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from the when-the-new-shiny-is-not-always-better dept.
Google's plans to limit ad blockers in Chrome have already led many users to consider switching browsers. People's anger was made worse by the confirmation that the only people who will avoid the changes to the way ad blockers work in Chrome will be Google's enterprise users. Advertising is at the heart of Google's business model and so unsurprisingly, users have been questioning the software giant's motives.
And now, another prominent voice has entered the debate. Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) says the move will not help security and in fact, will probably hinder it.
The plans, dubbed Manifest V3, represent a major transformation to Chrome extensions including a revamp of the permissions system. As a result, modern ad blockers such as uBlock Origin—which uses Chrome's webRequest API to block ads before they're downloaded–won't work. This is because Manifest V3 sees Google halt the webRequest API's ability to block a particular request before it's loaded. The plans are earmarked for release into the Google Canary channel around now.
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Friday August 02 2019, @08:50PM (4 children)
I don't have an Ad blocker, I have a malware blocker. We have collectively made a mistake by calling them "Ad blockers". The problem was never the ads. The problem was the malware in the ads. I wish we would stop calling them "Ad blockers".
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday August 02 2019, @09:32PM (1 child)
NO, the ads are the malware. The problem is the ads. We want to block ads. Blocking malware, and tracking and profiling, are just side benefits. Perhaps you are too young to remember the
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Monday August 05 2019, @01:45PM
I doubt if I'm "too young to remember" virtually anything IT-related. When I started coding we were still using punched cards.
Yes I remember those terrible pop up ads and all that garbage, and yes I consider all of that malware. Anything that takes away the control of your computer can be considered malware, IMO.
What I mean to say is that the display of static ads has never been a problem with me and that is not the problem now.
(Score: 2) by Mer on Friday August 02 2019, @10:51PM
Even a static image ad with no hidden script is not okay.
It's malware for your brain.
Shut up!, he explained.
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Saturday August 03 2019, @02:59AM
For me the problem is both the ads and the malware.
I have ADHD, professionally diagnosed though I choose to be un-medicated. Ads steal a big chunk of my working memory that I cannot spare. Working the web without them is a game changer for me.