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Cool. Yes they deliberatly block chrome extension on mobile chrome, as then ublock usage on mobile would explode. Together with myth of mobile ads. Do not evi

by rdslw 10y ago

Cool. Yes they deliberatly block chrome extension on mobile chrome, as then ublock usage on mobile would explode. Together with myth of mobile ads. Do not evil. Riiiight. As long as it does not hamper our profit.

unethical_ban 10y ago
Some googler will come in and say "That's not our motto anymore, dummy". To which I'll say - Think about that. Is saying, "Well, we can be shitty now that our motto no longer prohibits it" really a good excuse?
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  Technically "Do the right thing" also inherently suggests not doing evil. Though the full motto should probably be "Do the right thing for Larry Page's yacht budget".
- delroth 10y ago
  No Googler will come and tell you that since "Don't be evil" are literally the first 3 words of the published Google code of conduct: https://abc.xyz/investor/other/google-code-of-conduct.html https://abc.xyz/investor/other/google-code-of-conduct.html I'm not sure why you think this has changed.
  - jacquesm 10y ago
    > I'm not sure why you think this has changed. Actions speak louder than words.
    - wu-ikkyu 10y ago
      Is "Don't be evil" something that really needs to be said anyway? Couldn't have set the bar much lower.
    - jbpetersen 10y ago
      Privacy is evil?
  - unethical_ban 10y ago
    Well, I've seen it on HN before, where people are called out specifically for stating that it is (was) Google's motto.
problems 10y ago
Yup, use Firefox for Android if you want proper mobile adblocking. In fact it works on several download sites which fail in Chrome for some reason.
Kenji 10y ago
On mobile, rooting and using a hosts file to block malicious/ad domains is better anyway.
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  Rooting isn't supported on many devices. E.g., my Samsung Galaxy Tab A. Fuck Google. Fuck Samsung. Fuck Android.
- optionalparens 10y ago
  True to some degree, but rooting can be a pain on devices that make you do it again after an update. For me, the bigger issue with a hosts file is that it doesn't cover conditional cases. For instance, there are times when I want to read some comments or play a video, or even unblock a single page element, but otherwise I want to block that stuff entirely. Facebook comments is one example. My recommendation is still to do both. Hosts file covers other apps nicely like stupid in-app banner ads, while using Firefox or something with ad-blocking extensions still lets you browse the web without breaking some sites entirely.
- kuschku 10y ago
  If you root, you won’t be able to use Android Pay (an advertised feature of the device) anymore due to the recent changes to SafetyNet that now trigger if even the bootloader isn’t locked.
  - Kenji 10y ago
    Well, we have root access. Can't we completely stump and destroy this stupid safety net? This should have a very high priority for anyone who cares about open smartphone systems. There should be a safety net remover that simply strips all safety net API calls off a program and inserts all valid flags by default.
    - kuschku 10y ago
      The issue is the way it happens. SafetyNet actually sends its results to a Google server, which validates that they’re properly signed, and then sends a message to the backend of the app. The only way to successfully break it is by emulating or replacing SafetyNet on the device, but as part of it runs in TrustZone, that’s not easily possible.

by rdslw 10y ago

unethical_ban 10y ago

Some googler will come in and say "That's not our motto anymore, dummy". To which I'll say - Think about that. Is saying, "Well, we can be shitty now that our motto no longer prohibits it" really a good excuse?

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
Technically "Do the right thing" also inherently suggests not doing evil. Though the full motto should probably be "Do the right thing for Larry Page's yacht budget".
delroth 10y ago
No Googler will come and tell you that since "Don't be evil" are literally the first 3 words of the published Google code of conduct: https://abc.xyz/investor/other/google-code-of-conduct.html https://abc.xyz/investor/other/google-code-of-conduct.html I'm not sure why you think this has changed.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  > I'm not sure why you think this has changed. Actions speak louder than words.
  - wu-ikkyu 10y ago
    Is "Don't be evil" something that really needs to be said anyway? Couldn't have set the bar much lower.
  - jbpetersen 10y ago
    Privacy is evil?
- unethical_ban 10y ago
  Well, I've seen it on HN before, where people are called out specifically for stating that it is (was) Google's motto.

problems 10y ago

Yup, use Firefox for Android if you want proper mobile adblocking. In fact it works on several download sites which fail in Chrome for some reason.

Kenji 10y ago

On mobile, rooting and using a hosts file to block malicious/ad domains is better anyway.

dredmorbius 10y ago
Rooting isn't supported on many devices. E.g., my Samsung Galaxy Tab A. Fuck Google. Fuck Samsung. Fuck Android.
optionalparens 10y ago
True to some degree, but rooting can be a pain on devices that make you do it again after an update. For me, the bigger issue with a hosts file is that it doesn't cover conditional cases. For instance, there are times when I want to read some comments or play a video, or even unblock a single page element, but otherwise I want to block that stuff entirely. Facebook comments is one example. My recommendation is still to do both. Hosts file covers other apps nicely like stupid in-app banner ads, while using Firefox or something with ad-blocking extensions still lets you browse the web without breaking some sites entirely.
kuschku 10y ago
If you root, you won’t be able to use Android Pay (an advertised feature of the device) anymore due to the recent changes to SafetyNet that now trigger if even the bootloader isn’t locked.
- Kenji 10y ago
  Well, we have root access. Can't we completely stump and destroy this stupid safety net? This should have a very high priority for anyone who cares about open smartphone systems. There should be a safety net remover that simply strips all safety net API calls off a program and inserts all valid flags by default.
  - kuschku 10y ago
    The issue is the way it happens. SafetyNet actually sends its results to a Google server, which validates that they’re properly signed, and then sends a message to the backend of the app. The only way to successfully break it is by emulating or replacing SafetyNet on the device, but as part of it runs in TrustZone, that’s not easily possible.