# Mobile Redirects Currently Plaguing the Mobile Web



## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 16, 2018)

```
There is an internet wide annoyance currently affecting popular web sites. What used to only be a problem with clickbait junk sites has now hit the mainstream.</p>
<p>It’s not just Canon Rumors, this is an internet wide issue with sites like Yahoo, CNN and the New York Times suffering the same issues. We serve ads through Google and other top networks, and they are working hard to find a fix.</p>
<p>For example, last evening I was browsing Autoblog and I was hit by a redirect while using Chrome/Android. My system administrator has had the redirects pop up on Yahoo! It seems to happen to sites the user visits a lot, I’m on Autoblog 4-5 times a day and this is the only place I’ve had a redirect personally hit me. If I see a redirect, I dump my cache and restart my device.</p>
<p>Just because it only happens on Canon Rumors for you, doesn’t change the fact that this is a randomized issue affecting most popular web sites on the internet. As far as I know, this only affects mobile operating systems. I haven’t heard anything from desktop users.</p>
<p><strong>What can you do about it?</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Try viewing our site directly and not through Facebook or Twitter links.</li>
<li>Others have found clearing their cache and browsing history has eliminated or reduced the occurrences.</li>
<li>Try the latest version of Chrome to see if it reduces or eliminates it from happening.</li>
<li>You could turn off JavaScript and that should eliminate the issue. I’m not sure what affect that will have on browsing. (thanks docsmith)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Here is a story explaining this annoyance.</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/pop-up-mobile-ads-surge-as-sites-scramble-to-stop-them/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.wired.com/story/pop-up-mobile-ads-surge-as-sites-scramble-to-stop-them/&source=gmail&ust=1518886633849000&usg=AFQjCNEmabn53ygwtSq4_rNebIN9PilcNg">https://www.wired.com/story/<wbr />pop-up-mobile-ads-surge-as-<wbr />sites-scramble-to-stop-them/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Every ad network that I know of is working on how to prevent this new and effective annoyance.</p>
<p>Thanks for your understanding.</p>
<span id="pty_trigger"></span>
```


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## kaihp (Feb 16, 2018)

Canon Rumors said:


> Every ad network that I know of is working on how to prevent this new and effective annoyance.
> Thanks for your understanding.



Another reason why adblockers seem like the best solution these days - way too much uncontrolled crap through the AdSense & friends :-\

And yes, websites like CR needs to cover the costs and hopefully make a living for CRguy. We're between a rock and a hard place.

I forget: did we do the "premium" membership where you can go ad-less?


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## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 16, 2018)

kaihp said:


> Canon Rumors said:
> 
> 
> > Every ad network that I know of is working on how to prevent this new and effective annoyance.
> ...



The AdBlockers aren't preventing this, as they're based mostly on blacklists and this stuff is changing so quickly. I have hopes for the new Chrome and what Google is doing with killing annoying ads.

We'll be doing a premium service in the coming months. I don't like doing everything all at once, so the forum first and then the web site.


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## docsmith (Feb 16, 2018)

I haven't had an issue since turning off javascript. On my iPhone, go to Settings, then Safari, scroll all the way to the bottom to "Advanced" and then turn javascript off.


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## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 16, 2018)

docsmith said:


> I haven't had an issue since turning off javascript. On my iPhone, go to Settings, then Safari, scroll all the way to the bottom to "Advanced" and then turn javascript off.



Absolutely that will work, I imagine all the bad code is JavaScript based.

Are you having any other issues without JavaScript turned on?


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## LDS (Feb 16, 2018)

"and they are working hard to find a fix"

No, they aren't because it will hit profits. They could vet advertiser and their ads, they could ban JavaScript. But their model is accept everything and then put a Band-Aid on bigger issues, when they put them in bad light.

Photographers are expected to work abiding to ethical standards, adsmen are not.


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## IglooEater (Feb 16, 2018)

I think I’ve had this a few times too. Funny thing is I don’t even have a Facebook or Twitter.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 16, 2018)

LDS said:


> "and they are working hard to find a fix"
> 
> No, they aren't because it will hit profits. They could vet advertiser and their ads, they could ban JavaScript. But their model is accept everything and then put a Band-Aid on bigger issues, when they put them in bad light.
> 
> Photographers are expected to work abiding to ethical standards, adsmen are not.



Actually, they are working hard to fix it. They lose money because of this. Yes, they could ban javascript, but the real issue is that the ad process has been automated to save money, no one checks or vets them, anyone can remotely signup and submit a ad as long as they pay. 

So far, we don't even know where they are coming from. I've never seen one, but that is likely because I seldom use my iphone to browse web sites.


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## 9VIII (Feb 16, 2018)

After using iOS for a little over four years I've found that running Safari with Javascript turned off is almost as good as running Ublock Origin on PC.

99.9999999999% of websites assume everyone always has Javascript turned on, and their ads don't work if you turn it off. It's an amazingly simple thing to get around.
Yes, about 20% of the web doesn't work without Javascript, I probably have to go and flip it back on once a week in order to buy something, but understand that browsing the web with Javascript turned on is like running around in public with no pants.

On PC I also use Noscript to block absolutely everything by default, and then I only start allowing scripts if I _really_ want to see some of the script based content on a given site.

Also it helps to set your browser to clear everything every time you close it (and then make sure to close your browser every time you're done using it).


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## docsmith (Feb 16, 2018)

Canon Rumors said:


> Are you having any other issues without JavaScript turned on?



Very similar to what 9VIII describes. I usually do not even notice that I have it off. It has probably been 3-4 times that I have to turn it back on. Usually for videos or gifs.



9VIII said:


> After using iOS for a little over four years I've found that running Safari with Javascript turned off is almost as good as running Ublock Origin on PC.
> 
> 99.9999999999% of websites assume everyone always has Javascript turned on, and their ads don't work if you turn it off. It's an amazingly simple thing to get around.
> Yes, about 20% of the web doesn't work without Javascript, I probably have to go and flip it back on once a week in order to buy something, but understand that browsing the web with Javascript turned on is like running around in public with no pants.
> ...


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## BeenThere (Feb 16, 2018)

Turning off JavaScript on my iPad sure cleaned things up (in Safari menu). I’m sure there will be times when it has to be enabled, but so far i’m liking it.


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## magarity (Feb 16, 2018)

Computers and the internet would be so much cooler if some people weren't phishing, spamming, scamming jerks.


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## james75 (Feb 17, 2018)

Thanks for some of the tips. I've definitely been hit with this annoying popup lately.


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## Talys (Feb 17, 2018)

magarity said:


> Computers and the internet would be so much cooler if some people weren't phishing, spamming, scamming jerks.



+1 :'(


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## JMZawodny (Feb 17, 2018)

This is why I use a combination of NoScript, ad blockers, and white lists on my browsers. NoScript can be a pain on some websites that rely heavily on external scripts (sometimes layers of scripts that then call scripts from other sites, ...), but it is pretty rare for content to be available from online source these days. You can usually find a different way to get the info you want.

While these tools help, nothing is foolproof.


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## IglooEater (Feb 17, 2018)

magarity said:


> Computers and the internet would be so much cooler if some people weren't phishing, spamming, scamming jerks.



+1. Though I wouldn’t limit that statement to computers and internet.


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## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 17, 2018)

LDS said:


> "and they are working hard to find a fix"
> 
> No, they aren't because it will hit profits. They could vet advertiser and their ads, they could ban JavaScript. But their model is accept everything and then put a Band-Aid on bigger issues, when they put them in bad light.
> 
> Photographers are expected to work abiding to ethical standards, adsmen are not.



The largest ad network in the world has updated their browser to block what is deemed to be annoying and intrusive ads. These sorts of malicious ads are bad for business.


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## kaihp (Feb 17, 2018)

Canon Rumors said:


> The AdBlockers aren't preventing this, as they're based mostly on blacklists and this stuff is changing so quickly. I have hopes for the new Chrome and what Google is doing with killing annoying ads.
> 
> We'll be doing a premium service in the coming months. I don't like doing everything all at once, so the forum first and then the web site.



Let's see: I got AdBlock-Plus, NoScript, Ghostery, Self-Destructing Cookies, and Tampermonkey running in Firefox. I rarely (if ever) see an add that isn't integrated directly into the HTML. (It does make for a more cumbersome browsing experience though).

I understand the priorities and appreciate the "premium" version coming.

Thanks.


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## LDS (Feb 17, 2018)

Canon Rumors said:


> The largest ad network in the world has updated their browser to block what is deemed to be annoying and intrusive ads. These sorts of malicious ads are bad for business.



Are you sure? It's no surprise you've seen a surge in these ads, even on highly visible sites that should use reputable suppliers, exactly when Google is releasing a browser to block them, and sites hurry to recommend Chrome - not ads blockers (which are far more effective than those articles say) - to block them. A very strange coincidence.

Google, together Facebook, already dominates the online ads business and has three aims: 1) Avoid more people to start using ad blockers that block its ads too 2) Broaden Chrome dominance because that's a gateway to the full users activities, data that can also used to sell more ads, something Facebook misses 3) Be in the position to block competitors ad networks at its will (a true conflict of interests).

We're speaking of the company that knowingly helped to sell drugs unlawfully, and settled with the DOJ not long ago (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/google-forfeits-500-million-generated-online-ads-prescription-drug-sales-canadian-online), to avoid a full investigation.

I'm sure it will soon be under the radar of EU antitrust.


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## kaihp (Feb 18, 2018)

LDS said:


> We're speaking of the company that knowingly helped to sell drugs unlawfully, and settled with the DOJ not long ago (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/google-forfeits-500-million-generated-online-ads-prescription-drug-sales-canadian-online), to avoid a full investigation.
> 
> I'm sure it will soon be under the radar of EU antitrust.



Vestager (the competition commisioner) will probably have a field day with this


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## funkboy (Feb 20, 2018)

If you use FireFox (which also works great on mobile), there's a really nice blocking tool called NoScript:
https://noscript.net/
It's not for everyone & you kinda need to work with it a bit to train it, but once you get used to it & establish your whitelists it's not to hard to have it allow scripts from the sites you want & block the stuff you don't.

Another nice tool is the EFF's Privacy Badger do-not-track tool:
https://www.eff.org/privacybadger


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## kaihp (Feb 20, 2018)

funkboy said:


> If you use FireFox (which also works great on mobile), there's a really nice blocking tool called NoScript:
> https://noscript.net/
> It's not for everyone & you kinda need to work with it a bit to train it, but once you get used to it & establish your whitelists it's not to hard to have it allow scripts from the sites you want & block the stuff you don't.
> 
> ...



+1 on NoScript.

I encourage everyone to add "Self-destructing Cookies" to their must-have add-on list. It exists for Chrome as well.


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