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OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO to DigitalXeron

Premium Member

to DigitalXeron

Re: Advertisement Industry: Going too far?

said by DigitalXeron:

if ad networks want to profile us, let us begin profiling them.

One way to do it is to use hosts file for blocking ad networks. There is a plenty of published sources of those files. Another way is to use active tools, that recognize ads on a fly and block them immediately. For example, I use Proxomitron with Sidki's filters, that does excellent job protecting all my browsers from ads. Even simple browser configuration to always block third party cookies and allow only session cookies (if at all) can make the difference. But...

I think the problem is with overall laziness and lack of education (or even elementary thinking about what's going on) of those, who daily browse the Internet. It's them, who facilitate the development of ad network. And in vast majority they don't care...

DigitalXeron
There is a lack of sanity
join:2003-12-17
Hamilton, ON

2 edits

DigitalXeron

Member

said by OZO:

said by DigitalXeron:

if ad networks want to profile us, let us begin profiling them.

One way to do it is to use hosts file for blocking ad networks. There is a plenty of published sources of those files. Another way is to use active tools, that recognize ads on a fly and block them immediately. For example, I use Proxomitron with Sidki's filters, that does excellent job protecting all my browsers from ads. Even simple browser configuration to always block third party cookies and allow only session cookies (if at all) can make the difference. But...

I think the problem is with overall laziness and lack of education (or even elementary thinking about what's going on) of those, who daily browse the Internet. It's them, who facilitate the development of ad network. And in vast majority they don't care...

As I said prior, those block lists that only serve to say "This is an ad, it is bad" will do nothing in this situation other than have collateral damage of negatively impacting smaller/medium-sized websites — they do little more than just improve user experience for the time being until the ad companies find ways around that block with new domains or javascript techniques or when they fundamentally own/control a popular site. What is in fact needed above that is something to outright state that the ad network or media agency is a bad player, that they're facilitating malicious activity, something to say "These ads served by that ad network are malicious".

At the moment individuals can filter, filter, filter but at the end of the day, indeed there is a lack of education but that's because few like I am trying to do here will educate *WHY* ad networks are negatively impacting the Internet, what they are doing and to name names critically of companies doing these acts, not just domain names, but to take who's behind those domains and show to the world what brands are pushing these malicious activities. For instance, with download.com, it's easy to say "Don't download from there, it's bad" and nothing further said on it, but it's harder to say things like "download.com which is owned and operated by CBS Interactive is pushing malware and is displaying unclear advertisements in a hazardous manner".

These blocklists are often not even looked at to see what's on them, and what is omitted, I wager less than 10% of users actually review the lists even in terse to see what names are on them, just chucking them into the ad blocker and going about their merry way, no education, no nothing.

I don't expect everyday users to be 100% educated on the matter, but it'd serve us well to outline the problems going on that extend beyond just the ad banners on websites into the general media forum where ad networks and advertising companies are in possession of entire popular websites (download.com, Google.com) or have great influence over other websites (various with Facebook) and can obtain information of users easily.