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AdNauseam Browser Extension Quietly Clicks On Blocked Ads

Posted by timothy on from the you-like-this-and-this-and-this dept.

New submitter stephenpeters writes The AdNauseam browser extension claims to click on each ad you have blocked with AdBlock in an attempt to obfuscate your browsing data. Officially launched mid November at the Digital Labour conference in New York, the authors hope this extension will register with advertisers as a protest against their pervasive monitoring of users online activities. It will be interesting to see how automated ad click browser extensions will affect the online ad arms race. Especially as French publishers are currently planning to sue Eyeo GmbH, the publishers of Adblock. This might obfuscate the meaning of the clicks, but what if it just encourages the ad sellers to claim even higher click-through rates as a selling point?

5 of 285 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Isn't that click fraud? by Roodvlees · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you were an advertiser you should reconsider using annoying adds.

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  2. Re:Isn't that click fraud? by TWX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't see how it's fraud for a user to choose how to voluntarily use a service that they're not obligated to use, when there's no signed contract or even terribly binding agreement between the user and the entity from whom they're retrieving content. If the entity serving the content doesn't like what the user is doing, they're free to block the user.

    Remember, these are the same people that complain when you fast-forward through commercials, and have tried to make legal arguments to prevent one from being able to do that.

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    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  3. Re:All for poisioning the well by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Of course there is no downside from your perspective, since your perspective is that of a little child. If you don't like they way a site operates, don't use it. Is that so fucking hard? Or are you just one of those freetards who thinks you have a right to everyone else's work, and they should get no benefit from it?

    If you lack the technical skills to prevent me from blocking your ads, don't piss and moan if I do. If you do have the technical skills to force me to see ads, you'll never see me again because your site will be complete crap.

    It's a self leveling problem.

    But don't act like you are legally entitled to me seeing or clicking on ads and allowing all of the trackers and analytics companies to provide you with information. That's not my problem.

    If you're a big and successful site, you won't notice the small amount of reduction in ads from me (which I was never going to click on anyway). If you're a crappy and struggling site ... well, that's kind of your problem.

    Blocking those analytics and ads companies is what I'm gonna do. You do what you want to do, and either your web site will succeed or fail.

    But I don't owe you advertising revenue. I don't have an obligation to your advertisers. I don't owe you a damned thing, and you don't owe me anything.

    Either I can view your site with the crap blocked, or I can't. But the internet is full of other websites. Just don't expect that I'm going to give permission to 3rd parties to track me just to help you pay the bills.

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  4. Re:Isn't that click fraud? by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I was an advertiser, I'd be pissed.

    Well, the reality is ... you as an advertiser don't get a vote what I do in my browser.

    You want me to view and click ads? Well, you'll have to pay me. Paying some other guy to embed shit in his web pages which I'm "required" to view? Kind of bullshit, and not happening.

    If you're not paying me, then you don't matter, and I don't owe you a damned thing.

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  5. Re:Isn't that click fraud? by Deathlizard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But other people have the checkbox set to permit unobtrusive ads.

    I don't, and everyone I set up doesn't either, and it isn't because I hate all Ads. It's because I hate Removing Adware and viruses.

    All of the unobtrusive ad's I've seen from adblock plus contain some link to a malicious download. Don't believe me? do the VLC Test.

    1) Turn on Unobtrusive ads
    2) Go to Google (or Bing, or Yahoo, Or Ask, ETC.)
    3) Search for "VLC Media Player" (As a side note, DuckDuckGo is the few Search engines that do this right, but still serves malicious ads once in awile. Use "Libreoffice" or "Openoffice" Instead of VLC for an example)
    4) Click on the first link you see. If the first link you see is an ad, click on it.
    5) Download the installer ***WARNING!! Do not run it unless you Enjoy Cleaning viruses for fun!***
    6) Go to virustotal.com, and submit the file for analysis
    7) Watch the detections go off the charts.

    I get roughly 3-7 pc's a week in our shop infected by adware caused by malicious ads that would be otherwise considered unobtrusive. If ad firms would clean up their act, and refuse malicious content ads or obvious scams then I would be more receptive of turning it on. Until then They're no different than a trojan downloader to me.

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    In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!