The affiliate program, iDevAffiliate, one of the worst-supported pieces of software in human history, was cracked, and a phishing scam was inserted into a hidden file that directed people to what appeared to be a Skype website.
I deleted the phishing scam, but because iDevAffiliate does not support their software, I also deleted the affiliate program, in order to protect people’s information and to prevent any sort of recurrence. The iDevAffiliate program will not be back in any form. If you are or were an affiliate, please delete your links.
I don’t know at this point if there will be any sort of affiliate program in the future. I’ve let a lot of people down, and I’m not sure how to fix that, and I’m not sure how to prevent something like it from happening in the future.
I’d like to add that Jorge Catena, owner of Downtownhost.com, immediately responded to my SOS and within about two minutes had deleted the phishing folder. The problem came not from the host, but from very bad software.
ADDED LATER:
Jorge Catena recommended JRox.com Affiliate software, and JRox looks like it could integrate user data from the iDevAffiliate database. It doesn’t look like it will integrate commissions. It does look very well supported, which would make it much less likely to be hacked.
Spooky. Because I used the same thing recently as a plot device.
-TimK
I couldn’t resist commenting in a post of my own about my initial reaction to your title 🙂 I have a strange sense of humor.
Oh, and I took down my affiliate links as you advised, no prob.
Susan, I’m working on getting people’s balances back right now.
Being a vegetarian, I don’t want any phish, thank you very much. Unless, of course, they are in a phish tank. Also, now that I am eating a raw diet, I think I’ll pass on the crackers, too!!!
Oh, that figures. 🙁 If you ever find a new piece of software to use, will those of us who were previously affiliates get our balances back?