENTRESS show that when paired with other anti-HIV medicines, ISENTRESS effectively lowered the amount of virus in the blood to undetectable levels in 62 percent of patients versus 33 percent of patients receiving placebo plus other anti-HIV medicines. Also, combination therapy with ISENTRESS helped the immune system to rebound. ISENTRESS acts at a step in HIV replication that’s different from the targets of prior drugs," said Roy Steigbigel M.D., professor of medicine, pathology, microbiology and pharmacology, Stony Brook University School of Medicine and lead study investigator for one of the studies.

ISENTRESS studied in nearly 700 patients with virus resistant to multiple anti-HIV medicines

The data published today in the New England Journal of Medicine are Week 48 results from two identical ongoing multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase III studies (BENCHMRK-1 and BENCHMRK-2) that compare ISENTRESS in combination with optimized background therapy (OBT) to placebo plus OBT. The primary endpoint of this ongoing study is the percentage of patients that achieve HIV RNA virus levels less than 400 copies/mL at Week 16. Patients in the studies had HIV resistant to at least one drug in each of three classes [nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs)] of oral ARTs.

Patients in BENCHMRK-1 were enrolled in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America (Peru). The baseline viral load (geometric mean) was approximately 41,000 copies/mL for patients treated with ISENTRESS and 32,000 copies/mL for patients treated with the placebo regimen. The median baseline CD4 cell counts were 140 cells/mm3 for patients treated with ISENTRESS and 105 cells/mm3 for patients treated with the placebo regimen.

Patients in BENCHMRK-2 were enrolled in North and South America. The baseline viral load (geometric mean) was approximately 48,000 copies/mL for patients in both groups. The median baseline CD4 cell counts were 102 cells/mm3 for patients treated with ISENTRESS and 132 cells/mm3 for patients treated with the placebo regimen.

Patients received ISENTRESS 400 mg or placebo, each dosed orally twice daily in combination with OBT. OBT was determined based on each patient’s prior treatment history and results from HIV resistance testing; and represents the best available antiviral drug combination individualized for each patient. In order to allow for the best possible treatment regimen to be constructed for each patient, darunavir and tipranavir, which were investigational medicines in many countries at the time of this study, were permitted for use in OBT.

Consistent suppression of viral load and increase in CD4 cell counts observed through 48 weeks of treatment with ISENTRESS

Results at Week 48 were consistent across both BENCHMRK studies. The results reported in the New England Journal of Medicine include both individual study results and a combined analysis of both studies at 48 weeks. At 48 weeks, the percentage of patients who achieved HIV RNA levels below 400 copies/mL were nearly two times greater for patients receiving ISENTRESS plus OBT (72 percent of patients; 332 of 459) compared to patients receiving placebo plus OBT (37 percent of patients; 88 of 237); p<0.001. In addition, ISENTRESS plus OBT suppressed viral load to undetectable levels (below 50 copies/mL) in significantly more patients compared to placebo plus OBT; 62 percent of patients (285 of 459) versus 33 percent of patients (78 of 237), respectively; p<0.001.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com