Researchers at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California, have uncovered a major search traffic hijacking operation instrumented by a dozen US Internet service providers and a company specialising in affiliate marketing revenue generation.

The scheme works by redirecting people's search requests through proxy servers designed and operated by a company called Paxfire. The requests are then passed to affiliate programs run by Commission Junction, the Google Affiliate Network, Linkshare, or Ask.com.

Retailers pay money through these programs to those who direct customers to their business. These affiliates earn a commission for every user who ends up making a purchase or signing up for an offer.

According to Christian Kreibich and Nicholas Weaver, the two researchers who have been monitoring this operation for months, only some particular queries like "apple," "dell," "safeway" or "bloomingdales" are being hijacked.

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