Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

dhowe.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 253 posts

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#191

Post by zmmmmm »

cbr wrote: post #77
adjwilli wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not endorsing AdNauseam, but the idea is that the information the ad companies track will be useless since the target person will appear to have clicked on every ad regardless of true interest in the product. For instance it will make it appear that a single, heterosexual male is interested beauty products or diapers.

"this user clicks on absolutely everything we put in front of them" seems really easy to filter out...

It would almost certainly be filtered out as an outlier in any sensible algorithm. With all the bots that routinely scan web pages for all kinds of reasons I am sure that filtering out the "clicked on every ad" behavior is probably particularly well handled at this point.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#192

Post by vdaniuk »

ivanca wrote: post #180
forca wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is advocating anything except not tracking users. I already block ads like most people here. They are a vector for malware, they track users, they sell that data. Make money by charging for content. I miss the old days when people had to pay for stuff with tangible money, not with their anonymity. I would gladly pay to access content I found useful, just no tracking. Be content with the money and move on. No n…

I repeat myself: Its extremely naive to believe everyone who needs access to the content in the internet has a credit card to pay for every bit of it that they need.

You are absolutely correct, this is a very important issue that tends to be overlooked in the debate because of the anti-ad zealots.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#193

Post by DanBC »

JimmyM wrote: post #65
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. People forget, we half-stumbled into this ad supported content idea. The only thing keeping it that way is inertia. I think we've finally started to feel the limits -- it means being tracked 24-7. Enough already. We can do better than this.

I'd be interested in a "Kickstarter for articles" sort of site. Interesting article pitches presented to an audience, those that are most useful, interesting or unique are funded and writers get paid slightly more directly for their work. The difficulty would be determining whether to cut off certain types of content from the site, and where the line gets drawn on extreme material.

A bit like ProPublica?

http://www.propublica.org

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#194

Post by tombrossman »

einrealist wrote: post #86
forca wrote: post #19

I realize this won't be popular, but I really have no feelings for ad networks. - They allow shoddy security on their servers - They track users against their will - Info on me is sold w/o my knowledge or consent - Ads are a poor business model since they can be blocked - There is no moral imperative for me to view ads since I've paid to access the Interwebs I block all ads, tracking cookies, beacons, all of it... I…

I guess, they feel pretty secure, because there are many devices with no or limited ad-block capabilities like phones and tablets. (Or are there addons for my ios Safari that work without jailbracking the device?)

As a workaround, you can use custom firmware (like DD-WRT) on your home router with a custom hosts file to block all ads. It takes some work and is only good for when you are home and connected to WiFi, but after you set it up it's great because all devices on your LAN are protected.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#195

Post by ChuckMcM »

Interesting, blocking and click fraud all in one package :-) As many sites live and die by their "traffic quality score" this seems like it would negatively impact that in a serious way. It seems to me that could get a site in trouble with its ad network, and if it were Google there have been examples where it just gets all of its ad revenue revoked/tossed without resource.

So it seems like this might kill smaller indie sites if it became popular. Is that the goal?

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#196

Post by Nursie »

[deleted] wrote: post #165
forca wrote: post #19

I realize this won't be popular, but I really have no feelings for ad networks. - They allow shoddy security on their servers - They track users against their will - Info on me is sold w/o my knowledge or consent - Ads are a poor business model since they can be blocked - There is no moral imperative for me to view ads since I've paid to access the Interwebs I block all ads, tracking cookies, beacons, all of it... I…

[deleted]

Not really.

I have no intention of viewing your ads. I'd be happy to state that in an http header. Or you could detect it. Then you could serve me or not, as you wish.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#197

Post by wpietri »

[deleted] wrote: post #165
forca wrote: post #19

I realize this won't be popular, but I really have no feelings for ad networks. - They allow shoddy security on their servers - They track users against their will - Info on me is sold w/o my knowledge or consent - Ads are a poor business model since they can be blocked - There is no moral imperative for me to view ads since I've paid to access the Interwebs I block all ads, tracking cookies, beacons, all of it... I…

[deleted]

Says a guy whose job is selling your attention to advertisers. As Sinclair said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

The analogy is, of course, false, in that restaurants have a substantial marginal cost of production per meal consumed. Publishers today don't. A better analogy would be walking by and enjoying the smells coming from the kitchen, or looking in and appreciating their decor. A still-better analogy would be borrowing a friend's book to read, or reading something at the public library. Or, horror of horrors, listening to NPR without donating.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#198

Post by einrealist »

tombrossman wrote: post #194
einrealist wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess, they feel pretty secure, because there are many devices with no or limited ad-block capabilities like phones and tablets. (Or are there addons for my ios Safari that work without jailbracking the device?)

As a workaround, you can use custom firmware (like DD-WRT) on your home router with a custom hosts file to block all ads. It takes some work and is only good for when you are home and connected to WiFi, but after you set it up it's great because all devices on your LAN are protected.

Unfortunately, I am traveling most of the time and depend on mobile internet access or (the usual shitty) hotel APs. But thanks for this advice.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#199

Post by Nursie »

justinpaulson wrote: post #93

"AdNauseam serves as a means of amplifying users' discontent with advertising networks that disregard privacy and facilitate bulk surveillance agendas." Is it really a privacy issue to track what ads you click and use that information to target advertisements to you later? I never understand the outrage against targeted ads. You are going to get ads no matter what. That is how "free" content works. Would you rather t…

Anything that actually interests me I will research for myself. I'm not going to click your ad and swallow your marketing blurb and then buy yours. I know that you're the last person that is going to give me anything close to honest information about how your product or service stacks up to the competition.

So no, targeted ads are no different to random ones - spin, misinformation, occasionally outright lies.

Re: Ad blocker that clicks on the ads

#200

Post by WorldWideWayne »

rebel wrote: post #16

It's a shame this is even receiving front page publicity. This is ultimately terrible for everyone except maybe a few anarchists that think they deserve every websites information for free while sabotaging the publishers who work to develop the sites. And if it actually were to take off, it would then be bad for the anarchists who no longer get that free access to the information they wanted. Who wins? Edit: Seriousl…

I think it's a great idea for people who hate the ad networks. It's totally legal and if enough people use it, maybe the ad networks will stop being so nosy and stop serving malware.

> This is how you kill the sites you actually visit.

Good. Kill your darlings. Maybe they'll come back with a way of making money that doesn't involve infecting people's computers with malware.

Post reply on HN