AfterDawn: News

Giant tech companies are paying Adblock Plus to make sure ads go through

According to a new report, tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon have been paying to have their ads whitelisted through the popular ad-blocking extension software Adblock Plus.

The report claims that the paid deal between the makers of Adblock Plus (Eyeo) and the tech companies allows the ads to get through the filter which would otherwise block them.



Eyeo has confirmed that they do indeed have a whitelist that is part of their "acceptable ads" program which allows "less aggressive" ads to bypass the filter. Users of the plugin can choose to accept the "acceptable ads" whitelist in which "by doing this you support websites that rely on advertising but choose to do it in a non-intrusive way."

Apparently, addition to the acceptable ads program is free for small companies, big companies are paying large fees to ensure their ads make it through.

Source:
FT

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Feb 2015 22:05

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• 17 comments

• hearme0

  I knew it!!!!!!!!!! Been suspecting this for the past 4 to 6 months.
  
  Time for a new Adblock solution maybe.
  
  Jagoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4.2.2015 12:26 #1

• ZippyDSM

  As long as its not video or crazy pops ups I do not mind.
  

  Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.
  
  ---
  Check out my crappy creations
  http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

  4.2.2015 13:23 #2

• USMCMAC

  I thought something was wrong when some ads would pop up when I thought they should be blocked. You can opt out of this by checking filter preferences and uncheck the non-intrusive advertising option which I did this morning. So far it seems to work, but I will defintely keep an eye on this.
  

  4.2.2015 14:31 #3

• Semperfipal

  Originally posted by USMCMAC: I thought something was wrong when some ads would pop up when I thought they should be blocked. You can opt out of this by checking filter preferences and uncheck the non-intrusive advertising option which I did this morning. So far it seems to work, but I will defintely keep an eye on this. I did this same thing. Hopefully this will work, if not, time to look for another ad blocker!
  

  "Do not underestimate the power of an enemy, no matter how great or small, to rise against you another day." - Atilla

  4.2.2015 14:36 #4

• ZippyDSM

  You can also turn it off if I read that correctly.
  

  Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.
  
  ---
  Check out my crappy creations
  http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

  4.2.2015 17:44 #5

• Mrguss

  FYI:
  If you have the latest CCleaner.
  It start acting like the ctfmon.exe
  Interfere with ad blockers & slow down your browsing, playback, downloads & Uploads.
  After use CCleaner, just turn it off.
  msconfig > Startup > etc.
  And at Taskbar: right click > exit
  - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-...-is-it-running/
  
  
  No Ads
  Ad Killer
  Ads no more
  Smart Ads Blocker
  

  Live Free or Die.
  The rule above all the rules is: Survive !
  Capitalism: Funnel most of the $$$ to the already rich.

  4.2.2015 18:09 #6

• megadunderhead

  Honestly this is why i am a mac user because i just edit one safari file every time safari updates and it blocks everything no ad block needed.
  

  5.2.2015 00:55 #7

• Menion

  This is old news and has been known for awhile, thats why i believe AdBlock Edge was created I have been using that forever now and don't have the problems.
  

  5.2.2015 03:19 #8

• scorpNZ

  Like menion have known about targeted ads since it was mentioned over a year ago & switched to adblock edge as well
  

  http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
  http://www.realmodscene.com/
  
  

  5.2.2015 03:48 #9

• bobiroc

  Originally posted by hearme0: I knew it!!!!!!!!!! Been suspecting this for the past 4 to 6 months.
  
  Time for a new Adblock solution maybe.
  
  Jagoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Should be a default feature of the browser like built in spellcheck.
  
  Originally posted by ZippyDSM: As long as its not video or crazy pops ups I do not mind. I am the same.. I do not mind the ads off to the side but the ones that take over the screen, are way too flashy, automatic playing videos, or force themselves in front of your face need to go. I cannot see how marketers think that is affective when all it does to me is piss me off and make me want to boycott that product.
  
  

  AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.
  
  http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

  5.2.2015 20:29 #10

• scorpNZ

  Originally posted by bobiroc: Originally posted by hearme0: I knew it!!!!!!!!!! Been suspecting this for the past 4 to 6 months.
  
  Time for a new Adblock solution maybe.
  
  Jagoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Should be a default feature of the browser like built in spellcheck.
  
  Originally posted by ZippyDSM: As long as its not video or crazy pops ups I do not mind. I am the same.. I do not mind the ads off to the side but the ones that take over the screen, are way too flashy, automatic playing videos, or force themselves in front of your face need to go. I cannot see how marketers think that is affective when all it does to me is piss me off and make me want to boycott that product.
  IE does have a blocker of sorts you can disable flash & pictures,the downside is if you want to view its a rigmarole to re-enable
  
  Are you talking about those bloody floating ones,yeah they piss me off,they act like some sort of widget crap,those side ones can be quite big on some sites as well.Anyone know of something that can stop them ?
  

  http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
  http://www.realmodscene.com/
  
  

  6.2.2015 14:01 #11

• Mrguss

  I'm allergic to M$, but in especial IE.
  The first thing I do when I get a new PC or Format; is to download other browsers & block the intrusive IE from my Machine:
  
  - How to disable IE from your PC using a dummy proxy server.
  At IE Browser:
  Tool > Internet Option... > Connections > LAN > Settings > "check" Use Proxy server > at Address 0.0.0.0 > at Port 80 > OK > OK
  
  Also if you like:
  Disable SSL3 Protocol and Enable TLS:
  At IE Browser:
  Tool > Internet Option... > Advanced > Settings > "Scroll down to" Security > "Un-check" Use SSL 3.0 & SSL 2.0 (if)
  > "Check" Use TLS 1.0, 1.1 & 1.2 (if) > Apply > OK
  
  P.S.
  IE is only important for updates.
  I only do updates when the PC really required them: once a year or so.
  
  Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Anyone know of something that can stop them ?
  
  This happen when ppl. looking for something using the wrong Search Engine like Google, Ask, Bing, etc.
  - All The Garbage advertisers are on the top and ALWAYS do not have what you looking for.
  - What you looking for is at the bottom of the page if they have not block those wed-pages yet.
  
  1.- Do not click on those top located links.
  2.- Ignore them, since they are sites full of garbage.
  3.- Use a better Search Engine like DuckDuckGo that do not block sites. spy on us or try to "sale" you something else.
  
  All this have to do with GREED dressed as ADS on all those particular Search Engines + Browsers that sale only garbage to the trash-men.
  
  Just my $0.02
  

  Live Free or Die.
  The rule above all the rules is: Survive !
  Capitalism: Funnel most of the $$$ to the already rich.

  6.2.2015 15:43 #12

• scorpNZ

  Yeah i've noticed some of those top results are fake & try to sell shit.Will try out duck...cheers
  

  http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
  http://www.realmodscene.com/
  
  

  7.2.2015 00:48 #13

• scopex

  First thing I do is disable non-intrusive ads when I install ABP. Nothing new here.
  

  11.2.2015 01:02 #14

• nashon

  in the US. u can buy anything with money. politicians, legislations, regulations, and even a free pass on adblock.
  

  weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~

  11.2.2015 02:15 #15

• DOS_equis

  Originally posted by hearme0: I knew it!!!!!!!!!! Been suspecting this for the past 4 to 6 months.
  
  Time for a new Adblock solution maybe.
  
  Jagoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Adblock edge is the replacement for adblock plus. This is kinda old news and has been going on for years. There were some news articles that popped up about it but they soon fizzled out. When I want to use an adblocker, I want a F**Kin adblocker and not an ad whitelister. It's one of the first things I do when setting up a new install of FF. Now, unfortunately I also have to turn off Yahoo search on new installs and updates since the new versions of FF have that as a default instead of Google.
  

  11.2.2015 12:11 #16

• AROAH

  Originally posted by megadunderhead: Honestly this is why i am a mac user because i just edit one safari file every time safari updates and it blocks everything no ad block needed. You mean the hosts file? The thing that's on Windows and Linux, as well?

  11.2.2015 13:55 #17