Inappropriate advertising

[Ippo]

Hi guys, I just got this ad here on the forum. Not that I have a problem with it, but since you often remind us that there are also kids on this forum, I thought you might want to check this.

Cheers.

[Daishi]

Chiming in with what i've seen - there are also a fair few "Download Windows Drivers now! Speed up your computer!" scammy things popping up too. Don't have a screenshot but I really doubt they're genuine, and probably link to malware.

[Red Iron Crown]

Chiming in with what i've seen - there are also a fair few "Download Windows Drivers now! Speed up your computer!" scammy things popping up too. Don't have a screenshot but I really doubt they're genuine, and probably link to malware.

This one:

It actually links to WinZip of all things, but I agree it looks scammy and I reported it as such.

[Daishi]

This one:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/61004449/KSP/ScammyAd.png

It actually links to WinZip of all things, but I agree it looks scammy and I reported it as such.

Haven't seen that one, but it was similar. Mine had a flashy windows 7 logo on the left and animated ticks on the right, beside all the versions of windows that the "drivers" were available for. I spam refreshed the front page and it seems to have gone.

[Red Iron Crown]

Huh, from your description I thought it would be that one, haven't seen the one you're talking about yet. I wonder if it was for the Winzip driver manager thing too.

[Woopert]

I use Adblock Plus so I don't see any of it.

[Daishi]

I use Adblock Plus so I don't see any of it.

I do too, but I whitelist the forums because its an asset I really couldn't do without. Every bit of ad revenue helps to keep it online

[Woopert]

I do too, but I whitelist the forums because its an asset I really couldn't do without. Every bit of ad revenue helps to keep it online

Good point, I'll think about doing that. Cheers

[Deathsoul097]

Is the forum Advertising done through google ads? Because if thats the case, for the most part, ads will be directed to you if they match a certain set of parameters within you search history and previous pages, IIRC.

[TMS]

lol... what you saying about Ippo?

The adverts that contain little "product windows" are usually configured for your recent history, but a lot of it looks like random dross. Like, right now, I'm looking at an advert for Fluke infrared thermal imaging cameras.

There has been a large number of malware ads recently but I only notice them when browsing on my iPad.

[Ippo]

lol... what you saying about Ippo?

LOL Well, I did search for a flight yesterday, so that would explain the traveller's dating, I guess.

I have whitelisted the forum on adblock too.

[Roadkill]

On my pc, there is an icon in the top right corner of the ad that contains a link that directs you to the about google ads page. Here, it explains how the ads work and how you can configure or tailor them to suit your tastes. This is exactly the same thing as an "opt-out" approach that has caused controversy on these forums recently. Google utilizes the DoubleClick cookie to tailor the ads towards you.

There are other ways to browse the web without google. Most of the larger companies, like Bing, MSN, and Yahoo, use similar tactics as google, but smaller less known search engines like DuckDuckGo respect privacy.

[Ippo]

Sure, but the owner of the site that uses Google Ads has the final word about what ads can go on rotation on his pages.

I really don't care if I'm shown girls in panties (actually, moar plz), but since the moderators remind us a lot that there are also younger users on this forum, maybe they'd like to check the parameters of their account to filter these out.

[Dooz]

I'm being stalked by "Obama lowers homeowners owe" and "view arrest record now!" And "secret trick removes water fluoride" or "DONT DRINK ANOTHER DROP OF WATER UNTIL YOU SEE THIS!!"

What id do is look through your installed programs and check if you have adware, and empty your cookies.

I also dump my cookies frequently so these are out of the blue.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Dooz

[KasperVld]

Yes, the Google ads have been an eyesour for quite some time. I'll report these latest scam-ads to Alex on monday.

[Red Iron Crown]

Heh, this one is pretty close to violating the "no conspiracy theory" rule:

Thank goodness someone is offering a method to get rid of the mind-controlling fluoride in our water!

[Rainbowtrout]

Heh, this one is pretty close to violating the "no conspiracy theory" rule:

-snip

Thank goodness someone is offering a method to get rid of the mind-controlling fluoride in our water!

Ads along those lines are the reason I trust no pictures of people that seem remotely exaggerated. Especially the "muscle building" ones. Now, all skin seems like plastic Wait, what were we talking about?

On the whole, I do wish these ads could be removed. Young people do read the forums, sometimes with their parents. It would be a shame that one dodgy ad could remove KSP from a child's life.

[Ippo]

Ads along those lines are the reason I trust no pictures of people that seem remotely exaggerated. Especially the "muscle building" ones. Now, all skin seems like plastic Wait, what were we talking about?

On the whole, I do wish these ads could be removed. Young people do read the forums, sometimes with their parents. It would be a shame that one dodgy ad could remove KSP from a child's life.

Picture related.

[Daishi]

Ah, found it.

Leads to..

Not sure if I want to go further.

[Dooz]

I am being followed by Counter strike (Free) Advertisment, and all other sketchy looking ads, and the classic Fake download Advertisment.

[General Rarity]

I don't know about you guys, but all I'm getting is Destiny ads. That's about it. Google wants me to buy a PS4.

But earlier this month, I was getting the same ad as Daishi over and over again... lead to the same page, too.

[Dooz]

but all I'm getting is Destiny ads.

I am to

Well I'm sure many of us are interested in space and Then EVIL Tracking cookies! serve us ads.

But

Another Ad thats bad is "find out if he is cheating on you!" Or Ads for Rated M games Which I only saw one, I keep getting ads for Trashy anime.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Dooz

[WinkAllKerb'']

Bah ... sometime adds could make you laugh, cry, moan or smile. *yawn* *shrug* *next* ...

[Rowsdower]

Snip

Hi, Daishi. Thanks for letting us know about this. Alex is on the case and he'll be going through our adsense configuration to see what other types of ad topics need to be blocked. Ads dealing with adult material, pharmaceuticals, etc; have been long blocked, but this one's definitely shady and hopefully, he'll be able to reconfigure things so something like it doesn't pop up again.

[Daishi]

Hi, Daishi. Thanks for letting us know about this. Alex is on the case and he'll be going through our adsense configuration to see what other types of ad topics need to be blocked. Ads dealing with adult material, pharmaceuticals, etc; have been long blocked, but this one's definitely shady and hopefully, he'll be able to reconfigure things so something like it doesn't pop up again.

Happy to help