Adblockers

[DKasler]

Does neowin host the actual advertisements? If not how can you assure me that my computer won't be effect by some cross site scripting or other vulnerabilities?

That's pretty much the only reason I block ads. Its a security issue, and no one other than those hosting the ads can promise me they are all safe. To be honest even if they did I probably wouldn't believe them since they are trying to sell ads.

PS. Don't take my word for it... http://newsletters.trendmicro.com/servlet/...0okLHmeHgKlJHiL

From that Newsletter:

Drive-by Downloads

Surprisingly, users do not necessarily have to click on an ad to trigger a Web threat. Some banner ads begin working their black magic as soon as the viewer lands on a Web page containing the infected ad. In this case, viewers may be quickly redirected from the original site to a different site, which initiates a malicious adware download through browser vulnerabilities—a process known as drive-by-download.

Edited September 21, 2008 by DKasler

[ViperAFK]

Does neowin host the actual advertisements? If not how can you assure me that my computer won't be effect by some cross site scripting or other vulnerabilities?

That's pretty much the only reason I block ads. Its a security issue, and no one other than those hosting the ads can promise me they are all safe. To be honest even if they did I probably wouldn't believe them since they are trying to sell ads.

PS. Don't take my word for it... http://newsletters.trendmicro.com/servlet/...0okLHmeHgKlJHiL

From that Newsletter:

Yeah I did actually have an ad on digg.com hijack my clipboard a couple weeks ago so it kept making me paste a link to a virus .exe. I went to paste something into my address bar and without even looking what I pasted hit enter and was like ****.

Noscript saved my ass though. I do whitelist neowin's though, they are mostly google ads which are pretty safe. Neowin has been pretty good at making sure their ads are safe though and they react very quickly when (if) anything happens. the only thing I've seen happen is seen a couple pr0n ads sneak in which are quickly removed.

[PermaSt0ne]

could someone help me?

i have whitelisted neowin.net for adblockplus but that didn't work, so i disabled ABP and they still don't show up. noscript is set to allow everything on neowin as well. any idea's?

edit: i just realized that i use the Hosts file from mvps.org to stop malware and such, could that be why? hopefully not because if it is, i don't want to get rid of my hosts file, taking away a level of security, just to show a couple of ads :/

[King Antonius]

I dont mind ads on neowin, if it helps the site, im happy. I am slitly annoyed with the one on the main page. Smack bang in the middle of the news. There is no need ad it just distracts me from reading the news and what not. I wouldn't mind if it was re-located, i just think it is bad having it in the middle of content.

[The Laughing Man]

I dont block the ads no need to, Cept when im at work, the only ads i wish to never see are the flash video ads.

[Kami-]

I dont block the ads no need to, Cept when im at work, the only ads i wish to never see are the flash video ads.

FireFox + Flashblock

[anonymous_user]

@PermaSt0ne - you can try an extension like WOT instead of the hosts file. Protection from malicious sites without blocking ads.

[thealexweb]

Is neowin run as a business or as a charity? Also you guys that run it, is this your only source of income or do you have another part time job etc?

[Dc'1]

Is neowin run as a business or as a charity? Also you guys that run it, is this your only source of income or do you have another part time job etc?

I'd guess they do work.

[wst50]

Just realised that I've had ZoneAlarm Adblock on for the last year.

It didn't remove any adverts from here. In fact, I get quite a lot of ads on any site... oh well, not circumventing anything :D

[White Cuban]

neowin is one of the only sites my adblock is off.

[fix-this!]

FireFox + adblock

fixed

[Wannes]

Is neowin run as a business or as a charity? Also you guys that run it, is this your only source of income or do you have another part time job etc?

I believe they all have a job beside Neowin. Neowin though is a company, they recently became Neowin Ltd.

[Chuong Nguyen]

i think we should have more options for member when someone who don't want to have ads when they log in by their account by paying a little money.

[tuckeratlarge]

I don't understand why people are saying they have Neowin on the white list of their ad blockers. OK so you allow the ads to be shown. But, and I could be so wrong here, I was under the impression that the ad servers only pay out when you actually click on an advert.

If I am wrong and the number of ads served has a bearing on remuneration for Neowin then I urge everyone to let the ads through.

But, and it's a big but, on the flip side of this argument Neowin needs to be accountable for the ads they serve. They insist on the non-use of adblockers, and that's fine, but they then have a responsibility to their users not to infect with viruses or trojans, or as a result of ads, deluge the user with spam.

It's a two way street.

[Steven P. Administrators]

We get paid for the ads being shown as well.. Ad companies don't serve trojans or viruses ;) Although it's true that some ads try to get you to install "malware" a seasoned internet user should be able to see past that and to be honest our ads are of a better quality lately due to the site theme update and better ad placement.

[shakey_snake]

I don't understand why people are saying they have Neowin on the white list of their ad blockers. OK so you allow the ads to be shown. But, and I could be so wrong here, I was under the impression that the ad servers only pay out when you actually click on an advert.

Google ads typically pay-per-click, most other banner ads pay-per-view. I think intellitxt ads pay per rollover.

[tuckeratlarge]

Thanks for the update Steven. I hope people allow the ads on Neowin.

Happy New Year, by the way.

[thealexweb]

After impulse bought stake in this website i have less sympathy for the admins / other owners etc. I also don't think censoring ads blocking topics is very good either. Bit like when Hitler came to power, he censored everything he saw as a threat to him.

[Malskazz]

Aint that normal thealexweb? I mean if i owed a site, or if i was an Hitler, i would also get rid of everything i saw as a threat.

[Popcorned1]

Impulse, you mean Stardock, it doesn't really matter anyway.

With the crazy amount of traffic Neowin got recently I think Neobond has enough to retire ;)

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

After impulse bought stake in this website i have less sympathy for the admins / other owners etc. I also don't think censoring ads blocking topics is very good either. Bit like when Hitler came to power, he censored everything he saw as a threat to him.

Did you just compare Hitler and Neowin :/

[Popcorned1]

lylesback2 : It was the princeple he was getting at.

[Steven P. Administrators]

After impulse bought stake in this website i have less sympathy for the admins / other owners etc. I also don't think censoring ads blocking topics is very good either. Bit like when Hitler came to power, he censored everything he saw as a threat to him.

Wow what an ill-informed response :s

Stardock has been a silent co-owner since the beginning of 2005, it's now 2009 and aside from a small amount of Stardock related news (which almost always has to do with their software) we have proven many times over that the site hasn't changed as a result of the partnership. Well, it has changed somewhat because we are now in a position where we have financial backing and we actually OWN our own servers rather than rent them.

It's like I've said many times before, there's no such thing as a free lunch, if you want the service we have been giving you then it costs money, and we recoup that through advertising, without it we will simply go under (within a short space of time).

WHAT, i ask, is wrong with this arrangement!?

[Redmak Administrators]

Oh my, 32 pages already and we still have to explain why we need the money