Posts by Hstubbe

Ad-blocker blocking websites face legal peril at hands of privacy bods

Ads are bad, mmkay

Privacy is dead, thanks to totalitarian countries such as the US and Russia with their KGB mentality.

However, there's also a security aspect here. Ad networks are quite a popular vector for spreading malware, which is the primary reason I use an adblocker. And when a site owner declares 'I don't care about your online security, eat the ads some shady company puts on my website', they deserve bankrupcy. It's irresponsible, and causes big economic damage world-wide.

Ad network operators and site owners that force ads upon unsuspecting users are malware-spreading crooks and should be locked up behind bars.

Making money is no excuse for providing a conduit for malware

It is not so much the privacy concern (we're all screwed on that front anyway with the yanks and their KGB mentality) that bothers me, it's the security side. Ads have been used and are used as a vector to spread malware on many occassions. So if a site owner tells me (by installing an ad-blocker detector on their site): 'hey, i want to make money and I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice your online security for that', I say 'well, thanks but no thanks'. With an ad-blocker the web is a much better and somewhat safer place.

The ad business is a corrupt business where the only important thing is generating revenue for the ad-businesses themselves, no matter what the privacy and security impact is. The people who operate the ad networks and the people who use ad networks are crooks in my eyes, and should be locked up.