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Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

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Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#561

Post by Epuineeb5 »

MichaelCollins wrote: post #510
josephcsible wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a lot more than just banking apps. It's also McDonald's, Netflix, Snapchat, Pokemon Go, Super Mario Run, etc. Will you just stop using all of them too?

I've never used any of those apps. But McDonald's particularly? I know those other apps are popular, but who actually installs the app for a fast food restaurant? I thought this was something these companies wasted money on because they wanted to feel techy and trendy, I didn't think anybody actually fell for it though. Just walk up to the counter and say "I'll have number whatever"

I have unlocked bootloader (without actually rooting the phone) and McDonald's app is the only one refusing to work - i guess their coupons need more "security" than a banking app

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#562

Post by blacklight »

onion2k wrote: post #347
alexb_ wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

95% of users have no idea what any of this is.

Developer wages would crash through the floor and all the way down to the centre of the Earth if ad blockers really took off without users also accepting micropayments or subscriptions for web services at the same time. Maybe we should be a little bit glad that the main thing keeping massive amounts of money in tech is accepted by users. The key thing that most people in tech don't appear to grok very easily is that…

I'll be the happiest man in this world the day when the ads industry dies in a ball of fire after experiencing the most unspeakable pains conceivable in this universe.

Ads are keeping the whole IT industry as a hostage. Even Startpage, the last ad-free search engine I used to use (and one of the oldest on the market), has recently been purchased by an ads company. They've put their filthy hands everywhere, innovation today only happens if it benefits ads revenue, and most of the bleeding edge innovation in AI comes to solve the problem "how can I maximize the odds that users will click on an ad I put in front of their eyes?". What's worse, a lot of development time nowadays is spent either to develop new ways to block ads, or new ways to evade those blockers, instead of focusing engineering resources on things that are actually useful to society.

Ads are a curse to the industry and they have to die. And I really don't give a fuck if it will cause developer wages to go down. They'll go down only in companies that have relied only on ads and data surveillance to build their revenue, and I've always stayed away from those. Developers will have a chance of moving to companies that can pay them better and have more sustainable business models, once Google and Facebook will no longer be the coolest kids in town. Two decades down the line, and not only we haven't yet figured out a better way to make money through the Web, but the ads industry HAS BECOME the Web. We need a fucking reboot and we need it now.

At some point people will start to understand that they need to either pay for services, or host them themselves, and maybe they'll be more selective on what they use and who they send their data to. If I want service A, I pay for service A (like things work in every other industry), or I run it on my own server. I don't rely on someone who allegedly provides me service A for free, just to scoop out as much data about me as possible and resell it to opaque 3rd-parties so they can place more targeted ads in front of my eyes that I'm more likely to click. How the hell did we end up so tangled up in this grotesque and creepy shit that now we are unable even of conceiving an IT industry that doesn't rely on ads?

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#563

Post by raffraffraff »

jrm4 wrote: post #397
jrm4 wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoa. Customized adblocking DNS servers? This is definitely striking me as one of those "why didn't I think of that" and "why don't we already have a lot of this?" Any ideas? Seems like you could go wild with this and do something like "Tor"ify, or "torrentify" or dare I say "blockchain" it? Someone can probably school me on why this is harder than it sounds.

I think I misspoke. I understand Pi-Hole. What I'm talking about is publicly usable adblocking DNS servers. As in instead of me at home having to install anything, just (probably clear a cache or something) and change all my DNS servers to a public reachable-by-anyone DNS server. No installation.

I use NextDNS but I don't use it for adblock because if it breaks a website (which happens) I need a quick way around it that isn't a DNS change. I suppose I could use another browser that uses DNS over HTTPS via Cloudflare but I've chosen Firefox and uBlock origin. I use NextDNS to block actual websites like Twitter, Reddit and occasionally HN. It is nice to support a company that provides configurable DNS.

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#564

Post by sam0x17 »

Nadya wrote: post #534
sam0x17 wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think online advertising as we know it will be essentially dead by the end of the decade. Because most businesses are paying for google ads, you're basically paying a highway toll for the organic traffic you would get for free anyway, and advertisers haven't figured out the ruse. This whole idea that people search for A and are going to be willing to instead click on B if you put it at the top is super overblown --…

> And when people _are_ shopping around, they search for things like "best vpn providers 2022" Which coincidentally a number of VPN "review" sites were purchased and the lists "updated" to recommend a certain owner that I'm fairly certain at this point is a honeypot. https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-owns-expressvpn... https://www.techradar.com/news/pc-mag-owner-j2-global-buys-s... Kape Technologies was fo…

Completely right, but my point is it's the review sites / honeypots that move the needle on whether people will choose A over B, not A or B out-bidding each other in Google Ads.

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#565

Post by pjc50 »

1-6 wrote: post #212
bloopernova wrote: post #5

Firefox for Android with ublock origin makes my mobile web browsing sane again. Highly recommended.

When the free and open web starts getting expensive because of hosting costs, it becomes a open ad-laced web.

Over the 30 or so years that web hosting has existed, has it got cheaper or more expensive to host?

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#566

Post by neop1x »

adhesive_wombat wrote: post #81
bloopernova wrote: post #5

Firefox for Android with ublock origin makes my mobile web browsing sane again. Highly recommended.

We're all gonna be so screwed if Firefox dies.

I mainly use Kiwi browser on Android which is Chromium fork with full extension support and DevTools. It is not update very often and I can feel that they are in need of more maintainers but it still works best for me. I stopped using Firefox since they restricted addons and removed about:config

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#567

Post by neop1x »

smileybarry wrote: post #162

I started using NextDNS years ago and it's been a blessing. Blocks almost every ad on a DNS level on mobile devices, and on PC I still augment it with uBlock Origin. Per-device logs also let me debug connectivity if something breaks, and it's great for mapping local device names without mDNS debugging or some dnsmasq resolver lying around.

I think DNS-based blocking will eventually be less effective over time. It shouldn't be difficult to host ads on the main domain, modern distributed reverse proxies are very fast. So they will probably soon just stop using ad-only domains and host everything on the main one.

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#568

Post by j1elo »

squeaky-clean wrote: post #555
j1elo wrote: post #541

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Youtube's fault, as they could (should) require video creators to identify the start and end timestamps of sponsor segments, and then their player should just skip those automatically for logged-in, paying subscribers.

While I like this idea in isolation, I think it would just lead to sponsor insertion which is hard to skip. Like product placement in movies. You can't skip the sponsored segment if literally 100% of the video has HelloFresh boxes in the background, or if an important part of the video happens while the creator coincidentally eats a bowl of Keto cereal. Or what about those LinusTechTip videos where Intel gives them $…

You are right, but in essence this is Youtube's platforms, so they can tune the experience of their paying users. If I pay, I shouldn't see ads.

Videos don't have nipples around, or else they would get flagged, right? Do the same for unmarked ads. This is of course a handwavy way to propose a solution... the idea is that something could be done to improve the ad-free experience of viewers who pay. Otherwise, they'd better remain using the latest published version of Vanced, which even integrated SponsorBlock (again, pirates offering a better user experience!)

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#569

Post by mccorrinall »

scarface74 wrote: post #190
mccorrinall wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try Orion browser on iOS/iPad. Afaik it’s the only browser that implements web extensions, therefore you can install any native firefox or chrome extension from the store. It’s by the makers of kagi.

Well, the only browser on iOS if you exclude the one that’s built in. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/saf...

Apple’s web extension api is crippled.

Re: Google cracks down on VPN based adblockers

#570

Post by trasz »

endisneigh wrote: post #316
trasz wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same as now: Patreon. YouTube monetisation model is pretty useless except for Google itself.

Lol, YouTube has minted many millionaires.

Millionaires don’t matter except for marketing; median matters.
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