Here you can explore our reflections and insights on topics such as advertising, privacy, and security in the digital age.
Online advertising is theft of your security
Advertising networks like Google AdSense, DoubleClick, Bing Ads and many others have a huge reach and that makes them very interesting to anyone trying to spread malware. Many mainstream sites give these networks real estate on their pages. When you visit your favorite site, which serves ads from such a network, in effect this network … Continue reading “Online advertising is theft of your security”
More than a traditional ad-blocker
IvyDNS does ad-blocking and while this is not the only thing it does, it is the one that stands out most. With claims, or should we say ‘hopes’, by the IAB (Internet Advertising Board) that usage of ad-blockers is plateauing, they are still trying to get you to absorb as many ads as possible, fortunately … Continue reading “More than a traditional ad-blocker”
Why privacy matters
Over the last 16 months, as I’ve debated this issue around the world, every single time somebody has said to me, “I don’t really worry about invasions of privacy because I don’t have anything to hide.” I always say the same thing to them. I get out a pen, I write down my email address. … Continue reading “Why privacy matters”
We do not use google analytics
Have you noticed that we don’t run Google Analytics on this site? If you’ve ever used it, you’ll be very well aware of the level of detailed in the information it gathers. When used and activated, it knows who you are, tracks you as you browse from page to page, knows how far down a … Continue reading “We do not use google analytics”
Online advertising is theft of your attention
Attention is the allocation of limited processing resources, it is a finite resource and once spent, it is forever gone. If you want to think of attention in terms of a commodity, then attention is one of the most valuable ones since it drives & influences our actions, behaviors & thoughts so deeply. We pay … Continue reading “Online advertising is theft of your attention”
Online advertising is theft of your bandwidth
This is a silly car-analogy and while it may not make sense at first, it’ll soon become clear why advertising is theft of your bandwidth. Here’s the scenario: You haven’t seen your grandma in a while so you jump in your car to go visit her. She lives in a very nice community just minutes … Continue reading “Online advertising is theft of your bandwidth”
Advertising is theft
When the subject of advertising blocking comes up, there’s always the argument that by ad-blocking you deprive those running a site from revenue. Frequently, it is phrased as “running an ad-blocker is theft”. This argument hinges upon the assumption that by not giving the advertiser full, unfettered and unregulated access to your device, your time, … Continue reading “Advertising is theft”