Is anyone else having trouble with ads on the site?

[Laura33]

I keep getting an ad at the bottom of the screen that hijacks me -- it scrolls the screen down to force me to watch the ad, and it won't release me until the ad is done.  And then I scroll back up to whatever I'm reading or writing, and a few seconds later, the ad starts playing again, and I get pulled back down to the bottom of the screen.  I can't pause it, I can't mute it, and I can't escape the tractor beam -- it took me 30 fucking minutes to write a post because I kept getting hijacked.  It is really, really interfering with my ability to enjoy the site.  Anyone else experiencing this?  Any ideas for fixes?  @5-yr-old Mac, Sierra 10.12.5, running Safari, FWIW.

[Dave1442397]

Try running Bitdefender to see if there's something on your machine that shouldn't be there - https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/virus-scanner-for-mac.html

[Frankies Girl]

Get a free ad blocker.

I use uBlock Origin, but there's quite a few that will stop ads completely.

(this crap is happening on another site I go to, and they are losing members in droves because they are incapable of stopping the ads doing the highjacking)

[Raenia]

I just started getting the same thing this morning, never happened before this.  Unfortunately I can't install an ad-blocker on my work computer :(  I hope it gets fixed, only accessing the forums from home is going to seriously cut into my MMM time ;)

[KarefulKactus15]

I wasn't going to complain anywhere, but since I came across this post....


Yes the hi jacking one that scrolls to the bottom with blaring sound is awful...

[Financial.Velociraptor]

I wasn't going to complain anywhere, but since I came across this post....


Yes the hi jacking one that scrolls to the bottom with blaring sound is awful...

I haven't seen this behavior.  Maybe McAfee is dealing with it?

[KarefulKactus15]

Maybe , I was on my Android smart phone last time it happened.

[katsiki]

Use Adblock Plus or a similar blocker.

[maizefolk]

I just started getting the same thing this morning, never happened before this.  Unfortunately I can't install an ad-blocker on my work computer :(  I hope it gets fixed, only accessing the forums from home is going to seriously cut into my MMM time ;)

A bit more technical, but if you can change the default DNS server on your work computer and set up something like pihole on another machine (https://pi-hole.net/) you can keep your computer from loading any ads without having to install any software directly on your employers' computer.

[Davnasty]

Ads on this site are a curious conundrum. I assume advertisers pay rates based on traffic but given the personalities creating traffic on a site devoted to not buying crap, do you think they get their money's worth?

[arebelspy]

MOD NOTE: Can you give more detail on the ad in question?

[Roger D]

I'll second the suggestion of using the free "uBlock Origin" add-on with Firefox (on the desktop and on my Android phone). It solves the problem of abusive ads completely, and makes so many websites much more usable.

[MustachioedPistachio]

Ads on this site are a curious conundrum.

Heh heh heh...I've always pondered this one too.

[Raenia]

MOD NOTE: Can you give more detail on the ad in question?

It is a video ad playing in spanish (which I can't understand), so I have no idea what the ad is actually for :(  I'll try to get more detail the next time it happens.

[caffeine]

Laura, could you try a different computer/browser? Do you see the same ad? Is it an ad from Google Ads?

I once had some very intrusive ads and I believe my computer (browser) was infected with some malware that caused hijacking browsing to force me to watch ads.

[arebelspy]

I once had some very intrusive ads and I believe my computer (browser) was infected with some malware that caused hijacking browsing to force me to watch ads.

This is what I suspect is the case, but odd that two people had the same issue.

Either way, I'd like to track it down, if it exists.

Is there anyone not running an adblocker that has or hasn't seen these ads?

[simonsez]

Is there anyone not running an adblocker that has or hasn't seen these ads?

I do not run an adblocker.  I have not seen these ads.

[Optimiser]

I'll second the suggestion of using the free "uBlock Origin" add-on with Firefox (on the desktop and on my Android phone). It solves the problem of abusive ads completely, and makes so many websites much more usable.

I didn't realize Firefox for Android allowed the use of ad blockers. Switching from Chrome immediately.

[sean777]

This is what I suspect is the case, but odd that two people had the same issue.

Either way, I'd like to track it down, if it exists.

Is there anyone not running an adblocker that has or hasn't seen these ads?

I normally browse in Chrome in Incognito mode with no adblockers or other extensions. I've only run into this issue where the page scrolls down to the ad playing video a couple of times, but it just happened now. The ad was for centerpointenergy.com, and I attached a screenshot of the html behind the ad.

[arebelspy]

adhigh.net seems like potentially malware/adware that got installed at some point on your system. I'd look into cleaning it.

[sean777]

adhigh.net seems like potentially malware/adware that got installed at some point on your system. I'd look into cleaning it.

My computer and router are clean. I sent you a PM with some details.

While I have only seen the video ad auto scroll to the bottom a handful of times, I see video ads all the time on this site. They all appear to be from adhigh.net.

[arebelspy]

adhigh.net seems like potentially malware/adware that got installed at some point on your system. I'd look into cleaning it.

My computer and router are clean. I sent you a PM with some details.

While I have only seen the video ad auto scroll to the bottom a handful of times, I see video ads all the time on this site. They all appear to be from adhigh.net.

Okay. We'll look into it.

If anyone else sees these, please post!