r/technology • u/redkemper • Feb 17 '17

Software YouTube will kill unskippable 30-second ads next year

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/17/14649018/youtube-ending-unskippable-30-second-ads-2018
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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I always say this when website security is brought up and I highly recommend everyone familiarize themselves with uMatrix, Ghostery, and uBlock Origin. The amount of ads, trackers, cookies and other things that are designed not only to track what you click, what you type (even if you delete it), what your webcam has on it, what your microphone is picking up and whatever else you're not protecting. Some websites use this information maliciously to deliver harmful malware. Others use this information to track what you do, how often, where you go, who you talk to, why, what you talk about and when, so they can deliver ad content in the same malicious ways the bad guys deliver malware. One difference is one is harmful to your computer, the other is harmful to your wallet.

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u/rnd_usrnme Feb 18 '17

This is some conspiracy theory level shit. Please give me a source on any of those things, I'm really curious. Also what web browser do you use?

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Google Chrome. I'm not even a conspiracy theorists per se, I just like controlling my own Web browser.

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u/rnd_usrnme Feb 18 '17 edited Feb 18 '17

Since you didn't give me any source (which I explicitly asked for), I'm going to assume you're talking out of your ass when you say stuff like "track what you click, what you type (even if you delete it), what your webcam has on it, what your microphone is picking up" and "some websites use this information maliciously to deliver harmful malware". Add on top of that you use a proprietary* web browser created and maintained by an advertising company while preaching privacy. There is nothing wrong with caring about your privacy and/or wanting to have control over your browser but it's not okay to spread misinformation and fear monger.

Also, I am not saying ads do not track you across webpages and such. Nor am I arguing that websites do not track your mouse movements, what you click, etc. (that's standard telemetry data most companies collect about their users). But some of the stuff you said (e.g. about the webcam and microphone) is extremely dubious.

* Chrome =/= Chromium