# Ad Blocking

AdBlock is a blessing and a curse. Coincidentally, the webpage containing the GIMP.org malware article written by Ax Sharma hosts a slew of ads--around 270--and my AdBlock worked to block... some of them.



Even with AdBlock on, I am shown 2 ads that are supposedly considered "Acceptable Ads," a concept discussed by Sven Taylor. One is a banner ad for Otterbox, and one is a banner ad for fiverr. Adblock is a part of the Acceptable Ads program, one that allows certain ads to be displayed despite having an Ad Blocker. And although I do not have a tracking protection tool installed, these ads are not so much targeted toward me, as I have not looked into OtterBox or fiverr adjacent products or brands in recent times. Don Marti says to "give brand advertising a seat at the table" as a solution to creepy, unwelcoming targeted advertising, and I would have to agree: these non-overbearing brand ads are a little less harsh than spammy, crummy ads that send you to other webpages or pop up in your face.


Something to note is that upon entrance into the BleepingComputer article, I was greeted with a pop-up saying to turn off my ad blocker to "support free content." I find that many websites nowadays, especially ones containing news or journalism articles, are using these pop-ups to allow ads. I must admit, these pop-ups are not my favorite, yet I still find myself turning off my AdBlock when I encounter such pop-ups.


In my AdBlock journey, I visited another site that I know to contain ads: Quizlet. Interestingly enough, I was still shown banner ads despite my AdBlock being turned on, but the case was similar to what happened with BleepingComputer. The ads I was being shown were not particularly targeted and seemed to be casual brand ads, notably Kraft Singles and ToysRUs. Again, I have had nothing really to do with cheese and toys in recent times, so I would consider these ads to be targeted. Are "Acceptable Ads" just non-targeted ads from big brands?


In the final stretch of my AdBlock journey, I searched Reddit for sites to test my ad blocker. I came across a site called canyoublockit.com, a site used to test the efficiency of ad blockers:



I had AdBlock automatically turned on, and I was not shown any ads at first. Luckily, my ad blocker is efficient and useful, if you do not consider its failure at blocking "Acceptable Ads." Once I turned it off, I refreshed the page and was greeted with an immediate pop-up to install "Adobe Flash Player," as well as a slew of crummy banner ads. Though my ad blocker seems to do its job in blocking everything except Acceptable Ads, I have grown a higher appreciation of the Acceptable Ads program. I would prefer not to see the crummy, suspicious VPN and "Click here!" ads that were shown to me on the extreme Adblocker test website. I *would* prefer to see the friendly non-targeted brands shown to me on the Quizlet site.

Above all, I truly despise ads. With all my heart. However, there is a little cubicle of space in my heart for those "friendly" brand ads considered Acceptable. Would I rather see a banner ad for a Best Buy laptop or a pop-up "Click here!" ad for a bright and shiny new "protection" software? The answer is clear.