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BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

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Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#81

Post by dsswh »

briandear wrote: post #63
dsswh wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not long ago, the economy was largely fueled by slavery. Yet we got rid of that.

Not exactly Godwin’s law, but pretty close. Comparing advertising and marketing to the ownership of human beings? Slavery infringed on the inalienable of human beings, the existence of advertising doesn’t take away my freedom or potentially subject me to beatings. It’s a ridiculous comparison. I am not a friend to intrusive ad-tech, but making a moral equivalence to slavery is to trivialize slavery. It’s like compari…

It's a valid comparison. Long ago it was ok to kill your enemy. Not long ago it was ok to have slaves. Today either is a sure way to end up in prison. Standards are rising. IT is a very new thing and the society and the laws are behind a bit. Adtech uses this to extract profit while it can. But this will end. Soon it will be a crime to store personal data: names, location, anything like that. GDPR is just the beginning. Adtech will fight, but it will lose. This business will disappear entirely, just like slave labor. In far future it will be a crime to be intrusive: any unwanted ads; and mining personal data will be seen like cannibalism today, i.e. even criminals will consider such people as freaks. Right now we are in the era of wild west in IT.

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#82

Post by JustSomeNobody »

behringer wrote: post #69
Spivak wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Things you get with systemd that you don't get with cron unless you implement them in the script. * Not running if the network is down. * Not running if the download path isn't available. * Running if the machine was off during the scheduled time. * Monitoring and retry logic. * Logging to syslog. * Resource constraints. * Random wait. It ends up being a lot of code factored out of the actual application.

so instead of code in one place you have it in 2?

I don’t understand this logic. Can you explain why having code in more than one place is a bad thing?

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#83

Post by misterdoubt »

rafaelvasco wrote: post #52

Reading the code one clearly sees why Python is so well suited for these kinds of applications, one-shot script executables: Really nice string ops, regex, file io etc. One of my favorite languages. The other is C# for everything else, that Python is not that suitable for: Huge complex codebases, type safeness, more strict performance requirements etc. Specially the static typing. The dynamism and lack of type annota…

If you haven't checked back lately, type annotations in Python are getting better and better. Built-in support via the typing module and a strong community package in mypy.

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#86

Post by gregw2 »

I have cron jobs on my mac that update my hosts files (to block "addictive" sites in my case (not ads)). It doesn't really work.

Browsers cache and use outside DNS servers despite the hosts files. Chrome and sometimes Safari don't really honor the hosts files 100% of the time. Every once in a while I google around to try and restore my control, try to tweak my browser settings but I have yet to find anything that makes using hosts files bulletproof.

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#87

Post by joyjoyjoy »

joyjoyjoy wrote: post #18
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #2

Python scripts to modify system files make me a little skittish, even with source code available. I think I would just as soon grab the hosts file from https://www.someonewhocares.org/ and drop it in myself.

Why?

I don't understand the downvote.

1. What is so bad about python in specific?

2. If you worry about root privileges, required for modifying the host file, you can use app armor to put the thing on a leash

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#88

Post by digitalni »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #2

Python scripts to modify system files make me a little skittish, even with source code available. I think I would just as soon grab the hosts file from https://www.someonewhocares.org/ and drop it in myself.

That hosts file is depressing. Blocking trackers by a1.tracker.name, a2.tracker. name etc. Today it seems easier to have a whitelist rather than blacklist...

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#89

Post by behringer »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #82
behringer wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so instead of code in one place you have it in 2?

I don’t understand this logic. Can you explain why having code in more than one place is a bad thing?

For a simple script that does one thing, it's overkill.

Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files

#90

Post by hlau »

harry8 wrote: post #74
hlau wrote: post #73

I'll be the first to admit that the existing advertising ecosystem is broken, primarily due to misaligned incentives across the board. But, given a choice, would you rather have a clearly labeled thing that you know is an ad transparently trying to influence you or a sneaky human billboard, err "influencer" coming up to you with an agenda along with tons of product placement in whatever you watch/read/listen to?

There's no either/or decision to be made here. You get compromised, paid for content with our without ads as well. Critical thinking I'd a requirement always.

There definitely is an either/or because blocking of one channel will naturally necessitate money/barter flowing to the other channel. One is at least transparent and regulated, the murky world of influence peddling isn't since it's hard for anyone to tell in the moment whether something is "organic" or not.
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