My browser session was getting redirected.
Over the last couple of months, certain sites were taking over my browser. At first I thought it was adware or spyware, but after making sure I was clean, I researched this issue further which led me to others having similar problems.
The conclusion was reached that ads were the culprit, so Adblock Plus was installed to determine the validity of said claims. After the ad blocking extension was in place, with the EasyList filters activated, my browser session was not redirected or hijacked and it felt speedier to boot.
When the original Adblock was released in 2002, I gave it a try and found it to slow down my surfing and cause issues with sites displaying correctly. This new Plus version feels snappier and I’ve yet to encounter an issue with any site I visit, like a required element not displaying.
I don’t dislike ads, heck I run Google AdSense on my sites, but when ads start carrying nasty payloads, then it’s time to rethink the ad model. The future direction of AdBlock Plus outlines capabilities to accept ads from certain providers, like if you’re cool with Google text ads but hate those flash based dancing mortgage ads.
“In 2007, hackers again attacked Monster.com with malicious ads that even if not clicked, still installed malicious code on the local machine and stole personal information from Monster.”
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz
Oh, what a relief it is!