Blocking Spyware

[Poke]

Yeah would be nice if sites would use less ads..

 

[Foxbat]

I noticed that Forbes.com is now effectively blocked at work due to the script-stripping that occurs at the Corporate Firewall/Internet router. Forbes says I'm running an Ad-Blocker and refuses to let me in to read the article. Oh, well...

 

[harshness]

Even Forbes magazine has to pay to operate their website.

 

[king3pj]

That's definitely true. All of the free things we take advantage of on the internet have to make money somehow. In most cases that comes from advertising or selling user data to advertisers.

I use free email from Gmail and free anti-virus software from Avast and both of those make their money buy using our data. It's the price you pay for using "free" services. I obviously don't have a problem giving up data for certain services. Many people don't even realize this is happening though.

Avast does have an option to turn off your data sharing but it's buried in the settings that most people probably never bother to look at.

 

[Foxbat]

If Advertisers took the Malware threat seriously and not with the "well, it happens" attitude that seems to be the norm, I would stop using ad-blocking technology. Until then, I'm sorry.

 

[king3pj]

If Advertisers took the Malware threat seriously and not with the "well, it happens" attitude that seems to be the norm, I would stop using ad-blocking technology. Until then, I'm sorry.

The ones that really bother me are the sites that insist on using giant popups that block the screen for a set period of time. Even worse is that some of them play a video with sound. For me it's either running ad block in those situations or just not visiting their website ever again. I understand that websites need ad money to function but if they are actively making it a pain to visit their site it's a problem for me.

I don't worry about the malware as much since I don't have Flash or Java installed on any of my PCs.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yeah if you go to Gizmodo or Engadget you see those ads now which take over your screen with video. I hate those.

I just want to pay the bills not scare people away which is why I haven't added those ads, even though the ad agencies are pushing them HARD.

 

[Skytrooper]

I have Java on my PC. Seems like they always want me to update. Do I need Java? What would happen if I took it out?

 

[king3pj]

I have Java on my PC. Seems like they always want me to update. Do I need Java? What would happen if I took it out?

Depending on what you do on the internet probably nothing. In addition to the security flaws the constant updates were a big part of the reason I uninstalled it.

I have also removed flash from my PC and I will occasionally find the odd website that tells me I need to install Flash to do something. It's rare but it does happen from time to time. Since removing Java I don't think I have had a single website prompt me to install the Java plugin.

I'm no web expert but as far as I can tell Java and Flash are mostly used to display advertising content. I have found that most websites have HTML 5 versions of their videos so I don't need Flash and I don't play any browser based Java games.

 

[harshness]

I have Java on my PC. Seems like they always want me to update. Do I need Java? What would happen if I took it out?

It is hard to predict. Much of what used to be done through Java is now done through Javascript (not related). Some sites have a fallback plan such that if your browser doesn't support one, it will revert to another client-side programming system.

The only real problem I've had with Java is when their digital signature system catches a developer with their pants down and the application has to be updated with a new signature to run.

 

[Skytrooper]

Thanks for the info guys. I didn't know there was a difference between Java and JavaScript. I was leery of deleting it. I need JavaScript for certain things to function on my I Pad.

My PC has been running slow. Will delete Java and Flash on my PC later. Hope it speeds it up and stops the malware thing.

 

[Hall]

You can't remove Javascript. It's built into your browser(s).

I tried to remove Java but an app I use regularly is built using it (didn't know that when I removed it).

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[robk299]

You can't remove Javascript. It's built into your browser(s).

You might be able to disable it, though.