31 ms·

Tool lets you confuse Google’s ad network, and a test shows it works

imstate 6y ago
Unfortunately this is locked behind a paywall.
- monkin 6y ago
  You can use Reader Mode to read it in full (used Safari, but should work on anything else too).
  - imstate 6y ago
    Awesome, thanks for the tip!
- mattmanser 6y ago
  A paywall and a notice that they are deliberately ignoring GDPR and sharing data without consent.
ericra 6y ago
Here is a valid Wayback Machine cache: https://web.archive.org/web/20210224224056/https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/06/1015784/adsense-google-surveillance-adnauseam-obfuscation/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210224224056/https://www.techn...
gtirloni 6y ago
TL;DR; the tool is https://adnauseam.io https://adnauseam.io
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
phreack 6y ago
The article talks about AdNauseam, an extension that autoclicks every ad it finds to try and poison the data well, and that the creators found out that Google would accept most of those clicks and charge advertisers / pay out websites for them. What worries me is that running something like feels close to what would piss off Google the most, and be one of those things that suddenly and without explanation or recourse makes them kick you (and anyone associated with you) out of everything Google, like Gmail, YouTube, Drive, etc.
- antihero 6y ago
  I do feel like Google would absolutely permaban you for doing something to deliberately sabotage their profit model.
  - jakopo87 6y ago
    It is more likely for the owner of the website to be banned for "false clicks" because it is against AdSense ToS
- joncrane 6y ago
  Firefox now by default opens Facebook and Instagram in separate walled "container" tabs. Perhaps you could do the same thing with Google services? Would they be able to track by IP/user agent fingerprinting though?
  - reaperducer 6y ago
    IP, user agent, window size, available fonts, and a million other things that can't be escaped. It's us versus the self-proclaimed "smartest people in the room."
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - loudtieblahblah 6y ago
    because Google's stuff is so integrated into so many sites for many people - from analytics (which you have no choice of) to "Sign in with Google" (which you do), embedded Youtube videos, Gmail, Calendar, all the hosted libraries (jquery being the most popular), i just don't see a "google tab" are workable. I've tried making my own. The problem is even though I use ProtonMail, and Etesync (calendar) and tresorit (storage) and signal (messaging) and Duckduckgo and stay on Firefox unless i have no choice, is that i still end up with lots of stuff running in the same tab that is "non-google" simply b/c everything utilizes and embeds so many google services.
DoomHotel 6y ago
There is a link to a PDF of this article on the Ad Nauseam site: https://rednoise.org/AdNauseamVsGoogle.pdf https://rednoise.org/AdNauseamVsGoogle.pdf
ur-whale 6y ago
https://archive.is/Nj9NP https://archive.is/Nj9NP
floatingatoll 6y ago
Has anyone implemented WebExtension support for integrating things like AdNauseum into Pihole?
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

Unfortunately this is locked behind a paywall.

monkin 6y ago
You can use Reader Mode to read it in full (used Safari, but should work on anything else too).
- imstate 6y ago
  Awesome, thanks for the tip!
mattmanser 6y ago
A paywall and a notice that they are deliberately ignoring GDPR and sharing data without consent.

Here is a valid Wayback Machine cache: https://web.archive.org/web/20210224224056/https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/06/1015784/adsense-google-surveillance-adnauseam-obfuscation/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210224224056/https://www.techn...

gtirloni 6y ago

TL;DR; the tool is https://adnauseam.io https://adnauseam.io

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

phreack 6y ago

The article talks about AdNauseam, an extension that autoclicks every ad it finds to try and poison the data well, and that the creators found out that Google would accept most of those clicks and charge advertisers / pay out websites for them. What worries me is that running something like feels close to what would piss off Google the most, and be one of those things that suddenly and without explanation or recourse makes them kick you (and anyone associated with you) out of everything Google, like Gmail, YouTube, Drive, etc.

antihero 6y ago
I do feel like Google would absolutely permaban you for doing something to deliberately sabotage their profit model.
- jakopo87 6y ago
  It is more likely for the owner of the website to be banned for "false clicks" because it is against AdSense ToS
joncrane 6y ago
Firefox now by default opens Facebook and Instagram in separate walled "container" tabs. Perhaps you could do the same thing with Google services? Would they be able to track by IP/user agent fingerprinting though?
- reaperducer 6y ago
  IP, user agent, window size, available fonts, and a million other things that can't be escaped. It's us versus the self-proclaimed "smartest people in the room."
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- loudtieblahblah 6y ago
  because Google's stuff is so integrated into so many sites for many people - from analytics (which you have no choice of) to "Sign in with Google" (which you do), embedded Youtube videos, Gmail, Calendar, all the hosted libraries (jquery being the most popular), i just don't see a "google tab" are workable. I've tried making my own. The problem is even though I use ProtonMail, and Etesync (calendar) and tresorit (storage) and signal (messaging) and Duckduckgo and stay on Firefox unless i have no choice, is that i still end up with lots of stuff running in the same tab that is "non-google" simply b/c everything utilizes and embeds so many google services.

DoomHotel 6y ago

There is a link to a PDF of this article on the Ad Nauseam site: https://rednoise.org/AdNauseamVsGoogle.pdf https://rednoise.org/AdNauseamVsGoogle.pdf

ur-whale 6y ago

https://archive.is/Nj9NP https://archive.is/Nj9NP

floatingatoll 6y ago

Has anyone implemented WebExtension support for integrating things like AdNauseum into Pihole?

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]