Block Ads For Your Own Safety, Says The Man

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the finally,-some-public-service-from-public-servants dept

Careful, kids. The FBI is recommending something useful. The same entity that thinks encryption is the enemy has delivered a message suggesting it may still care about the safety and security of internet users… at least those it doesn’t consider to be persons of interest. Here’s Daniel Sims of Techspot with more details.

The FBI issued a public notice this week advising consumers to watch out for scammers impersonating advertisements. The Bureau’s solutions included using an ad blocker so the fraudulent ads (along with real ones) don’t appear.

Users who search for companies on Google these days usually see the word “ad” next to the first couple of search results from companies that buy ads on the service. The FBI warns that some malicious actors are buying ads while impersonating real companies in elaborate schemes to scam customers and deliver malware.

The surprise announcement that ad blocking may be good for your computer health comes as part of the FBI’s ongoing efforts against cyberfraudsters and malicious actors, some of which work for foreign governments. Impersonating ads is easy. Duping unsuspecting internet users is even easier. When the faux thing is indistinguishable from the real thing, the best prophylactic for safe surfing is an ad blocker, which will block all (or most) things ad purchasers (and malicious entities) wish people would click on.

In particular, the government highlights sites of dubious nature that provide big shiny “DOWNLOAD” buttons that do nothing but download malware, spyware, and bloatware onto users’ devices.

In instances where a user is searching for a program to download, the fraudulent webpage has a link to download software that is actually malware. The download page looks legitimate and the download itself is named after the program the user intended to download.

Put the ad block condom on your download wang, says The (federal) Man, taking a break from its usual hassling.

The FBI isn’t wrong. Ad blocking just makes sense. In addition to decreasing general annoyance, blockers prevent malicious entities from enticing users into risky clicks or from delivering their malware payloads in the background while users wait for pages to load.

And it’s not just shady download sites operating out of countries like Tuvalu or the Philippines to avoid US DMCA requirements. It’s well-established, possibly respected websites like Forbes and Yahoo. The federal government has long recognized the threat malicious ads pose to users, which is why the CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies have long required the use of ad blockers by employees.

The smart thing has always been to ad block. If you want to support websites you enjoy, there are other ways to do so without being subjected to, at best, terrible ad inventories and autoplay garbage that have the power to fire up your processor fan even though you’re doing nothing more strenuous than accessing websites.

Ads are not inherently evil. But they’ve never, ever been an unequivocal good. And when they’re easily impersonated, the best response is throw the barely tolerable baby out with malicious bathwater. Unfortunately, the FBI’s advice is only as good as the browsers supporting it. With some browsers looking to deprecate ad blocker support (stares pointedly at Chrome), the best practices recommended here may soon be an option some users simply won’t have. Until that day, though, get your ad block on. The Man himself recommends it.

Filed Under: ad blocking, fbi, scams