Rant on "ads"

You should be using an ad blocker.

That sentence deserves to be a paragraph on its own. Why? Because the ad blocker isn't actually blocking ads so much as it is blocking tracking data from your device being harvested by the website you're accessing and being sold to the advertising company. You aren't the customer the ads are intended for--you're the product being sold. That phrase made the rounds a few years back regarding Facebook, and I'm not talking about Facebook– I don't even use Facebook.

Ok, not sold yet? The way most ads work today is to insert script, code, or programming mumbo jumbo (pick your own phrase of these synonyms) into your browser that allows information to be taken from your computer. Read that again. They insert stuff into your computer to allow things to be taken out of your computer. Does that sound like a potential virus? That's because it is a potential virus.

As Lifehacker puts it:

Browsing online can be an infuriating (and at times impossible) experience, thanks to ads. They're visually intrusive and slow websites down—and in some cases, "malvertising" inserts malicious code into legitimate sites and ads to spread malware and compromise the security of your data. Even the most careful internet user can be at risk, which is why a good ad blocker is an important tool to cut back on both the ads you're served and the data advertisers collect about you.

Most ads you'll see are the type that are trying to collect your user data in order to better target you with ads. That may not seem too awful--I've had people yell at me that they like that--but there's simply no way it doesn't also open the door for criminal uses, such as inserting viruses, stealing private information, etc.

But, Philip, businesses need advertisements to survive.

They do. Here's the thing. Ad blockers don't and can't block what you and me think of as traditional ads. If you have an ad blocker turned on I'll prove it to you.

If you are using an ad blocker and can see the ADVERTISEMENT to sign up for this newsletter then you just saw an ADVERTISEMENT despite an ad blocker.

Or, how about this ad:

I even put the link to Coke's website on that so it is an actual ad.

So, anyway, any time a company tells you you're basically stealing from them because you have an ad blocker on remember they are complaining about you stopping them from stealing from you.

And if they ask, tell them to just use a jpeg photo with a link if they want to advertise.

Do yourself a favor and check out PC Magazine's December piece on the best ad blockers and pick one for yourself.