Anyone getting a very persistent video ad at the bottom of the screen?

[fly girl]

I keep getting it for oyun.se, Looks like a gaming ad. I have no idea, but it is incredibly frustrating.

 

[Violetspider]

I keep getting it for oyun.se, Looks like a gaming ad. I have no idea, but it is incredibly frustrating.

Same here. I'm getting the same gaming ad powered by PixFuture. DIS tech needs to drop this one if they are using it for revenue. It's annoying and hijacks the viewing screen too much with the up/down scrolling that happens when the ad both appears and disappears.

 

[LuvOrlando]

If the goal of these pop-ups is to annoy me into wanting nothing to do with whoever is paying for them then it's been a fabulous idea. They are like a fly ruining my day, yes I notice the fly but noone WANTS the fly.

 

[sam_gordon]

I keep getting it for oyun.se, Looks like a gaming ad. I have no idea, but it is incredibly frustrating.

I get political ads. I also get political ads when playing games on my tablet/phone. At least those don't cover up the game (the ads show up in between "rounds").

 

[RaySharpton]

When something is slipping through adblock it may indicate you have some malware (usually a browser extension) that is opening the door or that you need to update your adblock extension or update your browser.

I would also caution people to avoid AdBlock or AdBlock Plus and the program called uBlock (not to be confused with uBlock Origin) which is owned by AdBlock as they open the door for malicious code. Worse, since 2019, the AdBlock titles opened their business model to allow advertisers to pay them to allow those ads through (link). It also happens that fake versions of the extension get into the extension store and really open you up. The code of AdBlock is closed and even running network tools like wireshark to dissect what's coming and going from it doesn't really tell us much.

There are a couple options that are just objectively better.

• uBlock Origin is a great ad blocker and its code is open source. Being open source may not mean much to most users but it means that people who do care about such things can (and have) picked through its code and will raise a hue and cry should they spot anything shady.
• Privacy Badger is another open source option that is well regarded. I don't, but it is developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization I trust.

If you are feeling especially frustrated by invasive advertising I cannot recommend setting up a Pi-Hole strongly enough. I have been poo-poo'd for making this suggestion before but every single person who has taken my advice on this has thanked me for it.

Setting up a Pi-Hole is one of those things that sounds incredibly technical when the process is described. It involves setting up a tiny little computer called a Raspberry Pi. The $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W works fine. Doing this involves downloading the Raspbery operating system and copying it onto one of those tiny memory cards (like phones and go pro cameras and such use). Then plugging a usb keyboard and mouse into its usb port, a usb power adapter (like for a cell phone) and a TV to its HDMI port, and that memory card into its memory card slot. Anyone who has ever hooked up an old Atari or Nintendo to a TV has the necessary skillset for this.

When it powers up you will run through a new computer set up like with any desktop (setting up what type of keyboard, timezone, etc). Then you set up the wifi network, just like you do with a cellphone. At this point the Raspberry is essentially a weak but pretty desktop computer running linux. There is a web browser and a few other apps already installed. To set up the Pi-Hole you go to Pi-Hole.net and follow the directions, which consist of copying and pasting a single line of instructions. After that it will set up a few things, tell you the Pi-Hole's IP address, and then tell you you're done. Shut the little guy down, unplug everything from him and find a little spot out of the way to plug him back in. He just needs power from a usb phone charger now, so he really can be tucked in some dark corner.

Once that part is done you open up your internet router configuration and change the DNS setting to whatever IP address your Pi-Hole is set to.

From that point on, every device on your network is protected from the worst and most intrusive ads. And while an adblocker stops the ads from being displayed, the Pi-Hole stops them from even being downloaded in the first place. Websites will load noticeably faster and far less of information used to track you is sent out into the world.

It all sounds very techy and I get that puts people off, but from the time you plug the Pi in for the first time it all takes about 10 minutes of work.

Thank you, cobright.

I removed AdBlock.

And, per your suggestion, I added the uBlock Origin.

I haven't seen those pop-up videos since adding uBlock Origin.

I hope it lasts.

 

[Praying Colonel]

If the goal of these pop-ups is to annoy me into wanting nothing to do with whoever is paying for them then it's been a fabulous idea. They are like a fly ruining my day, yes I notice the fly but noone WANTS the fly.

As an aside, I'll say I feel this way about political ads, especially now that we're getting so close to the election. I'd vote for the first candidate who says they'll stop doing political ads and keep us in permanent Daylight Savings Time. #Kiddingnotkidding

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, I get these ads too and it's annoying especially when they play sound. There are mute and close buttons shown, but they are actually not buttons and just click through on the ad. That's a dirty trick to me. I really don't mind ads in general and I understand the DIS gets revenue from them. I don't feel I need to use an ad blocker but, come on, they don't have to be that obnoxious!

 

[JoeA]

I get the video on my PC but what I really enjoy is all the money I've won from the Xfinity pop up on the iphone! I win every day!!

[insert sarcastic emoji here]

 

[lynxstch]

Yeah, I get these ads too and it's annoying especially when they play sound. There are mute and close buttons shown, but they are actually not buttons and just click through on the ad. That's a dirty trick to me. I really don't mind ads in general and I understand the DIS gets revenue from them. I don't feel I need to use an ad blocker but, come on, they don't have to be that obnoxious!

Those ads are getting through adblockers too. I am tired of them, the sound comes on and makes me jump, and it's making the pages all jumpy too. I get everything on them from McD's, to excema cream? Why can't someone stop them!

 

[easyas123]

The jumpy pages are the worst!

 

[cobright]

The jumpy pages are the worst!

Like when you're just about to click on something then the page lurches up or down and you click the wrong link.

 

[sam_gordon]

Like when you're just about to click on something then the page lurches up or down and you click the wrong link.

YES! And it's not just the video ads for me, it's the "normal" ads. It's especially frustrating when you think you've waited long enough and try to click, and boom, page jump.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm getting these too - SO annoying! I'm almost at the point of wishing they offered a totally ad-free version of the DIS for a subscription fee.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I wonder if the Dis is vetting these unscrupulous advertisers to make sure it's safe for users? I don't mind advertisements, I do mind getting manipulated into an internet lair.

 

[sam_gordon]

I wonder if the Dis is vetting these unscrupulous advertisers to make sure it's safe for users? I don't mind advertisements, I do mind getting manipulated into an internet lair.

I doubt it. They're probably getting paid by a company to put ads related to your browsing/search history. I doubt anyone from the Dis even knows what the ads are.

 

[cobright]

I wonder if the Dis is vetting these unscrupulous advertisers to make sure it's safe for users? I don't mind advertisements, I do mind getting manipulated into an internet lair.

It's really hard to monetize without opening yourself to a certain amount of shady ads. There just no way to make money selling space for human curated ads, so the ad content gets packaged to behave a certain way when the ad-server reviews it and differently once it's in the browser.

I'm sympathetic to content creators and service providers (like a well trafficked message forum) because they have real expenses that need to be covered. I try to keep my system as open as possible for that reason, but it does get frustrating sometimes.

 

[CynBeth]

The jumpy pages are the worst!

I agree.

 

[lynxstch]

I doubt it. They're probably getting paid by a company to put ads related to your browsing/search history. I doubt anyone from the Dis even knows what the ads are.

The ones I am getting aren't political, nor are they anything related to my browsing or search. They are mostly ads for things I have never seen nor heard of

 

[easyas123]

As I type this I've had two McDonalds (same one) in a row, Ebay, Think Bars and V8.
None of which I've googled/searched/used or added to a grocery list recently

 

[kdonnel]

YES! And it's not just the video ads for me, it's the "normal" ads. It's especially frustrating when you think you've waited long enough and try to click, and boom, page jump.

Slow ad servers or slow to render ads causing the page to jump are the reason why I installed https://pi-hole.net/ and now have ad blocking for all devices on my home network.