- Jan 8, 2011
- 22,361
Neutral stance on AdBlockers - this post does neither encourage or discourage the user of one.
Reason Software are the company behind the better known for their free security products such as HerdProtect and Reason Core Security. While their other projects include ShouldIRemoveIt.com and Boost.
Visiting their Should I Remove It website, you may consider it trustworthy without any risks, but as with most free services, there is always a hidden catch, trial-ware or otherwise. In this case, it's how they serve ads to unsuspecting visitors.
Inb4: Not everyone uses an Adblocker and it is per user choice.
In this instance, I am served this Ad. As you can see, this Sponsored Ad wants me to download some software called "Windows Repair Tool: Fix Windows Errors on Your PC! Boost your PC speed..." etc.
(If ignored, the Ad disappears after 5-10 seconds).
It's strongly suggested not to click on Sponsored Ads, as they are more than likely to serve unwanted or malicious Ads.
Acting as a naive web user, I clicked on Download Now (because the Ad said so).
VirusTotal Scan Results:
Not all Advertising is used for nefarious activity, for example, the non-sponsored Google Ads by AVG and Bullguard take users to special landing page that offers their products with considerable discounts.
Ad Link to AVG:
Wrap up: Be especially wary of Sponsored Ads and Links and never click the 'Download Now' buttons.
Thanks for reading.
Reason Software are the company behind the better known for their free security products such as HerdProtect and Reason Core Security. While their other projects include ShouldIRemoveIt.com and Boost.
Visiting their Should I Remove It website, you may consider it trustworthy without any risks, but as with most free services, there is always a hidden catch, trial-ware or otherwise. In this case, it's how they serve ads to unsuspecting visitors.
Inb4: Not everyone uses an Adblocker and it is per user choice.
In this instance, I am served this Ad. As you can see, this Sponsored Ad wants me to download some software called "Windows Repair Tool: Fix Windows Errors on Your PC! Boost your PC speed..." etc.
(If ignored, the Ad disappears after 5-10 seconds).
It's strongly suggested not to click on Sponsored Ads, as they are more than likely to serve unwanted or malicious Ads.
Acting as a naive web user, I clicked on Download Now (because the Ad said so).
VirusTotal Scan Results:
- Report for Site: /url/ec25bc05f6c5655f0fcc849db8b8dfcfe80fb13afb434d56a584623f5a1c4212/analysis/
- File Analysis for Download: /file/f294e38e1674e2868fe05692f91924c2eceeab3ce91b544e6a18aa7e078c634e/analysis/
Not all Advertising is used for nefarious activity, for example, the non-sponsored Google Ads by AVG and Bullguard take users to special landing page that offers their products with considerable discounts.
Ad Link to AVG:
Wrap up: Be especially wary of Sponsored Ads and Links and never click the 'Download Now' buttons.
Thanks for reading.
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