5 ms·

I use AdBlock and Ghostery. Ghostery is super useful. It throws out so much crap that I am not interested in. On sites like techcrunch, engadget or thenextweb i

by st3fan 15y ago

I use AdBlock and Ghostery. Ghostery is super useful. It throws out so much crap that I am not interested in. On sites like techcrunch, engadget or thenextweb it usually cuts the number of requests in half. Rant: It is sure getting out of hand in a big way: it is not uncommon for tech news sites to send you 1.5 MB of crap surrounding a simple 200 word story. I am getting so tired of that. Specially on mobile. My iPad has a 250 MB data limit, so with 10 pages like that I am already on 50% of my cap. Which is ridiculous. Maybe it is time for some serious server-side proxy filtering. Like moving things like AdBlock and Ghostery to the server side?

m_myers 15y ago
1.5 * 10 = 15 MB, not 150 MB. So you can actually fetch 166 such pages unmodified. Roughly how large is a TechCrunch page with Ghostery?
- st3fan 15y ago
  Yeah I'm still on my first coffee. Good morning and thanks for the math :-) Example: http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/03/siri-experiencing-its-first-extended-outage/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/03/siri-experiencing-its-first... Without: 275 requests, 2.85 MB transferred With: 76 requests, 1.72 MB transferred Here is the shocker: ACTUAL ARTICLE SIZE: 163 words, 971 bytes. That is a 0.034% of what was actually downloaded. I know that browsers cache stuff. But a lot of these are dynamic resources that get loaded anyway. There is also the fact that caching on both the iPad and Android is horrible. So this really adds up on a mobile device.
  - st3fan 15y ago
    So I think what I really want is an add-on or extension (I use both Safari and Firefox) that selectively changes the user agent to Mobile Safari. Most sites are pretty good with providing iPhone compatible content, which is magnitudes smaller than the desktop version. For example the techrunch page from my previous comment comes in at 33 requests and 122 KB when I set Safari to "Mobile Safari iOS 4.3.3 iPhone". If only Safari on the iPad supported extensions :-/
mirkules 15y ago
Hey thanks for mentioning Ghostery -- I never heard of it before, and it looks neat. I'm using ABP, NoScript and FlashBlock myself, and I think Ghostery will make a nice addition to my line of defense. (minor nitpick: it would take roughly 83 pages, not 10, to reach 50% of your 250MB limit) [edit on my own math. heh]
huhtenberg 15y ago
I wouldn't touch Ghostery with a long pole. Their parent company - Evidon - is suspicious. The FAQ on the site is choke-full of weasel words and wishy-washy statements on how they are not an "ad company" but rather an "ad assurance company". Skimpy on actual details too. They have changed their About summary now, but not long ago it basically said that they are in business of delivering better advertisement experience to the advertisers. Just ask yourself if instead of being tracked by multiple entities, you are OK with being tracked by one that gets your data resold to others. They are not a non-profit, so - as cliche as it sounds - you are their product.
- aaaron 15y ago
  Ghostery has a secondary purpose. It's also "the eyes in the sky" that the ad industry will use to monitor and enforce self-regulation. In other words, it will collect data to ensure that ad companies are complying and affixing proper opt-out mechanisms to behaviorally-targeted ads.
  - huhtenberg 15y ago
    Riiight.
  - Ghostery 15y ago
    Adam from Ghostery/Evidon here. First:Thanks very much to everyone that uses Ghostery here! This thread has been a great read for us. Aaron is correct.. Ghostery works in the same way NPR works, only with data. Users can opt into data collection in Ghostery's options. Also, even if they do, we go to great lengths to make sure that all of the data are anonymous and only used in aggregate. The extension will never collect anything if you don't volunteer it. The data are used in all sorts of ways to make the internet a better place, and to help us make money. For instance, website owners can use the data to see what 3rd party scripts are running on their sites and eliminate them. This saves load time, prevents data leakage to leeches, and - most importantly - allows them to provide a layer of privacy for their users. The BBB also uses aggregated Ghostery data to monitor self-regulatory efforts - thanks to our awesome panel volunteers we can literally "track the trackers." More info: http://mygho.st/D http://mygho.st/D My contact if you have any questions: adam _ at ghostery _dotcom
fixanoid 15y ago
Ughh, Ghostery is available for iOS as well: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ghostery/id472789016 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ghostery/id472789016
jrabone 15y ago
Privoxy is pretty good. I run it (usually a single centralised instance) on any LAN I am allowed to. Any network installs for people (e.g. family/friends) I set up a Linux server and Privoxy is in there (with judicious bypassing because it IS too aggressive for some sites out of the box). See, this is what happens when your ads are just that wrong side of obnoxious and you piss off the 1% - they might just have the power to make sure ANOTHER 10% don't see your crappy ad, either. And that 10% thank me for it. Every so often they get to see what a festering cesspool the internet is without a filtering proxy between them and it, and by God they thank me.

by st3fan 15y ago

m_myers 15y ago

1.5 * 10 = 15 MB, not 150 MB. So you can actually fetch 166 such pages unmodified. Roughly how large is a TechCrunch page with Ghostery?

st3fan 15y ago
Yeah I'm still on my first coffee. Good morning and thanks for the math :-) Example: http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/03/siri-experiencing-its-first-extended-outage/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/03/siri-experiencing-its-first... Without: 275 requests, 2.85 MB transferred With: 76 requests, 1.72 MB transferred Here is the shocker: ACTUAL ARTICLE SIZE: 163 words, 971 bytes. That is a 0.034% of what was actually downloaded. I know that browsers cache stuff. But a lot of these are dynamic resources that get loaded anyway. There is also the fact that caching on both the iPad and Android is horrible. So this really adds up on a mobile device.
- st3fan 15y ago
  So I think what I really want is an add-on or extension (I use both Safari and Firefox) that selectively changes the user agent to Mobile Safari. Most sites are pretty good with providing iPhone compatible content, which is magnitudes smaller than the desktop version. For example the techrunch page from my previous comment comes in at 33 requests and 122 KB when I set Safari to "Mobile Safari iOS 4.3.3 iPhone". If only Safari on the iPad supported extensions :-/

mirkules 15y ago

Hey thanks for mentioning Ghostery -- I never heard of it before, and it looks neat. I'm using ABP, NoScript and FlashBlock myself, and I think Ghostery will make a nice addition to my line of defense. (minor nitpick: it would take roughly 83 pages, not 10, to reach 50% of your 250MB limit) [edit on my own math. heh]

huhtenberg 15y ago

I wouldn't touch Ghostery with a long pole. Their parent company - Evidon - is suspicious. The FAQ on the site is choke-full of weasel words and wishy-washy statements on how they are not an "ad company" but rather an "ad assurance company". Skimpy on actual details too. They have changed their About summary now, but not long ago it basically said that they are in business of delivering better advertisement experience to the advertisers. Just ask yourself if instead of being tracked by multiple entities, you are OK with being tracked by one that gets your data resold to others. They are not a non-profit, so - as cliche as it sounds - you are their product.

aaaron 15y ago
Ghostery has a secondary purpose. It's also "the eyes in the sky" that the ad industry will use to monitor and enforce self-regulation. In other words, it will collect data to ensure that ad companies are complying and affixing proper opt-out mechanisms to behaviorally-targeted ads.
- huhtenberg 15y ago
  Riiight.
- Ghostery 15y ago
  Adam from Ghostery/Evidon here. First:Thanks very much to everyone that uses Ghostery here! This thread has been a great read for us. Aaron is correct.. Ghostery works in the same way NPR works, only with data. Users can opt into data collection in Ghostery's options. Also, even if they do, we go to great lengths to make sure that all of the data are anonymous and only used in aggregate. The extension will never collect anything if you don't volunteer it. The data are used in all sorts of ways to make the internet a better place, and to help us make money. For instance, website owners can use the data to see what 3rd party scripts are running on their sites and eliminate them. This saves load time, prevents data leakage to leeches, and - most importantly - allows them to provide a layer of privacy for their users. The BBB also uses aggregated Ghostery data to monitor self-regulatory efforts - thanks to our awesome panel volunteers we can literally "track the trackers." More info: http://mygho.st/D http://mygho.st/D My contact if you have any questions: adam _ at ghostery _dotcom

fixanoid 15y ago

Ughh, Ghostery is available for iOS as well: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ghostery/id472789016 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ghostery/id472789016

jrabone 15y ago

Privoxy is pretty good. I run it (usually a single centralised instance) on any LAN I am allowed to. Any network installs for people (e.g. family/friends) I set up a Linux server and Privoxy is in there (with judicious bypassing because it IS too aggressive for some sites out of the box). See, this is what happens when your ads are just that wrong side of obnoxious and you piss off the 1% - they might just have the power to make sure ANOTHER 10% don't see your crappy ad, either. And that 10% thank me for it. Every so often they get to see what a festering cesspool the internet is without a filtering proxy between them and it, and by God they thank me.