How to protect affiliate links from competitors

Introduction: Why links are money

For an affiliate or media player, a partner link is a profit accounting: who brought the player, who to pay CPA/RevShare. Any "leak" (parameter substitution, click interception, sub-ID theft) = loss of money and reputational risks from the operator. Below is a system protection plan at the link, domain, infrastructure and process levels.

1) Typical attacks on party links (what exactly happens)

1. Param Tampering

The competitor changes' aff _ id ',' sub _ id ',' campaign'to his own and sends traffic through "your" showcase.

2. Click Hijacking/Ad Injection

Embedding a browser script/extension that interrupts the transition to its link at the last moment.

3. Cookie stuffing/time bunny hopping

Toss their cookies/pixels before you click or immediately after to "steal" the attribution.

4. Brand squatting and typosquatting

5. UTM stripping and sub-ID zeroing

Parameters are deleted on intermediate redirects → the section on sources/creatives is lost.

6. Scraping landings and mirroring

Copy the page along with your CTAs and change the link to yours.

2) Critical protection principles (before delving into the technique)

Do not keep the "naked" party link at the front. Show the user a short own URL, and collect all the "stuffing" on the server.

Each click is unique. The click must have its own ID and signature.

Verify server-side events. S2S postbacks, not just client pixels.

Minimum trust in intermediate layers. The fewer third-party redirects, the better.

3) Link protection techniques

3. 1. Server Redirector (own link shortener)

What to do:

Make all external transitions through your own domain, for example 'go. yoursite. com/XYZ`.
On the server, collect the original offer URL and parameters and only there perform 302/307 redirect.
Pros: hides the "naked" structure, allows you to log, sign and validate.
Important: disable caching (Cache-Control: no-store), enable HSTS and the correct 'Referrer-Policy'.

3. 2. Parameter Signature (HMAC)

Why: so that you cannot imperceptibly replace 'aff _ id/sub _ id'.

How could I:

Form the parameter string in canonical order, add 'ts' (timestamp) and 'nonce', read 'sign = HMAC_SHA256 (secret, payload)'.
Before redirecting, the server makes sure that 'sign' is valid, 'ts' is not older than N minutes, 'nonce' has not been used before (keep it for a short time).
Bottom line: substitution leads to an invalid signature - the request is rejected.

3. 3. Short-lived tokens

Why: Minimize the value of the stolen link.

How: Issue a token ('jwt' or opaque) for 5-15 minutes bound to IP/UA or to 'click _ id'. After - 410 Gone.

3. 4. click_id Binding and Server Postbacks

What to do:

At the first click, create a 'click _ id' in your database.
Before redirecting, send pre-back (optional) to the operator/network.
All confirmations (reg/KYC/FTD) - only S2S with validation of 'click _ id' and signatures.

3. 5. Sensitive field encryption

When needed: if some partners demand 'aff _ id' at the front.

How: encrypt 'aff _ id/sub _ id' asymmetrically (public key on the front, private key on the back), decrypt and substitute on the server.

3. 6. Stable redirects and headlines

Use 307 (saves method) or 302; avoid "meta-refrains."

Add 'X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff', 'X-Frame-Options: DENY', CSP for prelends - against clickjacking.

'Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin'will reduce parameter leaks.

4) Domain and infrastructure protection

4. 1. Domain hygiene

DNSSEC, short TTL, standby NS provider.

Registration of "erroneous" domain variants (typosquatting) and auto-redirection to the main one.

Monitor new domains with your brand/keys.

4. 2. Postal links

Enable SPF/DKIM/DMARC to prevent competitors from spoofing mailings "on your behalf" with link spoofing.

4. 3. WAF/bot filters

Cut suspicious ASNs, known data centers, invalid UAs.

Velocity rules: many clicks from one IP/UA → captcha/block.

Signing and verifying'nonce 'at the WAF level (short-lived token cache).

5) Front defense: prelands and landings

CSP + SRI: no third-party scripts, integrity check.

Integrity-checking links: generate all CTAs from one centralized component; compare the expected 'href' with the reference before clicking.

Anti-injection: disable "floating" extensions (if possible), catch attempts to rewrite the DOM link (MutationObserver) and log the incident.

6) Antifraud and quality attribution

Device fingerprint/Client hints: helps to catch click interception and parameter replacement.

Behavioral patterns: suspiciously high CTR with barely alive 'reg→FTD' - a signal for investigation.

Source lists: black/white sheet of sites/apps/publishers; automatic disconnection rules.

Log audit: keep click/redirect/signature verification events for at least 30-90 days.

7) Law and compliance (very important)

No methods to bypass site rules. We protect our links, not "mask" prohibited ads.

Correct disclaimers 18 + and Responsible Gaming.

DPA/SLA with network/operator: terms "valid FTD," postback rules, terms for debating disputed leads, incident log.

Brand policy: prohibition of brand-bidding partners, rules for the use of logos/names.

8) Monitoring and alerts

Delay of postbacks> 15 minutes → alert and auto-check of endpoints.

CR jumps (click→reg, reg→FTD) or a burst of clicks from one ASN → a flag.

Percentage of HMAC signatures broken> X% → investigation (possible link spoofing).

Diff-monitoring of landings: any changes to STA/scripts - notification.

9) Checklists

9. 1. Quick tech check before launch

All external links through your redirector (go-domain)
HMAC signature + 'ts' + 'nonce' per click
Short-lived token (5-15 min) bound to 'click _ id'
S2S postbacks reg/KYC/FTD/2nd dep, synchronized TZ/currencies
CSP/SRI, `X-Frame-Options: DENY`, HSTS, no-store
WAF/bot filter and velocity rules
Click/redirect/caption logs and anomaly dashboard

9. 2. Organizational check

DPA/SLA with operator/network (incidents, timing, log access)
Brand Policy and Partner Brand-Bidding Ban
Response plan: who, what, in what time frame does in an incident
Regular audit of domains/bots/mirrors

10) Mini playbook of incident investigation

1. Freeze disputed source (cap/pause).

2. Check logs: clicks ↔ redirects ↔ signatures ↔ postbacks.

3. Identify the vector: tampering, hijacking, injection, stuffing.

4. Apply countermeasures: strengthen WAF, update HMAC/JWT keys, add domains to the blacklist, enable captcha by patterns.

5. Document case: report to partner/network, update playbook and alerts.

11) 30-60-90 protection implementation plan

0-30 days (Base)

Start your own redirector, enable HSTS, CSP, SRI.

Enter HMAC signatures + 'ts/nonce', short tokens, unique 'click _ id'.

Convert conversions to S2S and collect alerts.

31-60 days (Amplification)

Connect WAF/bot filter, velocity rules, ASN blacklists.

Roll out dashboards: share of invalid signatures, postback delays, CR anomalies.

Audit domains (taipo), registration of protective variations.

61-90 days (Sustainability and Audit)

Conduct stress tests: mass clicks, tampering test, disabling third scripts.

Formalize SLA/incident management with network/operator.

Once a quarter - HMAC/JWT key rotation and policy revision.

Protecting partner links is not "hiding URLs at any cost," but building a trust loop: server redirect, cryptographic signature of parameters, short-lived tokens, S2S attribution, WAF and logging discipline. Add to this legal clarity and monitoring - and competitors will stop "finding money" in your links.