One common unethical web technique is called mouse trapping, which is often used in conjunction with another highly immoral practice called page jacking. In it's simplest form, mouse trapping merely consists of redefining
back function so that it does not return to previous page. Instead, some other function is performed.A mousetrap is extremely simple to create. You've seen simple ones all over place. You click on a link, say from a search engine, and you go to a page. This only displays for a second, then you are directed to another page. Now, if you hit back key, you go back to redirect page, which effectively prevents you from using back key to get out.
The idea is to make it a little more difficult to leave site. Personally, I take offense at these kinds of tactics and will virtually never return to sites which do this little trick. My opinion is web sites should never, ever modify browser controls. Do what you want on page - but don't mess with my browser or my system.
Some sites raise ante a little and pop up a window or send you off to a third site. The idea here is always one of deception - you think you are backing up out of site, but what you are really doing is something else. Honest sites with valuable information do not need such tricks.
Very dishonest people carry these mousetraps to extreme. Here's what could happen to you - click an interesting link in a search engine and you find yourself on a site which does not appeal to you (these are virtually always pornographic sites). So you click back key to get out.
Now fun starts. The back key simply reloads current page, but also pops up a couple more windows as well as a pop-under window. You start closing these annoying things, cursing under your breath, only to find that clicking close button actually pops up yet another window. In these instances, back button has been redefined and a javascript has been set to be called when windows is closed. This javascript opens up yet another window.
Ah, this gets even more insidious when mouse trapping is combined with page jacking. Here's sequence of events. Let's say you are one of these scum. You look around web until you find a nice, high traffic site. You steal page and make a copy of it on your own site. Keep same basic page but change links and set up mousetraps on back key and when page is closed. Now, submit page to search engines, and within a month or so you will be getting tons of traffic.
Why do these sites go through all of this trouble? It's a matter of money. You see, these sites want you to click links, look at banners and, best of all, buy something.
You'll notice that popup windows all have banners. Someone is paying to display those banners. They might pay if you click on them or they might pay if they are simply displayed. In any event, banner has to get right in your face (and everyone else's for that matter) to collect money. If it's a "pay per click" banner, who knows, you might click on one or two accidentally as you frantically attempt to close windows. Bam, scum who created site makes a penny or two.
