Reply to: Web ads are becoming very focused

[Ignis Fatuus]

Adbock is good. Otherwise, don't use Google - use Scroogle if you want it, but certainly don't "sign up" to anything, and don't use gmail. Like commercial television, many internet services are not there to deliver content to you, but to deliver you to advertisers.

Try switching off cookies completely, but you may find that any site where you actually want to be recognised, or to log in, will not work. Basically from a site/browser point of view, what you want from your bank, or even from CUK, is exactly what you don't want from ads.

I haven't tried the custom hosts file but I may do so. I am trying to "browse" less, and view desired information more (obviously within limits, or I wouldn't be on CUK).

BTW does anyone have good info on Flash Cookies? AIUI they are not controlled by your browser settings, not deleted when you Delete Cookies, and may be placed anywhere so can't all be found easily.

BTW there is an opposing view that it is the ads that pay for the sites, so viewing the sites while blocking the ads, is a form of theft. This view is admittedly not held by many other than advertisers.

[TimberWolf]

Do people get local results in Google? For instance if I type "coffee", I get a whole load of coffee shops in my area. I have signed up to iGoogle though.

[Sysman]

Another reason to block web ads

Two of the Internet's biggest advertising networks - DoubleClick and MSN - were delivering malware to customers last week.

Writing in his bog, insecurity expert Wayne Huang, of Armorize, claimed a group of attackers was able to trick the networks into displaying their ads by impersonating an online advertising provider.

[mudskipper]

It's the gmail ads that get me. Even a non-direct reference to something in an email gets ads related to it.

[NickFitz]

Reminds me of the 'good old days' of the internet when hotmail allowed the all new html emails (about 2000) sans filter. I don't think I've ever seen such smut before or since.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: using HTML for email is like putting sound effects on your phone calls. Just say <em>no</em>.

[The_Equalizer]

Reminds me of the 'good old days' of the internet when hotmail allowed the all new html emails (about 2000) sans filter. I don't think I've ever seen such smut before or since.

[Zippy]

I find the host file to be pretty effective. You need to update it every so often, but it seems to work well. The only functionality that it screwed up was Channel 4 on demand. Just needed to comment those lines out of the file and it came back again though.

It buggers up the Google 'paid for' search results too. Shame.

[GreenLabel]

Conversely, when following a link to something completely unrelated to IT, I've recently started getting ads on data centre products.

Noscript used to keep ads down to an acceptable level for me, but the level of ads has recently started to get out of hand. I'll have to add an adblocker or munge my hosts file...

I find the host file to be pretty effective. You need to update it every so often, but it seems to work well. The only functionality that it screwed up was Channel 4 on demand. Just needed to comment those lines out of the file and it came back again though.

[Sysman]

We had another discussion about sheds on here a while back, so I went looking for some. Every other flaming ad was for sheds for a day after that.

Conversely, when following a link to something completely unrelated to IT, I've recently started getting ads on data centre products.

Noscript used to keep ads down to an acceptable level for me, but the level of ads has recently started to get out of hand. I'll have to add an adblocker or munge my hosts file...

[MarillionFan]

I thinlk we should try to confuse them. Visit a site for 'marital aids', then go to one that flogs stairlifts, then one that sells bouncy castles.

How did you get a copy of my internet history?

[TimberWolf]

I feel Google brings up more adverts in the top search results than it used to.

[Zippy]

I noticed that. I visited the Sun newspaper and was taken aback to see an advert for Business Objects on a page about the X-Factor (what luck I thought and went to click it. Then though b@stards!)

I thinlk we should try to confuse them. Visit a site for 'marital aids', then go to one that flogs stairlifts, then one that sells bouncy castles.

[RichardCranium]

Adverts? On web sites? On the Internet? Really?

I haven't seen one of those for some years now.

AdBlock Plus for Firefox, sorted.

Oh, yeah. That's why.

[MarillionFan]

We had another discussion about sheds on here a while back, so I went looking for some. Every other flaming ad was for sheds for a day after that.

I noticed that. I visited the Sun newspaper and was taken aback to see an advert for Business Objects on a page about the X-Factor (what luck I thought and went to click it. Then though b@stards!)

[Zippy]

We had another discussion about sheds on here a while back, so I went looking for some. Every other flaming ad was for sheds for a day after that.