yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
fake links to ads

I didn't think this was quite the same issue.

I found a place to change the default Forum Skin from Forum Default to XDA 2013. I noted a fake link in a post before making the change. When I view the same post after making the change, there is no link. On the other hand, in the thread I started about this, the second time my original post is quoted, the word "view" becomes an ad-popping pseudo-link. (The place where I was able to change the Forum Skin *did* warn that some forums might temporarily override my choice. When I refreshed the page, the fake link no longer appeared.)

When I first read your response, I couldn't find a fake link to watch to see if changing the skin would eliminate the link. At the time, I was using a tablet. I'm not sure I ever saw such links while using the tablet. I don't know if it's the browser itself, or the user-agent string, or some other magic.

Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like it will at least cut down on the fake links.
[About XDA developers] rcky844:
The ad down in the bottom makes settings and logout impossible without the old F12 trick
[About XDA developers] Eleo:
They probably didn't consider that long "my devices" list :o

BTW are you snooping on [MENTION=3946657]xanthrax[/MENTION]? :D
[About XDA developers] Oswald Boelcke:
I've to admit that at least from my point of view this problem really persists - however only on style XDA 2015. I don't have the issue in my default style XDA 2013 beta - 1024.

And your observation regarding xanthrax is interesting.

Have a good night and a nice weekend.

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay at home.

Regards

Oswald Boelcke
[About XDA developers] rcky844:
I just have a lot of phones, a few isnt even here!
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
Please stop pinning ads.

It's bad enough having ads between posts, jerking the screen around as they figure out how big the ad needs to be.

When you pin an ad to the screen, you permanently deprive me of part of my screen. It doesn't help to click the "X", hoping it will close the ad without giving someone an excuse to pretend I agreed to something: After a few seconds, another ad appears, also pinned.

At least let me scroll past an ad. I've already lost a third of my screen to the permanently pinned site header.
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
You seem to have half stopped pinning ads to the bottom of the screen. Now I'm getting a semi-transparent block pinned to the bottom of the screen. It's still eating a fifth of my window, a third of what was left over after the pinned header. Please stop.

While typing this I saw an ad pop up in the semi-transparent block. After a few seconds, the ad went away, leaving the semi-transparent block pinned to the bottom of my window.

This is in Firefox, under Windows, on a desktop computer.
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
Ad for Dr. Fone claims "root any Android device with one click". That can't be true.
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
I just dismissed the obligatory pinned-to-the-bottom-of-the-page ad, and it was immediately replaced with an ad that did *not* have a "dismiss" button in the usual place. I took a chance and clicked on the "X" right next to the "play" button, and the ad disappeared, with the space still reserved for Google to whine "why don't you like this ad?"

When I went to the next page of the thread, there was an ad that was *not* pinned to the bottom of the window. Instead, it overlay the middle of the first post. I could not read the first post. Scrolling the page did not move the text of the post past the ad. The ad stayed right where it was, obscuring the middle of the first post.

Yes, reloading the page did change the ad placement, so I could now read the first post.
[About XDA developers] GeTex:
In post ad's grabbing text and making hyperlinks seems extremely dangerous considering the nature of this forum. Users are taken somewhere they do not expect, also creates some performance issues in very long guide posts, it's terrible on mobile
[About XDA developers] mstn1985:
Dear Sir, when i want to view and visit the xda Forum post there’s many more ads disturbing. Please let them check out do something.

Thank you
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
Often, when I click "next page" (as in I got to the end of a 20 post page and I want to see the next up-to-20 posts), my screen is commandeered by an ad. The ad does not fill the screen, but it makes sure what little isn't filled is blurred. It doesn't have an "X" in the upper right corner, I have to pay enough attention to find the buttons, one to close the ad, one to get dragged further into the process of desperately trying to separate me from something of value.

I hate it. Please stop.
[About XDA developers] mobbdeep:
I've been getting several intrusive ads for a long time now, especially when using my inbox which is what I use 98% of the time I'm on this forum. I get them at the top, middle, and ones that force me to watch them before I can dismiss it. Often times, I also get ones where the entire background of the forum is an ad and no matter where I click on my screen, it redirects me to the website for the ad and the only way out of it is closing the tab or browser entirely.

Here are some examples..
[About XDA developers] shanxybeast:
I understand the needs for ads for the site, that's not the issue, but when I'm clearly telling it to f*** off and it's purposely still displaying and taking up half my screen where I can't actually read the content, it becomes intrusive and makes me not want to come back to the forums.
[About XDA developers] sibsoner:
Please PM me because I need to PM you and it won't let me please thank you or call me atT-Mobile OnePlus N20 last name Richards phone number 934-899-2702
[About XDA developers] benjamingwynn:
Yeah I get them sometimes too
[About XDA developers] ts_firehawk:
I hate all kinds of ads. On Chrome I use AdBlock and on my phone I use AdAway (open-source and works).

If I have an option to pay to not have ads, that's what I do. Otherwise, adblocks all the way.
[About XDA developers] AndyBurns:
Anyone else getting the "Brackley's" mobgift.com advert when browsing from Android?

It seems to target Android browser, never occurs when I'm using firefox from PC, it seems to delay until I've loaded a forum page and started reading it, then an almost full (phone-sized) dialog pops up with you're a winner blah blah, and an OK button to visit their site, pressing 'back' doesn't cancel it it take you back to the preceeding page

This is

MEGA

annoying, can the site owners blacklist individual Ads like this?
[About XDA developers] EndlessDissent:
I get these, too, on my TF300 when using Chrome, but I get them mostly on the main page, not as often while reading forums. Not sure if it's for "Brackley's" or anything. The only thing I can think to do is try to make it go away, so I never pay attention.

Honestly, I actually use the Premium HD app now, so I haven't had to deal with those for a while, but I wanted to confirm that there is a problem.
[About XDA developers] benjamingwynn:
Yep I get them too, it's a pain in the ass tbh.
[About XDA developers] Bexton:
Hi forum administration.

Over the last weeks i get permanently video ads dislayed in the "ad-billboard-bottom" div at the bottom of pages. These video ads have no visible controls, because the div display size is smaller than the iframe containing the ad.

Therefore you can neither stop, pause or mute the video. This is really annoying.

Please, please: adjust the div size so the controls are accessable.

edit: +1 for the mobgift.com ads issue.

edit2: seems to be "fixed" with the 2013 theme

edit3: okay, it is NOT fixed with the 2012 theme. instead, now there're two divs containing these kind of frigging ads:
[About XDA developers] 16v:
Screenshot not possible cause there are many Videoa Ads.

German Football, Lamborghini News, A Game Video (Focus), Letterman Show infos,...

I can´t stop it the refresh themselv. muting them also don´t work!
[About XDA developers] molesarecoming:
i ask you to not post here in this nicely contained thread which can be so easily overlooked. be as intrusive as these ads and post outside. Its insanity right now, i cant remember any site spamming so badly. if these ads were at least silent i wouldnt care and even click one or two to generate income for xda, but the browser just needs to play loud sounds.
[About XDA developers] funkyblue04:
It's getting crazy. I've had five LOUD ads this morning. So frustrating. When are they going to be made SILENT?

Why not have an ad-free version with a donation?
[About XDA developers] Prawesome:
Be specific so that the admins can know where your "problem" is coming from.
[About XDA developers] bluenote73:
Let's face it, most of the rest of the internet that has an ounce of traffic uses ad revenue and they manage to do it without being completely obnoxious and loud.

So who do you think is the problem?

Hmm.
[About XDA developers] AndroHero:
10 char......
[About XDA developers] IcedCube:
Stop bumping your post, if you're boycotting XDA, go somewhere else.

I too, got a big ugly popup from "gotfreebies.org" that even pinpointed my location, which was scary. It said that I'd been selected to win some crapple ****, and I had no other option other than to hit "OK". The back button did jack ****, I was forced to click okay.

I quickly exited from that site, but suddenly, when I browsed XDA looking for a kernel for my A501 Iconia Tab on a fresh install, I got a porn advertisement featuring a site called "shagbook" or something to that extent that just popped up in my face and started loading in the background. Intrusive? Yes.

So, XDA, please consider rethinking your advertisements, or blacklist these bastard advertisers. You'll put me and others out of our misery.

I know I can use AdAway or Adfree, but sometimes, that's not a solution if your device doesn't have a root solution.
[About XDA developers] boborone:
Yeah on that note, i'm wondering why svetius continues to use that ad service. Why not switch. It seems that nothing is getting done about the offending ads at all.

I'm beginning to think that my request to make this thread, and all thanks goes to trm for doing so, was for not. I use adblockers on my phone and computer. I only see en when not on my personal tech. And its the same ones that gabber been reported over and over.

Sent from your phone you lost the game.
[About XDA developers] AndroHero:
Sorry i wasn't tryna bump my post, i posted in the wrong thread first time round. :)
[About XDA developers] pulser_g2:
I'm going to bring this up again, there appear to be too many of these getting through
[About XDA developers] mbirth:
Surfing from Germany with the mobile browser (stock), I get redirected to some h**p://uporn.mobi.xpor.mobi/de/movie/details/401/Sex-im-Freien?p=435&... link - 10 seconds after the xda thread has finished loading. This is when coming from Google.

And this only works once, then sets a cookie. So clear your cookies to try this out. Also it might only work when coming from a Google result page.
[About XDA developers] -Grift-:
yeah similar stuff happens to me too but only when i use my phone to browse (randomly happens when i browse from other sites to xda) almost got caught by my parents when it redirected me to some weird online porn live chat thingy...............
[About XDA developers] wayzata:
I have a fix for everyone's issues.

l2adblock.
[About XDA developers] Matamlayin:
Same question here.

Same question here but after visiting your thread, i read a lot of answers and that made me satisfied. Thanks a lot! :good:
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
Why?

I was reporting an obnoxious situation. The situation no longer occurs. (If the relief I have been enjoying is a result of my being awarded a title, then I feel sorry for the peasants.)
[About XDA developers] 7ORO:
Do anyone know what happened to xda-developers? It was once a site where people got tools to block ads on Android, to unlock phones that were provider locked, to root their phones and much more.

Since some months the main site "www.xda-developers.com" has an ad script by admiral that just wants us to turn off our adblockers. Sometimes it is possible to just click on the dismiss button but other times it just blocks to read any content. Further after opening some blog posts it even want you to sign in and does not show any content if not done.

Is this really what the XDA community wants to have? I am the only one that thinks that such community driven website should not include intrusive ads and even lead people to turn off their ad blockers? Even from a security perspective it is bad to disable any ad blocker as there are more and more malicious ads.
[About XDA developers] ZG_DEV:
Actually, I was suffering from ads when signing in the forums, when a guest opens the forums or the user didn't sign in, a small ads bar at the bottom of the screen appears !

@MikeChannon for your attention.
[About XDA developers] MikeChannon:
It helps us if we get a screenshot of ads that cannot be dismissed. We are not immune to rogue adverts but tracking them down isn't always easy.

Mike
[About XDA developers] fillwithjoy1:
{Mod edit: Link to spam post removed. Oswald Boelcke, Senior Moderator}
[About XDA developers] Oswald Boelcke:
Hello and good morning, @fillwithjoy1

Thanks for your reports. I've removed the links to the spam posts; both have been handled by another moderator.

Unless you've already seen it, I suggest to repost such spam in the following thread in future:

SPAM Reporting Thread: This thread is to be used in reporting any and all found Spam.

Members, this thread is to report any found Spam. And or hit the report button is also a great way to report the found spam, thanks in advance, for helping keep XDA clean. Remember the Moderators are all in different time zones, and we are...

xdaforums.com

Regards

Oswald Boelcke

Senior Moderator
[About XDA developers] InTheCage:
Hello I appreciate the forums for long time now, /end ass kissing.

But why have these unnecessary animations on forums, it's nothing more than a slowdown and doesn't give us (me) a battlestar galactica feeling or rush whatsoever.

I looked at settings but no option to disable.

I mean, yea it was cool with macromedia flash sites back in the day, but now? ..... I don't think so.

Can anyone shine some light ont his matter?
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
Where are you seeing any animation?

A few people have animated avatars. I don't remember seeing forum level animations while reading posts.
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
When loading threads, posting, searching results, and viewing profiles.
[About XDA developers] J.Michael:
I use a browser.

Are you using the XDA app?
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
No, browser too
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
This is on the articles site, and is very ironic

I can‘t even read the darn article anymore!
[About XDA developers] Oswald Boelcke:
Hello @EllieCat

Is it the same for you on our Forums i.e.

XDA Forums

Android Forum for Mobile Phones, Tablets, Hardware & App Development

xdaforums.com

Please be aware that the Forums and the portal i.e.

XDA

The world’s best source for computing news, reviews, editorials guides, and more.

www.xda-developers.com

are more or less separate items although both owned by the same company. Both are different domains and have different user accounts.

Regards

Oswald Boelcke
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
I just got logged out of my xda forums account for some reason and had to use 2FA. The problem is that signing in with ads that are half the size and have audio/video make my device really laggy. This ends up causing lag and “error verifying authentication code”. There are also full screen ads along with flashing animations which cause my device to become really buggy and fustrating to open up email.

Thanks for understanding.
[About XDA developers] Oswald Boelcke:
@willverduzco @MikeChannon

Sirs, for your evaluation please.
[About XDA developers] MikeChannon:
Are you having to use 2FA for every log in? You should get an option to approve your device for say 30 days.

Not sure if you are logging in on an App or browser but you can give yourself a bit of extra time by using your authenticator code immediately after it changes to a new code number. i.e. wait for the number to change or else the verification code number may well expire before you get a chance to put it in.

Mike
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
Thanks. I trust this device for 30 days and I have barely any storage for an authentication app. My RAM is terrible.
[About XDA developers] willverduzco:
Thanks for reporting this. So I can relay the info and image to the ads team, can you please share what device, OS version, browser, and browser version you are on?
[About XDA developers] MikeChannon:
Well we recommend 2FA but in certain circumstances it may be easier not to use it.

We are able to disable it if necessary.

The other option we don't recommend is an Ad blocker because we need to survive financially as a site but in your case it might be needed.

Mike
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
Device: iPad 7th generation

OS: iOS 17.5.1

Browser: Safari

Browser Version: Safari 17.4
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
Safari doesn’t have an adblocker. My parent doesn’t allow me to download adblockers.

I’m scared someone is going to hack my account.
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
I just got a full screen ad that I can’t exit when trying to log in (different device that just got logged out)
[About XDA developers] Dayuser:
So nothing happens when you press that "X" ??
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
It just loads another full screen ad
[About XDA developers] khusika:
It looks like that is a Vignette ads which are full-screen ads that appear between page loads and can be skipped by users at any time (reference). It seems that all well-known websites that use Google Adds, including this forum, enable this type of ads by default.

Is it possible to be disabled??

It should be possible, but that is the authority of the forum admin and the management.

As long as the ads can be closed, it's not a big deal.

As an alternative

- Use any adblocker

- Apply for Recognized progam for an extra ad-free
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
Those methods don’t work. My ad settings are blocked on my google account because it has underaged restrictions.

Adblock doesn’t work for safari and my parent won’t let me install them.

I haven’t reached a year on XDA.
[About XDA developers] EllieCat:
Update: The XDA articles site is way better than before. RAM is still an issue and connecting. Sorry about complaining so much.
[About XDA developers] InTheCage:
I see it when a page loads, Like the topic titles, it's a fade in effect. But it misses the point because before it fades in you see it for a spilt second.

sorry for extreme late reply..

browser Safari ios

I think they tweaked it, no longer see it for a split second, but still a roll down fade effect on the topics. It's not that annoying anymore but pointless none the less, always thought xda was somewhat an advocate to remove pointless things, burning up unnecessary cpu cycles.
[About XDA developers] planeboy:
This may be off topic, but I have seen intrusive scam ads on mobile games like moneymaking apps (yes, they exist in our poor country) and most of them (actually ALL) were scams as tested my my mom. To remove intrusive ads, just set private DNS to an adblocking DNS. (please search on Google because it may be forbidden to post links here).

Note: this is only on Android since Apple has too much (censored) security.

I can't post the photos here though because the ads are on my mom's phone. and a game called Blockash uses ads to give you money, but unfortunately, they were mostly fake games and money scams. Blockash is not warez.
[About XDA developers] Pig Vomit:
This has been bugging me for a while.

Occasionally when viewing the forums, I will press the "Back" button on my browser (currently IE9), and nothing happens. I'll hold click the Back button so my history appears, and it's completely overflowing with "atdmt" sites relating to the banner ads at the top of the forums.

I *LOVE* xda and want to support you guys in every way possible, and part of that is through the allowing of advertising that appears on this site. However, when it affects something so basic as flooding my history so that I can't navigate the forums properly, I have no choice but to add "atdmt" to my Block list in my router. While it solved the problem for me, it also takes money away from xda, which I'm not really thrilled about.

I've had the same problem on other sites which use atdmt.

So.....to xda admins......I recommend that you either put pressure on atdmt to fix this or choose a different advertising company to use on your forums.
[About XDA developers] Major_Sarcasm:
These video ads at the bottom of the pages are getting really annoying.

I had five tabs open a few minutes ago and suddenly FOUR of them started playing videos with sound. Quite ridiculous actually. Mute them and they just come back again with an auto-refresh (which is also bloody annoying).

XDA Admins: Stop it. Not the way to get me to click on stuff.
[About XDA developers] MikLSP:
I find the video ads which spontaneously start playing in the bottom right corner to be very intrusive. I have no problem with ads in general but I really don't appreciate them suddenly belting out a promotional reel about constipation relief over my speakers when they are not even visible on the screen!!! I have to mute my speakers to view this site.
[About XDA developers] syncopath:
The ads are now taking up so much space that there's no room left for forums...:)
[About XDA developers] droidphluxx:
The same happened to me earlier today on my Android phone: all of a sudden, while reading an article on the Daily Mail site, I got redirected to the following adult site: h**p://glamour.it.xpor.mobi/it/movie/details/601/Ragazze-Vixen-dai-capelli-neri-

Later today it happened again on another news site page, which redirected me to yet another adult site.

Since AFAIK my phone is clean from viruses, trojans and so on, and the only thing that the two news sites had in common were ads, I thought it could have been a JavaScript location.replace() triggered by a third-party script, so I installed the AdFree Android app, and the redirection stopped happening. Then I uninstalled it, cleared browser cache and cookies, went back to the Mail article, and got redirected again.

Finally, a Google search brought me to this thread.

To make a long story short... I've been able to reproduce the behaviour on my PC with Firefox (using a mobile user-agent string) while browsing a thread on this forum and save a dump of the HTTP request and response headers.

I'm attaching it to this post. Hope the details can help trace and block the source of these annoying ads exploits.
[About XDA developers] mbirth:
Seems to be initiated by http://ads.xda-developers.com/ads4.html?site=XD&zone=NewForum_ForumDisp_Bottom . So I guess, it's because xda get's lots of $$$ from these full-screen ads and that's why they don't do anything about it.