Discussion AdBlock detector on Tom's Hardware

[Aeacus]

Hi

So, i was away from the forums for about a month, checking in sparsely and when i came back, i see that there have been some changes to Tom's Hardware (www.tomshardware.com) and Tom's Guide (www.tomsguide.com).

As the title says, an adblocker detector has been added to the Tom's sites, which effectively blocks me from those sites, since yes, i'm using AdBlock Plus with my Firefox 70.

Made a short video (under 1min) showing my current status with TH sites:
(there's no sound in video, since sound isn't needed)

At this time, i don't have any access to Tom's Hardware news and reviews. That's an issue for me since i love to read TH's in-depth reviews and i also share a lot of them in the forums.
Tom's Guide is also off-limits to me with their handy guides.
Tom's Hardware Forums (forums.tomshardware.com) are unaffected by this for now, but for how long?

Main reason why i use AdBlock Plus is to protect my PC against malvertising. There have been several popular websites and news sources, that have been victims to malvertising and have had malicious ads placed on their webpages unknowingly. Some of those sites have been: The New York Times, the London Stock Exchange, Spotify, The Onion. Is Tom's Hardware safe from malvertising? I don't think so. Due to the high popularity of TH and tons of daily visits, it makes a juicy target for hackers.

At current time, the message i get from Purch Group (owner of TH) is following:"You MUST make your PC vulnerable to malvertising attacks IF you want to access the content on our sites!"

Yes, i get that ads make revenue but do you (Purch Group) have to block everyone out who know better about malvertising and want to protect their PC?

There are other ways to generate revenue for TH. It has been suggested on many times and i'll suggest it again: online merchandise store with international shipping.
Gamers Nexus has their online store, selling their branded merchandise. Same with Linus Tech Tips, who also have their own store selling their branded merchandise. Why not store for TH as well? It's not like TH doesn't have it's own branded merchandise to sell. 5 months ago, TH made a giveaway of it's branded merchandise (link). I'm quite sure when TH brings their store online, a lot of people would buy the merchandise, including me.

As of now, i have to rely on other sites for PC news, reviews and guides.

Also, if the TH Forums also get the adblock detector, that effectively blocks me from the forums, then you may not see me in the forums anymore. My PC security is far more important to me than the volunteer work i do within the TH forums.

--
Aeacus

 

[Darkbreeze]

Why use adblock plus? I use uBlock Origin, never see what I don't want to see and never blocked from the site.

 

[boju]

I use ublock as well and ghostery, used to use adblock plus but changed awhile ago, not for this reason though. Haven't had this particular problem also.

Think, time for a change.

 

[Aeacus]

Well, AdBlock Plus is the most popular ad blocking piece of software and thus, it gets hit the 1st. 2nd in popularity is uBlock Origin and for how long that remains undetected? That's unknown.

Sneaking past the issue doesn't fix it. Also, if the... not if, When the uBlock Origin gets blocked in the same manner as AdBlock Plus is currently blocked then what happens next? Find another escape goat to use? Speak out in hopes for a change? Do nothing?

Not that my uprising would change the minds up top, but at least when there's an issue, i'm willing to speak boldly about it in a calm and polite way. I even provided an alternative solution in this matter.

 

[boju]

Most likely Adblock is having issues, we'll see. There is no intention of eluding escape goats or sneakiness and we have also suggested alternatives which are still working. Your security measures shouldn't be affected if you use other means in the time being.

Hope you remain here.

 

[Aeacus]

Forums work fine and i have no issues with it. It's the TH's news/reviews/guides that i'm blocked off.

I'll remain in the forums for time being.
Btw, this topic of mine can be considered as in advance warning of my departure, if the things with TH are continuing to go downhill, as i've seen lately.

Also, i'll try uBlock Origin and see how it suits me.

 

[boju]

Ghostery is also a good addition

 

[Colif]

Tom's Hardware Forums (forums.tomshardware.com) are unaffected by this for now, but for how long?

You are way over the Best Answer count needed to not see ads here, so I wouldn't worry about forums.

I have had the message on TG but so far not on TH front page. If the front page was linked to forum account, this wouldn't be an issue for same as reason as last sentence.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Unfortunately, far more prolific members than you have left in the past when they felt something needed to change in order for them to stay. The answer is always basically "don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you". So even though it is always a drag when a good, highly contributory member leaves, I wouldn't expect there to be any changes due to the advance "taking my ball and going home" notification. Much as I believe some care whether people stay or not, I equally believe others could care less. Especially on the side of things, which is to say NOT community, where the problems are mostly at.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Adblock is old school , Ublock Origin with Decentraleyes is far better and you can customize it to your liking.

 

[Aeacus]

Ghostery is also a good addition

Besides AdBlock Plus, i also use NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere as my complete security package in my FF.

Did read about Ghostery and there's no point for me to replace NoScript for it.
To put it short: Ghostery is a privacy extension (with some security features) and NoScript is a security extension (with some privacy features).

Unfortunately, far more prolific members than you have left in the past when they felt something needed to change in order for them to stay. The answer is always basically "don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you". So even though it is always a drag when a good, highly contributory member leaves, I wouldn't expect there to be any changes due to the advance "taking my ball and going home" notification. Much as I believe some care whether people stay or not, I equally believe others could care less. Especially on the side of things, which is to say NOT community, where the problems are mostly at.

It's not about the stagnation that would make me leave. On the contrary, it's the change itself that makes me think if staying is worthwhile.

As they say:"If you're about to give up, think why you have hold on for so long."

Will this change be reverted? Very unlikely.
Do i like that i have to change my ways to have access to TH reviews? No.
Do i like TH forums as a whole? Yes.
Do i feel that my contribution in TH forums is appreciated? Yes.
Will i remain in the forums? Yes.
Then why this topic? To express my dislike about the change. Also, i'm not the only one who's affected by this (there are more people who use AdBlock Plus and are now blocked off), but i'm the first one (and for now, only one) who talks out about this.

When i started this topic, i had no knowledge about other ad blocking plug-ins, other than AdBlock Plus. Thanks to you guys, i've learned that there are other ad blocking plug-ins that offer the same level of protection and aren't blocked off, for now.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

AdBlock Plus sold out years ago. They let some ads that pay through. uBlock Origin and Ghostery are the way to go.

I find NoScript to be too invasive. But you can customize it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, Adblock plus is LITERALLY and Ad paywall. Advertisers that pay, get whitelisted, and you will still see their ads no matter your settings. I stopped using it about four years ago. Been using uBlock origin ever since and I've got no complaints. At least try it, if it doesn't solve your issues, you can always get rid of it.

 

[Aeacus]

I disabled AdBlock Plus and installed uBlock Origin and Decentraleyes as well. I don't see any difference compared to AdBlock Plus, except that now i can get access to TH reviews and TG. Though, i haven't done extensive testing yet to see how these two perform.

I find NoScript excellent. Sure, it flat out can break a website since it blocks all running scripts by default but it's also a great tool to learn more about how websites work. Also, i can choose which scripts are allowed to run and which are not, either temporarly (current session) or permanantely (always). NoScript is best suited for advanced users though.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Adblock and Ghostery , sold out a few years ago.

 

[Lutfij]

I still wonder what you're doing with your machine and your browsers. I've mentioned on Discord that I've tried out FF and Chrome after learning of your issue with Adblock (plus)enabled and disabled, both of the circumstances did NOT prevent me from viewing content nor did it ask me for a subscription fee as you've stated on the Discord post.

Adblock plus, for me, filters pretty much all ads from the main page. If I were to defend the site, at all, then the ads are located to the corners and to the top and bottom most of each article/review you read. Not in the middle of every paragraph like you see on sellout sites. I've also viewed the site through the mobile platform and the ads aren't intrusive.

And no, (you have a tendency to second guess) I'm not trolling you in any manner, shape or form.

Look at the top right hand corner and see how many ads were blocked, then take a look at the time stamp as well as the OS, my OS might be back dated but that shouldn't be the barrier between viewing a site's content unless your clock is off(like it used to happen on XP machines when the RTC was off by a few days).

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Yeah, Adblock plus is LITERALLY and Ad paywall. Advertisers that pay, get whitelisted, and you will still see their ads no matter your settings. I stopped using it about four years ago. Been using uBlock origin ever since and I've got no complaints. At least try it, if it doesn't solve your issues, you can always get rid of it.

Ghostery does the same pay for play.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I switched from adblock plus to ublock origin awhile back.

I have no issues with ublock.

 

[Aeacus]

I still wonder what you're doing with your machine and your browsers. I've mentioned on Discord that I've tried out FF and Chrome after learning of your issue with Adblock (plus)enabled and disabled, both of the circumstances did NOT prevent me from viewing content nor did it ask me for a subscription fee as you've stated on the Discord post.

Adblock plus, for me, filters pretty much all ads from the main page. If I were to defend the site, at all, then the ads are located to the corners and to the top and bottom most of each article/review you read. Not in the middle of every paragraph like you see on sellout sites. I've also viewed the site through the mobile platform and the ads aren't intrusive.

And no, (you have a tendency to second guess) I'm not trolling you in any manner, shape or form.

image cut

Look at the top right hand corner and see how many ads were blocked, then take a look at the time stamp as well as the OS, my OS might be back dated but that shouldn't be the barrier between viewing a site's content unless your clock is off(like it used to happen on XP machines when the RTC was off by a few days).

In Discord, i didn't say that i'm faced with paid subscription. What i did say was:"For me, Adblock dedector is huge turnoff. What's next? Payed subscription? As long as malvertising is a thing, i won't stop using adblock."

To showcase my issue, i recorded a video. That's accessible from my initial post in this topic. Feel free to watch it in full screen and second per second to see exactly what i did and what result i got when using AdBlock Plus with Firefox 70.

Your screen shows Google Chrome browser. I have that too and if i use Chrome with AdBlock Plus to view TH or TG then yes, i get the same exact pop-up as you do, where i can disregard the warning and get access to the sites.
Thing is, Firefox is my main browser (been so since the Win XP era) and i've customized it exactly to my needs. Why i get completely blocked off from TH and TG with Firefox & AdBlock Plus but not with Chrome & AdBlock Plus - that i don't know. I guess TH and TG sites don't like people using Firefox. I am not going to stop using Firefox just because one or two sites doesn't like me using it.

Oh, if you want, i can record more in-depth video. Just list what you'd like to see me doing and i can make it happen.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I use Firefox too. I only use Chrome for testing, so I agree that things need to work THE SAME, for all browsers. Nobody should have to change browsers if they are using one the adheres to standards. However, as I said before, the only add on I have is uBlock Origin, and I don't have such problems.

 

[James Mason]

Aeacus, what's this?

https://imgur.com/a/aTMYP2W

View: https://imgur.com/a/aTMYP2W


You have something locally hijacking your browser. it's loading an HTML file to display that message.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That's a good catch.

 

[Aeacus]

Aeacus, what's this?

https://imgur.com/a/aTMYP2W

View: https://imgur.com/a/aTMYP2W


You have something locally hijacking your browser. it's loading an HTML file to display that message.

I have 0 idea. I though it was supposed to be like so. As seen from my video, as soon as i go to TH or TG sites, the site loads just fine and after a second or two, that cc.html is loaded which displays that Adblock message across the whole screen.

Also, i'm not aware that i'd have malware in my PC. Bought Malwarebytes Premium 2 months ago and i scheduled it to do daily scans + i enabled all protections it has, including web protections. So far, Malwarebytes Premium hasn't found any threats from my PC.

Edit:
Looks like i'm not the only one with this mysterious cc.html issue. Found 1 year old topic where someone else has same issue with FF but with uBlock Origin,
reddit: View: https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/comments/81cmqg/techradarcom_is_showing_me_an_antiadblock_warning/

There are few others in there that have (had) same issue. Another one in there uses Chrome and gets same cc.html blockage.

 

[Colif]

cc.htm is an adobe file type. its for adobe animate. - otherwise known as flash - https://www.adobe.com/au/products/animate.html

are you still getting that page now? it must be part of the warning you get.

i get the please unblock us page on TG but never on TH, I assume its cookie based? If they would link front page to accounts like it used to be, none of us would be getting these warnings, it would only show ads to users with less than 25 BA. Clearly they want to show ads to all users.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What is apge? LOL.