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How do you feel about disabling javascript by default, and making things click-to-play? I ask because I think the line between "advert used for site finance," a

How do you feel about disabling javascript by default, and making things click-to-play? I ask because I think the line between "advert used for site finance," and "drive-by malware" can sometimes be blurry. For example: http://www.cnet.com/news/malware-delivered-by-yahoo-fox-google-ads/ http://www.cnet.com/news/malware-delivered-by-yahoo-fox-goog... I think that when I click on a link I agree to see the content they provide. I'm not sure I really want to agree to third-party stuff without knowing what it is - and I'm very sure I don't want to start loading third party scripts automatically.

baldfat 11y ago
I used no javascript extensions for a while BUT it was not worth the hassle to me.
eli 11y ago
Fair enough, but if your browser is susceptible to drive-by malware, you're going to have a bad time on the internet whether you block ads or not. I think hacked sites are a far more common malware vector than ads.
- imglorp 11y ago
  Ad providers are prime hacking targets because it's a vector to deliver malware to reputable sites showing reputable ads. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ad+network+hacked&t=ffnt https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ad+network+hacked&t=ffnt
  - eli 11y ago
    I'd be curious if anyone has data on this, but I think hacking sites is a much more common vector. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wordpress+hacked+malware&t=ffnt https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wordpress+hacked+malware&t=ffnt If an Ad Blocker is the only thing standing in the way of you and an exploit, you're gonna have a bad day.
    - nate_meurer 11y ago
      That's a bit of a strawman, isn't it? No one is saying their ad blocker is their "only" protection. But when you go to to an ad-infested site like huffington post, with dozens of different ad sources on each page, an ad blocker can cut your exposure to a small fraction of what it would be otherwise.

baldfat 11y ago

I used no javascript extensions for a while BUT it was not worth the hassle to me.

eli 11y ago

Fair enough, but if your browser is susceptible to drive-by malware, you're going to have a bad time on the internet whether you block ads or not. I think hacked sites are a far more common malware vector than ads.

imglorp 11y ago
Ad providers are prime hacking targets because it's a vector to deliver malware to reputable sites showing reputable ads. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ad+network+hacked&t=ffnt https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ad+network+hacked&t=ffnt
- eli 11y ago
  I'd be curious if anyone has data on this, but I think hacking sites is a much more common vector. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wordpress+hacked+malware&t=ffnt https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wordpress+hacked+malware&t=ffnt If an Ad Blocker is the only thing standing in the way of you and an exploit, you're gonna have a bad day.
  - nate_meurer 11y ago
    That's a bit of a strawman, isn't it? No one is saying their ad blocker is their "only" protection. But when you go to to an ad-infested site like huffington post, with dozens of different ad sources on each page, an ad blocker can cut your exposure to a small fraction of what it would be otherwise.