We entered 2021 with the intention of leaving the pandemic behind us, but despite mass efforts we couldn’t quite shake its grip. This same holds true for the developments in online advertising rules and standards.

When I became CEO of Ad Lightning in June of this year,  I was proud to be joining a team and business that was solving real problems for our publisher and platform partners -- business was expanding, customers were happy and our technology was.

While the weather might be finally cooling down, the fraudsters aren’t—the fight against bad actors and their bad ads continues. We recently published our 2021 Q2 Malware Recap, so take a look at what has been plaguing website publishers and users.

Six months ago, we partnered with Setupad and replaced their legacy ad quality solution to improve their coverage against bad ads. Needs in the market had changed, and they were looking for a tool that stopped redirects and blocked unwanted content.

When it comes to getting a leg-up on the bad actors, it's always important to strategize for the road ahead. 2021 has already shown us that fraudsters haven't skipped a beat, making the right combination of tools and well-informed insights.

Q1 2021 had a definite yin and yang feel for the digital advertising ecosystem. While bad actors and their bad ads certainly kept everyone busy with their onslaught of malware and other threats, there is also plenty of reason for hope as we wade.

If you’ll recall, we highlighted the urgent need for ad quality solutions across platforms way back in our 2020 State of Ad Quality Report. To quote myself:

At Ad Lightning, customer service courses through our veins. Case in point – our entire team is made of sharp, innovative, and motivated former ad ops people from publishers and platforms, each just as customer-obsessed as the next. And that.

There’s no need to state the obvious about 2020. It was historic, and I don’t mean that in a good way. But there’s always a silver lining, even in the most trying of times. For the digital ad industry, that silver lining shimmered like the sun.

Q4 2020 had a different feel to it. Yes, there was the typical holiday push and everything that usually entails. But the digital ad industry was also still finding its bearings from an extremely challenging year, tugging at the new normal like a.