AdTrap Aims To Block All Internet Advertising In Hardware 295
cylonlover writes "AdTrap is a new low-power, zero configuration device which promises to banish adverts from computers, tablets, and anything else connected to the local network. AdTrap's creators point out that their device works not only with full-sized PCs, but everything else connected to your home internet, such as Apple devices running iOS 6 – and without the need of third-party apps or jailbreaking. In addition to blocking web browser ads, AdTrap is also reported to remove ads from streaming devices like Apple TV and Google TV. A configurable 'whitelist' is offered too, so that users can allow adverts on websites of their choice."
Re:Embed ads into directly into HTML (Score:5, Insightful)
Because these days ads are not served from the same source as the content. They used to be in the past and likely will again in the future if this sort of thing catches on.
Re:no (Score:2, Insightful)
Even if the ads are encrypted, if the IP of the ad server is blocked, the ads are not getting across.
My concern about a device like this is that it ups the arms race. Right now, I use Adblock, NoScript, and Ghostery on FF, and "click to play" and Adblock on Chrome without issues. With devices like this, websites will start denying content, similar to an old EQ2 wiki site where I had to use greasemonkey to get around the JavaScript.
Ads are less of a concern for me. The fact that ad servers are a very large source for malware is.
What I don't get is the difference between this device and a transparant proxy. Perhaps it might be good to have the device add a squid cache so it not just blocks IP addresses, but generally speeds up browsing.
From the TFA, I'm guessing this is a BlueCoat-lite device.
I am opposed to this. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:no (Score:4, Insightful)
"as for my mobile devices I could simply blacklist IP addresses and domains at my own router and do everything this box claims to do already"
Now pull yourself out of the Slashdot groupthink and pretend you don't know the difference between a router and a modem (and don't care). This is a box you plug in and it gets rid of a lot of ads. No need to install stuff on every computer, no need to fiddle with black-thingies and I-pee addresses (these Internet people think of such such stupid names).
Re:blocked already (Score:5, Insightful)
1. They understand that the web sites and services they want need money to operate, and that money comes from ads. When ads no longer pay the bills (because everyone uses some method to avoid them) those 'free' services will no longer exist. You know why newwpapers are dying - because they are losing their major source of revenue, ads. The same thing will happen with the web. How long do you think Google, for instance, would last without advertising revenue?
2. They don't have a pathological fear of ads
3. They may find some ads actually useful
Re:Countermeasures Deployed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Countermeasures Deployed (Score:3, Insightful)
If you have a pulse, you should probably block experts-exchange.com.
Re:Countermeasures Deployed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Embed ads into directly into HTML (Score:4, Insightful)
1) Shares the bandwidth load between two servers
I just hope your layout does not depend on the ads them because those servers are going to be overloaded and dog slow, delaying the rendering of your page.
Re:blocked already (Score:3, Insightful)
but to dismiss the entire advertising industry is wrong
I dismissed the entire ad industry as soon as I got background popup videos that were playing sound, and an ad somewhere near the bottom of a long page that was also playing sound at the same time. At that point, it just became a battle of who could make me hate the internet more, so I decided to surrender and make a blanket statement of "I never want to see another ad again, lest I destroy my computer out of sheer rage".
It is not my fault that sound-based advertisements ruined the entire game for everyone.
Re:Countermeasures Deployed (Score:5, Insightful)
Then that just means you've never visited a fashion website, where all the articles are actually lightweight ads, and the actual ads are often more desirable than the articles.
Protip (that will likely blow your mind): people buy fashion magazines BECAUSE OF THE ADS.
They don't fill 800 pages of Vogue's September issue with articles. It's pretty much all ads.
The reason internet dorks hate ads is because they're fed terrible, terrible ads because of your undesirable last-place demographic. If you were fed good ads, perhaps with a naked Kate Moss, you would have absolutely no problem with ads, and in fact, would go out of your way to seek them. It is why fashion photographs often sell for thousands of dollars on their own.
Again, the fact that you hate ads just means you aren't receiving the good ones, because marketers have deemed you undesirable and unworthy of the good stuff, probably because you aren't a rich, young, beautiful woman that spends on wants instead of needs. (the worst ads are the ones that market to your needs)
Re:Countermeasures Deployed (Score:4, Insightful)
How else do you expect them to know whose blacklist to use?