We're now in the third week of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. For the previous posts (and other security articles we've posted) please see: www.newpaltz.edu/ncsam. I hope people find these useful!
The topic today is about using Ad Blockers. Online ads can be annoying, but the annoyance they cause isn't the reason we are recommending them. It is the security risks. I wrote earlier this month about fraudulent ads or malvertising. These fraudulent ads can:
- Either run malicious code (malware) on your computer
- They can link to malicious applications (for example, if you searched for
- They can be completely fraudulent and pop-up with fake warnings that your computer is infected (trying to trick people to paying for malware removal services, or just tricking them into giving out their bank/credit account information to supposedly fix the issue).
Ad Blocking to the rescue!
One thing you should consider, to help defend against these fraudulent ads, is an ad blocking plugin. What these ad blockers do is block most ads (based on sets of rules that are frequently updated). They are installed as an extension or add-on to your web browser. This reduces the security risks of malicious ads. They can also prevent some of the tracking plugins from being used, leading to less information about you being leaked to advertisers.
There are a few well known ad blockers, but we recommend the following:
These plugins will run in the major web browsers, at least on computers: Chrome, Firefox, & Edge (Safari is supported with Adblock Plus, not Ublock). If you go to the pages linked above, they will have installation instructions.
What are the downsides to Ad Blocking?
There's two major issues with ad blocking.
- Compatibility issues with sites: Some websites may not work or may explicitly prevent you from using their sites if you don't turn off the ad blocking.
- There are ethical issues some have with ad blocking. Many websites are funded exclusively by ads, and some believe that using ad blocking is effectively stealing resources from those sites.
Though I sympathize with that last issue, my concern is for security first and foremost. Until there's a true change in the advertisement industry where they are consistently vetting their ads (for security, accuracy, and to stop fraudulent ads), I will continue to use and recommend ad blocking.
You can, for compatibility or to support sites, turn off adblocking on a per-site basis. For example, the link below is how to use the interface for uBlock (which is accessed via the uBlock icon at the top right of the browser). You can use that to disable it temporarily, or for a particular site.\
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Quick-guide:-popup-user-interface
A good page on ad blocking, and these issues, is Ad-Blockers: The Good, the Bad, the Ethics.