- cross-posted to:
- privacy@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- privacy@lemmy.ml
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Don’t a majority of them also use Chrome? Because they’re going to find that their adblockers are less and less effective.
That’s yet another reason to use a DNS as blocker, and not let your browser use DNS over https.
I haven’t done it myself yet, but I figure that sooner or later I’ll need to update my router to block all outbound DNS that doesn’t go through my DNS ad blocker. Some devices try to use their own hardcoded DNS to get around them…
No, it’s another reason to use Firefox. A Brower that is not owned and managed by an advertisement company.
DNS-based ad blocking is unfortunately much less effective. It’s still better than nothing though, that’s for sure.
A multi-layered approach is the best approach. My pi-hole blocks advertising domains, malware domains, etc. That helps tremendously with all the “smart” devices that include DVRs, streaming devices, etc. where you can’t install something like ublock. I also make sure something like ublock is installed wherever possible.
Yup. I’ve got DNS, IP lists, zenarmor, and browser extensions
I mean… you could just use Firefox and uBlock Origin. Works great.
DNS blocking is about the only way to block ads & tracking on things like streaming devices. You can’t install Firefox or uBlock on an Apple TV for example. You can block ads on many of the apps on the Apple TV as well as all the telemetry they try to collect with a well configured pi-hole and selected DNS blocklists.
True, but using a computer with an adblocker and a second gen Chromecast (which you don’t need Chrome for) also eliminates that.
Why shouldn’t you let your browser use DNS over HTTPS?
Because dns ad blocking is typically done with something like dnsmasq which doesn’t support DNS over HTTPS, though it’s easy enough to setup a resolver/forwarder that does
Because then it can bypass your ad-blocking DNS
DNS over HTTPS was a great idea for privacy if left in your hands, but immediately ran into the reality of intrusive advertising
That’s because ads fucking suck
Back in the day, major news sites like the BBC ran ads that were infected with malware that then infected computers. These weren’t shady sites like people expect you to get viruses from.
Installed an ad blocker the day that news broke and never looked back. Ads are potentially harmful to your devices.
The WoW forums around 2012 had a virus infect thousands of computers before blizzard removed it. It was a 3rd party ad that was spreading the virus.
I remember that, thousands of people got keyloggers and their accounts compromised. Then Blizzard tried to blame those people for getting infected, from the Blizzard website.
This is still an issue today.
Says a company that makes an ad blocker
This is the best summary I could come up with:
More than half of Americans are using ad blocking software, and among advertising, programming, and security professionals that fraction is more like two-thirds to three-quarters.
More striking are the figures cited for technically savvy users who have worked at least five years in their respective fields – veteran advertisers, programmers, and cybersecurity experts.
“People who know how the internet works – because they work as developers or in security or in advertising – they’ve all over the years decided that it was a good idea to use a tracker blocker or content blocker or adblocker, whatever you call it,” said Jean-Paul Schmetz, CEO of Ghostery, in an interview with The Register.
“It’s pretty unanimous that people who work in this industry and know how these things function want to protect themselves.”
Schmetz said one surprising finding had to do with the extent to which people trust various companies that collect online data.
But truly the best way to support The Register is to sign up for a free account, comment on stories, share our links, and spread the word of our honest independent IT journalism.
The original article contains 681 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
I am surprised the reason for blocking ads doessn’t include making sites somewhat readable. I guess faster loading could be it? But generally it’s more of a layout problem than a bandwidth one.
I tend to not use adblockers, or when I do it’s on a black list system for worst offenders rather than by default. However, I absolutely refuse tracking, and if it’s the only option I go to firefox reader mode immediately.
The usual false dichotomy of “personalised ads or you’re killing us!” is not acceptable.
Ad tech IS the tracking, so if you’re not blocking ads, you’re not actually refusing said tracking. I think you might be conflating cookies with being tracking (they are), but that’s only a part of it.
I wonder why ad tech can‘t be „Let‘s show ads that correspond to what‘s being talked about on that website.“ Kinda like what Google suggested with Topics but without following me through the internet.
Because that’s not as profitable. That’s it. That’s the reason.
Don‘t you just hate it when
When capitalism
I wonder why ad tech can‘t be „Let‘s show ads that correspond to what‘s being talked about on that website.“ Kinda like what Google suggested with Topics but without following me through the internet.
They could be. Sites could talk directly to advertisers, and put the ad directly into the page itself instead of asking the ad server for a random ad. Most ad blockers probably wouldn’t notice it because it’s part of the actual page.
But then they’d lose out on the tracking data and would be responsible to make sure the ad doesn’t annoy the shit out of you, so they’re not going to do that.
Look, you need to understand that advertisers are Hell-bent on forcibly extracting as much money from you as possible. If they could strap you to a chair, hold your eyes open like in A Clockwork Orange, and then charge you for everything you so much as glanced at, they absolutely would.
If that’s not how you want to live, then they are your enemy.
You know i think i understand companies sometimes but then i keep being baffeld at how evil a company can be.
Apple for example had me surprised with the reaction to the DMA and i previously thought that they couldn‘t possibly suck harder wirh alö their anti-repair stuff.
I still have a bone to pick with Tim Cook himself for rendering my well working Mac Mini 2012 unusable for my app development job by simply not updating Xcode and introducing a breaking change that prevented me from adding support for new iOS versions to old Xcode.
The saddest part is, companies used to be required to act in the common good, but the courts have gradually jettisoned that concept for mostly bullshit reasons.
There is no real technical challenge in displaying ads that are based on the page content. But ads based on tracking users is much more profitable. Plus they can sell the data collected to anyone else that is interested.
I guess faster loading could be it? But generally it’s more of a layout problem than a bandwidth one.
There was a website which I allowed ads on to help support them. One day, I went to that site in my browser and my laptop fans spun up at that time. Turns out that ads on that site caused my processor usage to spike near 100%. A reload fixed the issue. Once that same thing happened 2 to 3 more times, I just blocked all ads on that site from then on.
There are times that people can’t throw the resources of an Intel i5 processor towards rendering the advertisements on one website. I would think that is more common these days with Chromebooks running the modern equivalent of a Celeron processor. Phones also don’t have much processing power to give and will warm up and drain batteries all towards the all important goal of “render those advertisements”.
I think people tend to allow advertising until it becomes a major problem that needs resolved (such as if the site is bogging down your computer or if the advertising makes the site unable to be read easily). Since those people would then need to fix the issue and hopefully fix it for good, it is easy and efficient to just block out all advertising forever.
I use them on my personal systems but not my work laptop. I have to use an ad blocker on my phone because so many sites, including “respected” news organizations, are an absolute mess when ads are enabled.
It’s bad when you go to one of the top news company’s websites in the US and there’s a pile of content covered by advertisements. I guess I didn’t need to read those sentences anyway.
Theres people who dont use ad blocker? Do they also not use the internet?
Had a front end dev who didn’t use adblocker.
Sometimes I temporarily disable mine to make sure it’s not silently breaking any of my layout or anything, but not using one at all? That’s bonkers.
I suspect 98% of Apple users don’t block ads
none of my classmates or teachers use adblockers. i didn’t expect this in a university. most don’t even know what i’m talking about when i recomment ublock…
I thought the text said “stop AIDS” but practically the same thing.
I dislike the fact that “ads” can also include crapware being injected into my computer (viruses, tracking cookies, mysterious scripts, etc).
And there are so many scam ads that look like UI buttons and such. I can see why people get fooled sometimes. Those sort of ads should automatically be rejected by af networks and the sites that host them. But $$$
Is this still really a thing? I remember getting some viruses from ads in the very early days of the internet, like late 90s / early 2000s, but can’t remember getting anything in at least the last ten years.
It’s currently late and I am on my phone, so I can’t research this too well, but for example this thread and official Microsoft link discusses th Adrozek malware which injects you with unwanted ads and information directly from your browser.
Sure, it’s not a virus in the older sense of the term where someone either burns your drive or takes over your computer and locks you out asking for a ransom, but it’s still piloting you unsuspectingly and you don’t want it.
If you had nothing to hide, you wouldn’t mind Trojans! /s
and among advertising, programming, and security professionals that fraction is more like two-thirds to three-quarters
Leopards, face etc
Highly unlikely, but hopefully one day.
Ad blocker is kind of a sad name for a content/spam filter, a vital security tool, but that’s what we got. Especially since browsers naively didn’t include filtering and block lists by default and they only became common as add-ons.
Does anyone ever actually click on an ad? Like “hey thats cool I wanna check it out/buy it right here right now”?
I have adblockers active everywhere and only disable then somtimes for specific sites that really don’t work otherwise, but even if the unlikely case would come up that something is interesting I would just look it up separately? Mostly I just turn a blind eye on them anyway, but just wondering, some people gotta really click/buy from these ads? It just seems so surreal to me…
I have ad blockers everywhere, except native mobile apps. I’ve clicked on an Instagram ad for shirts. I bought the shirts. People keep complimenting me on the shirts. No regrets there
Not only did my late father-in-law click on ads, he also clicked on spam emails. Yes, his computer was super slow and I regularly had to clean off the malware.
My wife does. But she’s a sucker for “a good deal”
I dont ever click on them myself, but if I start searching for something I need/want, and I see a brand I’m familiar with thru advertising, I’m more likely to explore their product, at least. Simply just because, “of I’ve heard of this before”
Brand recognition is one of the key goals for running ads, it works.
But these are never real deals are they? At least I saw maaaaaaany bullshit fake deals, cant remember anything legit ever…
I also found my mum buying crap of instagram a while ago, but i kinda got to her to be a bit more mindful what she clicks on.
I know ad rates and metrics are heavily based around click through, but does it even actually matter? I mean, TV ads are big money expensive, and nobody has ever clicked on those. I guess if you’re advertising a shitty mobile game or something then it matters, but does McDonalds or whatever even want you to buy a hamburger before you watch a YouTube video? That doesn’t really make a lot of sense.
As you’ve noticed, there are different types of ads. Not all have clicks as their goal. Some are just there to make you think about their brand, for example.
People definitely do. CTR (click through rate) is generally pretty low, even before the majority of Americans were using ad blocks. But it’s not 0
I’ve personally clicked on Instagram ads and made purchases from them. This has pretty much always been for various events, and I don’t really have any regrets there. I’ve seen some cool plays and gone to parties that I’d never have known about otherwise.
I can’t imagine what would ever drive someone to click on a random banner ad though.
The only obvious ad I’ve ever clicked on was for a “free” IQ test. I figured I’d never done one cause they’re fake, but I had time to kill, so I clicked through. After 20 mins or so answering questions, it ended on a transaction page. The only way to see your “results” was by paying $20. I obviously didn’t pay, and instead tried to report the ad, only to discover that Google Ads has zero mechanism to even report scams to Google. After some research, it turned out that this blatant bait and switch scam had been operating via Google Ads for like 5 or 7 years. Google doesn’t give a fuck if scammers use it’s ad tech to scam your grandma or inject your system with malware, as long as they get paid for the privilege.
I’ve always used an ad blocker, but the whole experience reinforced how anti-consumer and pro-criminal surveillance capitalism is. Permanent absolute ad block — without exceptions — is how everyone should operate, because none of these companies deserve any trust whatsoever.
The EU is currently testing a new payment framework that would make payments faster and easier and also enable very small payments.
This could finally enable micropayments in browsers (well, in Firefox and maybe Safari) which would eliminate intermediaries like Google and all the scummy ad companies and enable websites to work out deals directly with visitors on the spot (pay a very small amount like a cent or a fraction of a cent to read this article).
Obviously, Google will need to be dragged kicking and screaming into this.
I’m still not paying a fraction of a cent for the obviously LLM-generated bullshit that has flooded the internet.
And yet for content I can be reasonably sure is actually human generated (read: niche enough to not have been flooded to the point I no longer can trust the “usual”/“big” sites) I might consider paying for server costs a little.
If you’re walking around somewhere and you see a person or people offering a “free personality test,” do not take them up on their offer. They’re Scientologists. They once refused to let my mother leave back in the 70s until she said she would start screaming “rape.”
The only obvious ad I’ve ever clicked on was for a “free” IQ test. I figured I’d never done one cause they’re fake, but I had time to kill, so I clicked through.
That click should have lead you to a page that says ‘you failed’. 😂
Some folks still raw dog the net? Wrap that shit up
Unlike when your friends or parents might raw dog, you can put that adblock condom on their computers for them.
tbh it feels like most people I know use chrome or even edge without any extensions
Most Firefox users have never used extensions either. https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/extensions-addons/heres-whats-going-on-in-the-world-of-extensions/
How is that even possible when I see plenty of extensions with millions of users? 😅
even without darkreader!
How do I do that on iPhone?
Set your DNS to next DNS https://nextdns.io
Edit: Ah sorry didn’t realize this was already answered.
You answered better and thanks for the link. It’s this a free service?
I’m using adguard but I’ve heard the owners are possibly unscrupulous.
That is a free service and I really like it make sure you read their website basically when you sign up which requires no login it’ll give you a unique dns entry to use as your DNS
The reason I like this one is it’s not just ad blocking it fixing a bunch of anti-tracking and other features
Thanks!
You can install Orion browser by Kagi and install extensions from Firefox like AdBlock Plus
AdGuard still works well but there are other safari extensions. At home I use eero ad blocking which works well for a maintenance free blocker.
I use FireFox on my phone.
Some VPNs like Mullvad actually have an option in their app to block ads, gambling stuff, etc.
They don’t catch everything, but work pretty well.
The iCondom
I’m sorry? lol
It’s a condom for your i
Like a contact lens?
Sir, this is a
Wendy’siCream shop
Can you install Firefox?
In Firefox you should be able to install the add-on “uBlock origin”. No additional tweaking of settings required.
With Firefox you can browse the web including pages like YouTube.
Can’t use add-ons for iOS Firefox as far as I can find
You can use “extensions” for Safari, and there are at least a couple ad blocking extensions. I use Purify, and it works pretty well at blocking ads
You can soon in the EU
Only if you agree to giving your first-born child to Apple.
Since there are so many assholes trying to meme on you instead of trying to help you,
https://adguard.com/kb/adguard-for-ios/solving-problems/system-wide-filtering/
I bought the complete app for I think $12 and it is awesome and does exactly what I need. They give you a very generous trial time.
DAE hate iPhone!?! LOL
Thanks a lot! I’m trying to set it up now
You can do that by selling it and buying an Android.
Can you use a blocker on Android or is per app the best we can do?
I use an adblocking DNS plus UBO on Firefox
Its as simple as setting your Private DNS to something like
dns.adguard.comin Network settings > Advanced
Tracker Control on Android works well for system-wide tracker and ad blocking, and you can configure custom blocking rules per-app. Works without root by using a VPN profile (but no data leaves your device via the VPN, it just routes the traffic through this app).
Set your DNS servers to dns.adguard-dns.com (Settings > search for DNS). Also you should install the DDG app and enable App Tracking Protection. You don’t actually have to use the browser portion of the app for it to work. After doing these two things, ads and trackers will be blocked in every app.
“an Android”
You know, like a Nintendo.
I tried. I have to wait another 13 months or pay an extra $500 because when I signed up they gave me an iPhone SE for free and if I upgrade to soon I have to pay it off and I don’t get the next phone for free either.
Verizon is shifty af
So Verizon gave you a phone for no upfront cost, and they’re shitty for making you pay for it if you decide to dash away early?
Fascinating threshold for shitty behavior you have.
It’s an Iphone SE 22. I would end up paying more than it’s worth to switch phones due to fees. Shitty behavior? Smug asshole.
If the cost of not voluntarily choosing to get myself into bad contracts is being a smug asshole, so be it.
No, it’s you. Its your demeanor.
I can’t believe people still do that. You aren’t saving money and you’re locked in 2 years. I guess if that’s that only kind of financing you can get.
I guess if that’s that only kind of financing you can get.
That’s exactly what it is. Look up the statistics on how many people can’t afford an unexpected $500 bill. Most people simply don’t have the money to pay out of pocket for what smartphones actually cost, so they’re stuck with exploitation, or nothing.
Seems odd because you can get fully functioning smartphones for like $200.
As somebody who’s been purchasing my phones directly from the OEM at full price since 2016, I see this as being crazy. It’s made me realize for certain that I don’t need the absolute newest thing, and so I always go with mid-range devices. I feel like people who buy their devices outright don’t buy mini iPhones LOL. If they do, they hold on to them longer, treat them better, or buy them used. So some other fool takes the hit of depreciation.
How is it not saving money if they give me a phone for free though? I’m not sure what you mean.
If the phone costs $500, they simply increase your monthly bill by $500 / 24 months = $20 a month.
It’s a bit more complicated than this, and they’ll likely have some interest built in as well, but functionally, it’s no different than being given a loan to buy the phone and then paying the loan off over the two years. That’s why carriers often require a credit check before doing this.
Oh no Verizon is making you do the fucking shit you signed up and agreed to do oh no the horror!
It’s an Iphone SE 22. I would end up paying more than it’s worth to switch phones due to fees. I hope whatever is hurting your heart mends.
Oh my heart is fantastic, Suzanne, but thanks for your concern.
I just don’t go online and complain about the terms of legal contracts that I signed while blaming the company for being the bad guys for setting forth the terms that you, again, agreed to.
🤦
RIght. You go online and act like an asshole, which is much worse. You’ve posted 75 times in a wrestling community in less than a week. You’re lonely and lashing out.
Instead of selling, you could also just throw it in the trash
At least, you can change your DNS to one who blocks ads. It’s not as efficient as uBlock origin and system wide on Android. But, it’s better than nothing.
Back when I had an iPhone I used Orion. It’s not perfect, but it blocked the vast majority of ads for me.
Ghostery addon for safari is solid.
I’ll check it out. Thanks.
I use a Safari extension called Purify. It’s in the App Store. Works pretty well for me.
(I also use a pi-hole at home)
Similar for me - 1Blocker and pi-hole at home. Then I also VPN to my home when outside to continue the pi-hole filter.
I also use iCloud relay with non-precise location.
You can use https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dnscloak-secure-dns-client/id1452162351
To set a DNS based adblock, it is easy to setup, opensource, and free.
I have been on Android for a long time but I still have an old iPhone that works fine for reading articles. Bonus, there is no Sim in it so no one can call me. It’s my drinking coffee device.
With an ad blocking dns.
https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html
Go down to the configure manually option and follow the instructions for iPhone.
I think next guard is also supposed to be decent, but they won’t let you use it without an account.
The nice thing about the dns approach is it works for more than just your web browser. There’s a bunch of Android games that are essentially unplayable without an adblocking dns.
As a disclaimer, a bunch of sites are ramping up requiring enabling ads or they won’t let you load the content. I’m ok with just hitting back and not viewing those sites, but my MIL just asked for help removing the ad guard dns because her news sites wouldn’t let her in.
Thank you!
As a quick and easy alternative, you can set it to automatically open sites in reader mode. I’ve been trying that lately and it definitely helps although also mixed results where sites block part of their content from reader mode.
With automatic reader mode, I click to hide reader much less often than I formerly clicked to enable it
Definitely look into Next DNS. There are also some Safari extensions that can block ads.
I also suggest buying refurbished unlocked phones in the future instead of going for the carrier freebies which you can see are scams designed to lock you into paying for their overpriced service each month for over a year.
Yeah, can you take a “Veteran cybersecurity expert” who doesn’t generally use an adblocker serious?
Security knowledge and ethical concerns are two separate things. Whether we like it or not, we pay online creators through private data we must give to entities who will use it against our best interests.
Uh the safest thing you can do for your PC is an ad-blocker. Advertising companies don’t even pretend to not put malware up as legitimate ads.
It isn’t an ethical concern and hasn’t been since the 90s. It is a security concern to allow ads as an attack vector.
What a great argument! You didn’t even read the first sentence…
It isn’t an ethical concern and hasn’t been since the 90s.
You’ll have to explain to me how not compensating someone for their work has been ethical since the 90s.
You’ll have to explain to me how not compensating someone for their work has been ethical since the 90s.
Opening my computer up to Malware is not worth the fraction of a penny that the person who did the work will receive from my click.
To the person receiving the money, it is worth it. Else they wouldn’t be doing it.
I’m glad to hear they are willing to sacrifice the safety of my system for their fraction of a penny.
https://www.statista.com/chart/29626/ads-blocked-removed-by-google-by-enforced-policy/
Deceptive Ads & Malware Make Up Bulk of Blocked Google Ads
…
5.2 Billion Bad Ads removed in 2022. 1.8 Billion more than in 2021.
Were they removed? Yes. Did they show up prior to removal to real human beings? Also yes.
https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/malvertising-statistics/
in the first half of 2023 alone, with phishing URLs leading the charge with a 140.7% increase.
…
Security Gladiators reports that on average, of every 100 ads that are published, at least 1 contains malicious code.
…
A report by Confiant found that in Q3 of 2021, 1 of every 108 ad impressions was highly disruptive or dangerous.
…
Safety Detectives’ malvertising report showed that the global cost of malware was $500 billion per year in 2015, but in 2021 that figure cost an average of $500 billion per month.
Cool story bro but you clearly still didn’t even read the first sentence of what I wrote.
I don’t give a shit how they get paid because the method they chose violates my personal safety.
I’m done arguing with an obvious troll.
Yes and that’s precisely the point. You can make the decision not to pay and there are good reasons to do so (I do so too) but you must recognise that someone is still not getting paid for their work.
Whaat‽ You mean auto downloading and executing foreign JavaScript in a users webpage from some server/CDN I might not even know myself as an ad company could be an attack vector? Never!
(This mostly for those people who may not know that some [most? Dunno don’t have a source for this] ad networks literally allow advertisers to inject small chunks of html into pages for “more interactive/better ads”!!)
executing foreign JavaScript
This is a great point I try to convey to my less-technical friends and family. Looking at a webpage is not like changing the channel on a tv of old. Looking at a webpage pulls code from who knows where and executes it on your local machine.
These advertisers expect that I should blindly trust them to execute code on my cpu, in my memory, on my machine? Yeah fuck that, it’s a privilege. I don’t invite every hobo walking by to come into my house and take a shit in my toilet.
If they don’t like that not everyone executes their syphilis-ridden javascript, then they should put their shit behind a paywall. But they won’t, since they know they don’t have a product worth paying for.
Fuck that. We don’t have to give them anything. They need to show they actually have put in the effort to protect their viewers. Until then, I refuse to do anything less than use everything available to me to block their ads. The days of whitelisting websites is over.
Hahahaha!
Ublock: Origin plugin on each browser, and/or a proper piHole style DNS blocker. Anything else is probably capturing your data to sell.
