Tools helping in evaluating the promotion and reality of affiliate networks

All the named tools and plugins are freeware tools and the provided links don't contain any affiliate code.

Qihoo 360 Total Security

To have a good Virus scan is important for each computer or device. I’m using the free virus scan 360 Total Security from Qihoo including the browser plugins. This product even blocks suspicious websites and of course malware sites. You have in any the case to proceed to the site from which you get warned. I made a good experience with the support from Qihoo.

Adguard AdBlocker (browser plugin)

Adguard AdBlocker effectively blocks all types of advertising on all web pages, even on Facebook, Youtube, and others! The security module blocks access to all fraudulent and malicious sites. You have even the choice to disable the ad blocking functions for a whole site.

Alexa Toolbar (browser plugin)

The Alexa Toolbar shows you the rank in the traffic which a domain generates in the world wide web. Alexa says about it ranking mechanism:

Alexa’s traffic estimates and ranks are based on the browsing behavior of people in our global data panel which is a sample of all internet users.

Alexa’s Traffic Ranks are based on the traffic data provided by users in Alexa’s global data panel over a rolling 3 month period. Traffic Ranks are updated daily. A site’s ranking is based on a combined measure of Unique Visitors and Pageviews. Unique Visitors are determined by the number of unique Alexa users who visit a site on a given day. Pageviews are the total number of Alexa user URL requests for a site. However, multiple requests for the same URL on the same day by the same user are counted as a single Pageview. The site with the highest combination of unique visitors and pageviews is ranked #1. Additionally, we employ data normalization to correct for biases that may occur in our data.

My own experience is that an Alexa rank of 200,000 is equal to around 300 visitors per day and a rank over 1,000,000 is already a big secret in the World Wide Web.

Resume: If 360 Total Security or the AdGuard plugin is warning you from visiting the site or the main site of the affiliate network has an Alexa ranking over 100,000 then you need not sign up for being an affiliate marketer. In this case you are only losing time and money.