Click fraud and flick frauds played more than bit parts in this week's Wall Street review.

Cleaning up Google's act
How does Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) top a great quarterly report? Let's go with a clean sweep. The market may not have reacted to Google's fiscal performance, but there's some degree of comfort in Google getting a judge to agree to its $90 million click-fraud settlement.

Google is good for the greenbacks involved, and two-thirds of the settlement will go to the advertisers to whom the search giant needs to appeal. The settlement also sends the larger message that the company won't put up with unscrupulous clicks bleeding sponsors' marketing budgets dry.

Toward that end, Google began offering real-time click-fraud reports to its AdWords sponsors. Advertisers can now see the percentage of the leads generated for their sites that Google has tagged as bogus. Google has always made it a point not to charge advertisers for those clicks, but now it's providing a little color, letting sponsors know exactly how hard it's working to keep campaigns as pure as possible.

It's no secret that Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are aiming for Google's paid-search stronghold. Let's hope they take notes, because even if Google is never able to fully rid itself of click fraud, it's taking some bold steps to make the problem public instead of sweeping it under the rug.

Supply and video on demand
Shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) have been hit hard in recent weeks, so another smackdown after a disappointing quarterly report only provided battered investors with more of the same. The darkest cloud hanging over Netflix is video on demand, especially since several key players continue to improve their digitally delivered offerings.

I get that. But why is it that a profitable Netflix suddenly feels vulnerable, while a money-losing Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) gets somewhat of a free pass? Yes, Blockbuster's stock has been hammered, but that is because of the company's crummy financials, antsy creditors, and teetering model. Why isn't it taking the video-on-demand hit? Maybe it's some wacky notion that Blockbuster's physical presence can withstand the digital migration. In five years, maybe there won't be a single movie at Blockbuster, replaced by all of the microwave popcorn and plasma television sets that money can buy. Is it too late for Netflix to start renting out popcorn?

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

Netflix is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendation, while Microsoft has been singled out for Inside Value subscribers. Take the Fool newsletter of your choice for a free 30-day test drive.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield-wiper fluid when trying to look back. He does own shares in Netflix. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.