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I want to write a browser extension that automatically clicks all ads seen, loads the page in a hidden tab, and closes it. It would be pretty painful for the o
by cwkoss 11y ago
I want to write a browser extension that automatically clicks all ads seen, loads the page in a hidden tab, and closes it.
It would be pretty painful for the online ad markets, as their effectiveness rates could easily be cut in half with a dozen people on their site that click every ad without viewing the results. So few people interact with ads, that a small cohort of 100% active users would overwhelm data with noise.
But, in the short term, you'd be supporting all the websites you browse until advertisers discover a way to filter out your false clicks.
- greglindahl 11y agoThere are so many "click bots" out there already that your extension probably wouldn't change much!
- semi-extrinsic 11y agoHypothetically: if I were to create a random website with ads and then have clickbots click those ads, would that make me money?
- Animats 11y agoYes.[1] About $6 billion a year is made that way. [1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/23/us-advertising-cyberfraud-idUSKBN0MJ0Z820150323 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/23/us-advertising-cyb...
- logfromblammo 11y agoTo avoid accusations of fraud, you should have your clickbots randomly click ads on every site they can find except those that you control. If enough people do the same, without any formal agreements or informal collusion, you would all be able to get ad revenue without any one person having fraudulent intent. The only way for an ad-provider to counter would be to insert in your agreement that you are not allowed to click on any ads, not just those that appear on your own sites. And then ad-blocking would become an ethical obligation for you.