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

German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

gebloggendings.wordpress.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 155 posts

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#61

Post by sdoering »

onli wrote: post #18
_quasimodo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you recommend a paid european mail service?

Uberspace is the best Option, you just need your own Domain. Edit: I'll add an explanation. Uberspace ist a german hoster. It follows a pay what you want model (minimum: 1€) and practices data avoidance. For example, you can open an account and test it for a month, and then send money for that account to keep him, but you are never asked for your name. I just use it for mails right now, but I could also host a webpag…

I can second this.

you can host there, use ssh to do what ruby, node, python, php, perl, or what ever you wish, that does not need SU privileges, as it is a shared hosting model.

I am a customer for 24 month+ and am so unbelievable happy with these guys.

You have a question for their "support" at midnight (it is only these five guys and the do support themselves) and sometimes you get your answer at 2 o clock, because one of the guys was awake and just answered you.

These guys are nerds - and next to their business hosting wanted to build the perfect hosting for fellow nerds. Mission accomplished imho.

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#62

Post by DanAndersen »

adrianmn wrote: post #59
adrianb wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also people shouldn't be allowed to change the channel on tv when the ad breaks begin or even leave to use the toilet! They should be forced to sit and watch everything or else the ratings of the ads will not match the ones for the show. My point it: people mostly hated ads since they were invented. Be it by not looking at them on the street, changing channels on tv or installing AdBlock on your computer, they do the…

The TV ad example is a false analogy. If the page has ads that you don't want to see you can close it(no one forces you to watch it) or go for the toilet break. I agree that people hate ads and people also hate paying for things that can get for free(piracy). You guys are missing my point of ad blockers being borderline piracy and mainly try to justify your reason for using them.

It's not a false analogy at all. Muting the TV, changing the channel, or leaving the room when ads are on all deprive the advertiser their desired eyeballs to target. I believe that if TVs had been invented nowadays the mute functionality wouldn't be allowed during commercials because it would be seen as interfering with a profit model.

In many ways, Web ads are worse than TV ads because they often aren't switching between ads and content -- they are experienced at the same time. Most Webpages with ads aren't a commercial and then the content, it's the content with the commercials at the periphery of your vision. This means that without adblocking, the user cannot make the choice to read the content undistracted by commercials as they can with TV.

A closer analogy would be if TV shows came with commercials playing (sometimes with sound or popups) along all the borders of a TV show, and it was considered piracy to put a piece of cardboard over that ad-filled border. Muting is no different.

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#63

Post by smoe »

Trufa wrote: post #21
rjzzleep wrote: post #4

oh web.de easily the most dangerous free mail sites there is. it belongs to 1&1[1] one of the bigger internet companies in germany. it's really odd that no one ever shot them down. they are famous for tricking users into shady 2 year contracts, if they wanted to upgrade their 12 mb mailbox. they also upgraded the freemail to 500mb if and only if you would install their browser toolbar, which would change the mail ser…

I live in Austria now and it is amazing the amount of people who use GMX. I've been on a crusade to try to make people switch to, well, whatever but not that. I think it was one of the first ones around here and people got used to it and the status quo, most don't even know or care about how bad they've got it.

Can confirm. GMX was the first email provider I used, since it was cool because it was not hotmail and still had a lot of names available. I still use my 3 letter gmx account as a spambox nowadays.

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#64

Post by kuschku »

onli wrote: post #18
_quasimodo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you recommend a paid european mail service?

Uberspace is the best Option, you just need your own Domain. Edit: I'll add an explanation. Uberspace ist a german hoster. It follows a pay what you want model (minimum: 1€) and practices data avoidance. For example, you can open an account and test it for a month, and then send money for that account to keep him, but you are never asked for your name. I just use it for mails right now, but I could also host a webpag…

Oh, hi.

I'm also using uberspace, nice to see another uberspace-user here :)

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#65

Post by kuschku »

leonhandreke wrote: post #23
_quasimodo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you recommend a paid european mail service?

As was already said, any webhosting package with email will do. Here is a selection of hosters in Germany that I find have a clean website an pricing structure and therefore feel less cheap and more trustworthy to me. Hetzner: One of the bigger provider for hosting in Germany. They have their own datacenters in Bavaria. Manitu: Smaller, they also have their own datacenter. schokokeks.org: Small service run by a few t…

I think Hetzner has also some datacenters in Hamburg.

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#66

Post by belorn »

Filligree wrote: post #32
belorn wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An non-binding policy, how quaint! http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/contractsprof_blog/2010/08/... Even if you trusted such things, google will still do targeted ads. If DEA want to find drug users, all they have to do is ask google and they will use users emails to locate them.

Yes , Google will comply with law enforcement. Uh... what would you prefer they do instead?

Complying with lawful search warrants is one thing, doing targeting ads based on users behavior for money is something else.

Targeted ads can be anything from a DEA honeypot that advertise cheap drugs, to quick guide for easy tax evasion made by the IRS. It might be ads targeted at people with specific sexual preferences. Any search-able trait imaginable that Google can target is exploitable, and the policy document is an official intent to do so.

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#67

Post by Amezarak »

adrianmn wrote: post #57
r0h1n wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if users don't block ads but never click on one either?

That is a publisher and advertiser problem as they did not create an ad relevant and/or engaging enough. With retargeting ads this days it becomes easier to show relevant and targeted ads. Actually most HN-ers are leaving huge money on the table right now for not using the highest ROI ad channel - retargeting.

I am one hundred percent sure I have not ever intentionally clicked on or even looked at an ad, nor do I ever intend to, regardless of how relevant it is. I will never click on it.

That's why I use Adblock. It doesn't matter what you're showing me. I don't want it. Ever. This goes for offline, too. I don't watch TV except Netflix, partially because of ads. I don't listen to the radio, just my mp3 player.

What are you losing by me using Adblock?

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#69

Post by Intermernet »

icebraining wrote: post #20
Intermernet wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for Wikipedia...

TANSTAAFL doesn't require all beneficiaries to pay, just that someone must.

Yes, and therefore, as a Wikipedia contributor I've paid for other's "lunch". I feel they owe me nothing, so from their perspective that "lunch" was free.

Re: German freemail sites trick Firefox and Chrome users into removing AdBlock

#70

Post by blueskin_ »

Perseids wrote: post #19
blueskin_ wrote: post #10

I doubt even many users will be stupid enough to not only click some random fake error ad, but follow the advice of a dodgy site. Almost everyone who has adblock installed it knowingly, wanting the effect and knowing what it does.

What about all those friends and relatives we do tech support for. Most of them have not installed their addons on their own.

Some but not all. I've been mildly surprised to see family members running chrome (yes, I know, privacy issues with chrome, but better than IE...) or firefox with an ad blocker before.
Post reply on HN