---
# System prepended metadata

title: Adblocking

---

# Adblocking

## Before uBlock

### Forbes before:

#### **Initial load in:**
![Initial load in](https://i.imgur.com/Zvcvb91.jpg)

#### **Front page:**
![](https://i.imgur.com/yGYWu0h.jpg)

#### **Lower front page:**
![](https://i.imgur.com/Yt81sKd.jpg)

#### **Inside article:**
![](https://i.imgur.com/aGQntZq.jpg)


## After uBlock:

### Initial load in: the ad is **GONE**

#### **Front page:**
![](https://i.imgur.com/SQohIbl.jpg)

#### **Lower front page:**
![](https://i.imgur.com/PrjnNIr.jpg)

#### **Inside article:**
![](https://i.imgur.com/XopEnlN.png)

---

## Adblock Readings

Even adblockers aren't safe from the grasp of capitalism.
 
[Ads have become more and more invasive.](https://hackmd.io/@cazmingu/HJEBhtOVi#2--Reflection-on-Online-Advertising) We have regular ads that follow us around, soaking in our information. Ads help "inform" the potential buyer about the product that is being marketed to them. Though what separates good seller ads from bad seller ads is signaling.

#### "Signaling is an action that sends a credible message to a potential counterparty".

Basically, the more costly an ad is made out to be, the more the buyer is more likely to want to buy it. It shows how confident they are about their product.

We also have ads like [gimp](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-ad-for-gimporg-served-info-stealing-malware-via-lookalike-site/) that trick us to get even more information out of our devices. Malware is hidden behind an ad; specifically, an ad for a website the user would usually visit and feel safe clicking on. Once clicked on, the info-stealing trojan attaches itself to your software.
 
How this gimp malware scheme happened is a mystery to me. If Google states that "both display and landing page URLs should be within the same website. This means that the display URL in your ad needs to match the domain that visitors land on when they click on your ad." then how are gilimp and glimp similar?
 
With invasiveness online comes the ability to shield yourself from it. Ad blockers are the saviors of our privacy. ***Kind of***. Now Ad blockers are getting paid out. Instead of blocking all the ads on any site, you go on, they block obnoxious ads and allow some ads to go through. Similarly to those who are paid to write positive reviews on products, companies like google can pay to have their ads bypass the blocker. This sneaky way of still getting ads viewed is just an extra security measure for those companies to maintain their access to your information.