Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#51

Post by Silhouette » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:10 PM UTC

I use a range of blockers, but primarily for security, privacy and performance reasons rather than because I have anything against use of ads to support a site.

If I could allow reasonable ads but still guaranteeing that I would avoid the more hostile junk then I would, but unfortunately we haven't solved that problem yet.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#52

Post by coldpie » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:13 PM UTC

WoodenChair wrote: post #41

I don't use an ad blocker for ethical reasons, but I'm curious what sites everyone visits so often that have such devastating ads? Safari shows my top sites as Hulu, MacRumors, Hacker News, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Gmail, GitHub, Amazon, Stack Overflow, Chess.com, and Wikipedia. Ads don't bother me much on any of these.

I've used an adblocker on desktop for at least a decade, so I don't know what ads are like on desktop these days. But mobile is a different ballgame. I didn't use an adblocker for a couple years, and just put up with the wasted bandwidth and scrolling annoyance. But then the ads started talking, usually on how-to articles and the like. And the ads on a forum I visit began redirecting to porn sites and app stores.

I put up with that shit for a couple months, hoping it would clean itself up. But it didn't. So I installed Firefox with Adblock and now I never see ads and never will. I will be using an Adblocker on mobile for the rest of my life.

I see nothing unethical about this. The marketers abused their position, and now I'm punishing them for it. If websites can't support themselves without using this abusive business model, then perhaps they should go out of business.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#53

Post by eccp » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:14 PM UTC

bluedino wrote: post #11

No - but I do use a HOSTS file

In case anyone is looking for a good HOSTS file to use as a template: http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#54

Post by coldpie » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:16 PM UTC

theandrewbailey wrote: post #44

spingsprong wrote: post #19

Not specifically, but noScript + flashblock ends up blocking many adverts.

I installed NoScript several years ago, due to security concerns. I noticed most ads went away by accident. It makes Firefox much faster than stock Chrome.

For technical users, NoScript is a godsend. Pages load so quickly, and the pages are uncluttered with garbage "functionality". I wish there was some way to give it to non-technical users, but there really isn't, it's just too complex.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#55

Post by the-dude » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:17 PM UTC

Yes, but I have switched from ABP to router-based DNS blocking. I buy TPLINK WR841Ns for 18 euros and install DDWRT + dns-based ad-blocking script.

This works for all devices at once. ABP on Android sucks and is it even available on iOS?

I occasionaly sell these routers to family and friends as well.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#56

Post by louiscipher » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:17 PM UTC

bhaile wrote: post #37

Used ad blockers for so long that I forgot about animated ads or things hindering content. But then I read: https://blog.mozilla.org/nnethercote/2014/05/14/adblock-plus... So I have disabled it now and do see a performance improvement. I'll keep researching this to find the optimal solution. Flash and other plugins are set to click to play though.

I changed to adblock edge and haven't noticed any problems myself, but also run noscript & disconnect so those might be helping.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#57

Post by coldpie » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:17 PM UTC

sheetjs wrote: post #27

Is there any good solution for blocking ads on iOS? Many sites are flat out unusable on my iPhone thanks to the obnoxious ads that take more screen real estate than the content

Obviously won't work all the time, but you can set up a custom DNS server for when you're at home and block ad-serving domains.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#58

Post by dwild » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:17 PM UTC

arenaninja wrote: post #29

Absolutely, but I do regularly whitelist sites that I would like to support. I browsed without an ad-blocker because I always figured I would stand ads in exchange for free content, but the obnoxiousness has increased over the years: autoplay audio/video, HUGE flash banners (I remember my PC choking on the Yahoo! homepage on the first day I decided it was time to install an ad-blocker: it was an oversized flash ad fo…

I don't know what I do right but I never see any annoying ads. The only automatic video I get are the one from Facebook and they are from people on my friends list.

I remember seeing theses oversize flash ads but that was a long time ago.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#59

Post by dankoss » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:19 PM UTC

I use OpenDNS from my router to block ad domains on all my devices, as well as Adblock. You have to add some custom domains to hit the major sources, but it works reasonably well when you're at home.

Re: Poll: Do you use an ad-blocker?

#60

Post by coldpie » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 5:19 PM UTC

spats wrote: post #9

no, don't be parasite

Marketers broke "the contract" first.