Down the bullshit ad rabbit hole...  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2020, 09:20:58 pm
content: Hi,On a site that has recently been linked in another thread I noticed a few, well, interesting adds. I dismissed it, but then I became curious as to what they actually were. I followed 3 of them.This post is a series of 3 posts, each describing one ad.The first one was A:Something 12x better than solar panels? Wow, sounds awesome!Clicking on the ad a new window appeared, with a legit sounding title, Utopian Reports. There was a short intro on how the thing that I'm about to see is simply amazing and that I should watch the video.Going further we get to the amazing life story of some guy, who invented some stuff WHICH CAN HELP YOU ELIMINATE YOUR POWERBILL! It's done by means of a vaguely described process, mixed in with mumbo jumbo, with the occasional sciency word added for flavour.Oh! You're in luck! They have a sale! But you must hurry, act now and buy it! You'll have access to all the blueprints and such! Just 49 USD instead of the normal 149 USD! Quickly!

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2020, 09:24:24 pm
content: The next life changer was B. Apparently people in Slovakia (my country) are absolutely in love with it! Sounds legit!Clicking on it directs me to a news site called TopGadgetAdvisor... OK, it's not exactly a news site, but it tries its very best to look like on, so people will assume that it is one.Conveniently enough they do have a link to the shop. Wow, that's useful. And they don't have any other content, which is disappointing

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2020, 09:28:15 pm
content: Quote from: daqq on March 28, 2020, 09:20:58 pmI would have clicked on "the 30-second stretch that ends back pain". (And presumably replaces it by some overwhelming other pain...)

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2020, 09:30:36 pm
content: The third ad is for a cellphone radiation blocking device. Same as before - Slovakians are enamored by it.Clicking on the ad shows me TopGadgetAdvisor again. Same as before. Oh, none of the items on the screen are clickable - they are just meant to confer a legitness to the site. Aside from the 'check availability' and various links to the 'manufacturers site'.Clicking on those I am finally rewarded by the order page. And look! It's available now and they have a discount today! Lucky me!

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2020, 09:34:38 pm
content: Summary:1) Check your ads and the products you refer to.2) 99% of ads are bullshit.And yesterday there was this wonderful ad, which, sadly, I did not explore further

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2020, 06:26:40 pm
content: Quote from: daqq on March 28, 2020, 09:34:38 pmHah, you better did:https://www.cnet.com/news/ibm-new-53-qubit-quantum-computer-is-its-biggest-yet/

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2020, 06:35:06 pm
content: Quote from: Haenk on March 29, 2020, 06:26:40 pmYeah, well -- but why "People in Bratislava"?? Is there a connection?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 29, 2020, 06:36:18 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on March 29, 2020, 06:35:06 pmThat add will show whatever location it thinks your IP comes from.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2020, 06:56:36 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on March 29, 2020, 06:36:18 pmAh, thanks! I was actually unaware of that practice. I guess I don't see enough of that stupidity since I use ad blockers with all my browsers.

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2020, 07:33:29 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on March 29, 2020, 06:56:36 pmIt sometimes leads to hilarious fails where it thinks your IP belongs to a tiny village with 20 inhabitants, that is barely on the map, but somehow has all those geniuses.But, yeah, rolling with an ad blocker makes the web a much more pleasant place to be.

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2020, 07:40:20 pm
content: Quote from: Haenk on March 29, 2020, 06:26:40 pmI'm 99.999% sure that that ad did not redirect to any serious site, but just used the image as bait. I'll explore it further next time I see it.