# Ad blocking

It’s a marketer’s world and we are just living in it. At this point, almost every piece of media we consume, article we read, and website we visit is intertwined with sponsored content and paid posts. With society increasingly become more centered around technology it is only fair to assume that advertisements would follow the same path. Cookies from third-party websites allow for users to be tracked and is what enables targeted ads to be assigned to individuals. Don Marti’s article [“Targeted advertising considered harmful”](http://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/) dives into how most ads are created in a way to signal to their targeted audience that they have the money to spend on advertising. This perspective demonstrates how technological ads have many purposes. Not only do they want their product to be perceived but they want their company to be viewed as reputable. Additionally, before these ads can be seen, they need to be properly targeted towards the right market. When targeting works out, it can allow for the most likely consumers of a product to see the ad. If it doesn’t, it is a waste of money.


While advertisers may spend time and money to perfectly curate an ad, it is not to say that their target market will necessarily want to see it. If anything, most people go as far as downloading ad blockers to limit the number of ads that they see as they browse the internet. These ad blockers are a threat to advertisers and the number of people their ad reaches. Sven Taylor’s article [“Advertisers are paying off ad-blockers to show users ‘acceptable ads’”](https://restoreprivacy.com/report-ad-blockers-allowing-acceptable-ads/) explores the role of ad blockers and their relationship with the Acceptable Ads program. An ad that would fit in this program are seen as not intrusive. The video below is a promotional video for an ad blocker called AdGuard, that explains why users would download an ad blocker to begin with.

<iframe width="600" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbMnnkBesEg" title="Block ads and protect your personal data | AdGuard" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Many individuals feel the need to download ad blocking software to protect themselves from targeted ads and also reduce the number of ads they see as they browse the web. However, Ax Sharma’s article [“Google ad for GIMP.org served info-stealing malware via lookalike site”](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-ad-for-gimporg-served-info-stealing-malware-via-lookalike-site/) describes how “GIMP.org” was replicated and and the duplicate was a phishing website. This displays the unfortunate reality of the internet as of now. User’s information and track history is highly sought after which is what results in these duplicate websites. It also emphasizes the importance of users doing everything they can to protect themselves. This includes downloading ad blockers and also being mindful of how you navigate through the internet.

To see the effect of what an ad blocker will do, I visited a site twice. The first time without the ad blocker downloaded and a second time with it downloaded. The first image below depicts what a daily mail article looked like before the ad blocker, UBlock Origin, was used. The second image below depicts what the website looks like after Ublock Origin was installed. This drastic difference represents how helpful ad blockers can be. The only ad still on the screen after the ad blocker was employed, is one that relays to another feature on the website.