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Byline: Doug Tsuruoka
Internet ads used to be as harmless as pink bunny slippers. Now they're like bikers in black leather jackets.
Over the last few months, millions of Web surfers have bumped into a new type of aggressive Internet ad. It hangs out on your computer screen and refuses to go away.
The best-known ad is for a tiny $80 wireless video camera put out by Seattle-based X10 Wireless Technology Inc.
The ad opens on a Web page under your browser when you visit a Web site where X10 advertises. It appears on the screen as soon as the browser is closed. The ad must be clicked separately to make it disappear.
Some consumers view these so-called pop-under ads as irritating speed bumps in navigating the Net. But they're also a sign that online ad tactics are getting fiercer in a slumping economy.
Analysts say X10's ads show that advertisers aren't satisfied anymore with "banner" and "button" ads that sit passively on a screen and disappear if you don't click on them.