Cisco: Online advertisements are more dangerous than porn - Polidicks - Facepunch Forum

Cisco: Online advertisements are more dangerous than porn

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[quote]Despite popular assumptions that security risks increase as a person's online activity becomes shadier, findings from Cisco's 2013 Annual Security Report (ASR) reveal that the highest concentration of online security threats do not target pornography, pharmaceutical or gambling sites as much as they do legitimate destinations visited by mass audiences, such as major search engines, retail sites and social media outlets. In fact, Cisco found that online shopping sites are 21 times as likely, and search engines are 27 times as likely, to deliver malicious content than a counterfeit software site. Viewing online advertisements? Advertisements are 182 as times likely to deliver malicious content than pornography.[/quote] [url]http://newsroom.cisco.com/release/1133334/Cisco-Annual-Security-Report-Threats-Step-Out-of-the-Shadows?utm_medium=rss[/url]

Cisco: Online advertisements are more dangerous [B]than*[/B] porn In regards to the OP; interesting to see the stereotype destroyed.

Thank you, Adblock.

I've known this for years already.

ABP and NoScript. Never leave home without it.

And people wonder why I'm so adamant about refusing to browse the net without ABP turned on. This is why, people. Nevermind the convenience and shit, it's a huge security boon, and I honestly believe it's a huge part of why I haven't picked up malware in five or six years.

[IMG]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9kxvgCm7m1r81wdqo1_500.png[/IMG] Ads like these are why people use adblock.

[QUOTE=Aphtonites;39437980][IMG]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9kxvgCm7m1r81wdqo1_500.png[/IMG] Ads like these are why people use adblock.[/QUOTE] I didn't think people were stupid enough to click on those.

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438007]I didn't think people were stupid enough to click on those.[/QUOTE] I was

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438007]I didn't think people were stupid enough to click on those.[/QUOTE] When they first occured, I wasn't really careful and clicked a few ads 'til I found the tiny real download link. And I've been downloading files on various hosting sites for ages, so try to understand how an unexperienced user would have a lot of trouble finding the proper one.

no script and ad block are pretty good.

Personally I don't do all that much browsing outside of familiar areas, and I'm often pretty scrutinizing about links, so I don't really block ads except through pop-up prevention. Having ads about in places like YouTube is necessary for keeping the site alive, as well as giving YouTube partners the money they need to keep making content. I would honestly rather have more adverts than whatever bullshit subscription plans and "premium content" cuntery YouTube is allegedly planning; if the put in subscription fees they'll drive away a lot of revenue, and then we'll all go to some other video sharing site to watch content to escape the bullshittery.

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438007]I didn't think people were stupid enough to click on those.[/QUOTE] Sometimes the buttons go better with the theme of the site than the button itself on the site, so you have to actually look where each link points Pain in the ass

All pcs in our house are running adblockplus, i cannot imagine surfing without it anymore

[QUOTE=DrogenViech;39438279]All pcs in our house are running adblockplus, i cannot imagine surfing without it anymore[/QUOTE] I'd run ABP, but I understand why websites have advertisements and it would suck as a site owner to have to shut down their site because they didn't make enough money to support it. Considering a lot of the services I use are free to me.

Leaving ads enabled is a significant security risk which I'm not going to take, those who complain about losing revenue need to come up with alternative methods since I and I'm sure many others are never going to unblock ads. [QUOTE=laserguided;39438365]it would suck as a site owner to have to shut down their site because they didn't make enough money to support it.[/QUOTE] I'd rather the site go down than put my computer at risk, seriously how hard is it to come up with other methods like a donate button.

[QUOTE=The golden;39438465]If a site owner wants to continue to make revenue from advertisements on their website then maybe they should be more considerate about which ads are placed on their site. I don't think the average joe minds ads that much - but they do mind ads which screw them around. (See Aphtonites's post above for example)[/QUOTE] I agree. Google ads along the border and donation buttons are the more user friendly way to go.

I have ABP turn on ads for sites that I want to support or ask for it, but other than that, I couldn't ever imagine doing such a thing.

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438365]I'd run ABP, but I understand why websites have advertisements and it would suck as a site owner to have to shut down their site because they didn't make enough money to support it. Considering a lot of the services I use are free to me.[/QUOTE] I stopped caring about that years ago. The security of my machine takes precedence over all other things. Selfish? Yes. Do I care? No. [QUOTE=ironman17;39438170]Personally I don't do all that much browsing outside of familiar areas, and I'm often pretty scrutinizing about links, so I don't really block ads except through pop-up prevention. Having ads about in places like YouTube is necessary for keeping the site alive, as well as giving YouTube partners the money they need to keep making content.[/quote] And you're opening your machine up to the malware writers of the world. Malicious ads end up on legit sites like youtube all the fucking time. Block all ads removes any chance of a drive-by download in an advert from hitting you, which renders you pretty much untouchable if you only ever visit legit, honest sites.

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438007]I didn't think people were stupid enough to click on those.[/QUOTE] I don't, but some times it takes ages hunting around the fucking page for the download link you're actually wanting.

[QUOTE=TestECull;39438685]I stopped caring about that years ago. The security of my machine takes precedence over all other things. Selfish? Yes. Do I care? No. And you're opening your machine up to the malware writers of the world. Malicious ads end up on legit sites like youtube all the fucking time. Block all ads removes any chance of a drive-by download in an advert from hitting you, which renders you pretty much untouchable if you only ever visit legit, honest sites.[/QUOTE] Just remember you hurt the people that do need ad revenue, further driving the web to make users pay for services instead of passively having them pay.

[QUOTE=Profanwolf;39438749]Just remember you hurt the people that do need ad revenue, further driving the web to make users pay for services instead of passively having them pay.[/QUOTE] Don't care. My computer takes precedence. I'm not opening myself up to malicious ads placing malware on my machine because some websites might need the $0.15 my visits would give them.

[QUOTE=TestECull;39438769]Don't care. My computer takes precedence. I'm not opening myself up to malicious ads placing malware on my machine because some websites might need the $0.15 my visits would give them.[/QUOTE] How would an ad "place" malware on your computer then, unless it's a java applet which I haven't seen any ads be :v: Your mentality is a little off too, it's the "im the only one doing it, so its fine". I can understand pages where you might accidentally click shit because it ends up looking like the download link, where you might want to block ads but not all sites.

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438007]I didn't think people were stupid enough to click on those.[/QUOTE] But... Which one do you click? If there IS anything you have to click at all...

[QUOTE=TestECull;39438769]Don't care. My computer takes precedence. I'm not opening myself up to malicious ads placing malware on my machine because some websites might need the $0.15 my visits would give them.[/QUOTE] I think you're just being paranoid.

[QUOTE=Profanwolf;39438820]How would an ad "place" malware on your computer then, unless it's a java applet which I haven't seen any ads be :v: Your mentality is a little off too, it's the "im the only one doing it, so its fine". I can understand pages where you might accidentally click shit because it ends up looking like the download link, where you might want to block ads but not all sites.[/QUOTE] Plenty of ads on legit sites have redirected me to a rogue anti-virus fakey page thing, many of which tried to download themselves and execute, and it wasn't even a Java exploit. My mom's old computer also got a bad case of audio adware (god it was annoying) from a drive by download on a malicious advertisement on a legit site. No computer in this house does not have Adblock Plus and a good anti-virus with a side of Malwarebytes. Ever since then no one has gotten a virus- not even my computer illiterate dad.

[QUOTE=Profanwolf;39438820]How would an ad "place" malware on your computer then, unless it's a java applet which I haven't seen any ads be :v:[/quote] It's actually quite simply to put a script into an advert that downloads malware. It doesn't even have to be a multimedia ad! Next time you load a youtube page watch the "What is loading?" pane at bottom left of your browser. Look at all the sites that flash by, it's too fast to even tell. Every single site there is ad related. [quote]Your mentality is a little off too, it's the "im the only one doing it, so its fine".[/quote] Except you're stone dead wrong. My mentality is "I value my computer so I do what is necessary to keep it malware free." That includes blocking ads. [quote] I can understand pages where you might accidentally click shit because it ends up looking like the download link, where you might want to block ads but not all sites.[/QUOTE] I don't even use sites like that :v:. I don't trust 'em, they strike me as the type of site that would embed a drive-by downloader in the page HTML itself. [QUOTE=laserguided;39438851]I think you're just being paranoid.[/QUOTE] Better to be a bit paranoid and not get malware than be blase' and get every virus and trojan on the internet. I must be doing [i]something[/i] right, because I haven't had malware on my machine in over five years. [QUOTE=SuperDuperScoot;39439014]Plenty of ads on legit sites have redirected me to a rogue anti-virus fakey page thing, many of which tried to download themselves and execute, and it wasn't even a Java exploit. My mom's old computer also got a bad case of audio adware (god it was annoying) from a drive by download on a malicious advertisement on a legit site. No computer in this house does not have Adblock Plus and a good anti-virus with a side of Malwarebytes. Ever since then no one has gotten a virus- not even my computer illiterate dad.[/QUOTE] My point exactly. Drive-by downloads and the like on malicious ads will get to legit sites. Like youtube. or eBay. It isn't enough to simply "Avoid sites that aren't trustworthy" anymore, even the legit ones will unwittingly serve malware-laden adverts from time to time. They don't mean to and take all the measures they can to prevent it, but it still happens, and it happens alarmingly frequently.

[QUOTE=laserguided;39438851]I think you're just being paranoid.[/QUOTE] I think he's sounding like a dick. I almost get the impression he thinks every single website plasters every corner with autoplay-sounding-Flash-blastout ads, and that they're all run by scumbags. If you're going to do websites a disservice at least be apologetic.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;39440321]I think he's sounding like a dick.[/quote] You're the only one of those here.[quote] I almost get the impression he thinks every single website plasters every corner with autoplay-sounding-Flash-blastout ads, and that they're all run by scumbags.[/quote] And this is why. You couldn't be more off the mark if you tried. Look literally directly above your own post for proof this is not the case. [quote] If you're going to do websites a disservice at least be apologetic.[/QUOTE] Uhh, no. I don't have to be apologetic because I value my sanity, page load times and the security of my machine over seeing ads for fucking tampons and antidepressants, neither of which I even need. I'm not going to apologize for avoiding breaking my computer, fuck that shit.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;39440321]I almost get the impression he thinks every single website plasters every corner with autoplay-sounding-Flash-blastout ads, and that they're all run by scumbags. If you're going to do websites a disservice at least be apologetic.[/QUOTE] Do you have problems reading ? An ad does not need to be a flash or java applet to install malware, some of the more nasty ones don't even need your permission by making use of browser exploits, these can appear on [b]any[/b] website without warning, so no it is not worth the risk in order for some idiot who can't come up with a better solution to make $0.05. Add a fucking donate button, sell a product or service, hell make it free so people can enjoy it without being forced to look at adverts for shit they don't need. Adverts on the internet are no longer a decent way to make money with so many people blocking them so unless you adapt it's your own fault so don't cry about lost revenue.

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