> You ran WHAT script on your machine?!
BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
71–80 of 97 posts
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#72Earlier 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…
> Comparing advertising and marketing to the ownership of human beings?
That's not exactly what happened here.
OP repeated the beginning of a truism: "ads fund the development of the web while at the same time causing a whole host of severe problems for its users (individually and as a whole)."
OP left a hole where the italized part of the truism should be.
OP asked HN to fill that hole.
On a side devoted to tech/software, it's either low effort or bad-faith to ask others to fill a hole in such a well-known truism.
In light of this I offer up a countervailing law, "Loki's Law:"
"If you leave a Hitler-sized hole in your argument, expect it to be filled accordingly."
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#73I'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?
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#74I'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.
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#75[deleted]
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ads have gotten to a point where they hamper user experience. My problem with most of the ads is the amount of js tracking junk and 3rd party A/B calls that grinds the browser to a halt.
Do you mind FB ads which are pretty smooth experiences?
I rarely use FB. However their Ads are lightweight and pleasant to interact with but I don’t think they have an ad serving platform for publishers on the web like Google and others do. If they do I am not aware of it.
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you mind FB ads which are pretty smooth experiences?
I rarely use FB. However their Ads are lightweight and pleasant to interact with but I don’t think they have an ad serving platform for publishers on the web like Google and others do. If they do I am not aware of it.
They don't
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm quite precise about about what these tools can and cannot do on my systems. Downloading random files form the Internet isn't on the list. When you hand over the control of the hosts file to someone else, you're basically transfer control of your DNS queries.
At least for HTTP, you're hopefully using TLS for anything important and failing if the certificate isn't valid. That certainly won't remove all the risks of losing control of your DNS, but it's one good safeguard.
Some of my favorite hacks in the last year have been about using valid certs for bad actions. When you can have a cert from Microsoft (Azure), there’s a lot of things people will trust.
Along similar lines, I think I heard that 30% of detected malware was signed with a “trusted” authority last year.
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#79Hosts files slow down the system as well as the browser itself. Get/create a browser extension to actually block the request (at least while your browser supports this) so you get immediate results.
Re: BeGoneAds – A Python script that blocks ads by installing common hosts files
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also don't understand systemd integration in the todo.
The goal here is to make it automatically update the hosts file once in a while
Doesn’t automation of editing your hosts file potentially open people up to fairly insidious man in the middle attacks?