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Is It Just Me Or...

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Posted by samfp1943 on Thursday, April 16, 2020 1:12 PM

MikeF90
Convicted One

This YT behavior is probably not a client side software issue. I see unskippable ads at random both on my Roku and Firefox/Linux Mint. Most of the time they are very short.

Interestingly, I haven't seen those obnoxious pop-ups in a while despite Ublock Origin being turned off on this site. Perhaps the upstream ad wholesaler caught on to a bad actor and cut them off .... maybe.

  AdBlock (free version) seems to be working for me on Firefox, for now..

 

 


 

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Posted by Convicted One on Thursday, April 16, 2020 1:08 PM

MikeF90
This YT behavior is probably not a client side software issue. I see unskippable ads at random both on my Roku and Firefox/Linux Mint. Most of the time they are very short.

It does seem hard to imagine. But   throughout the past decade I have found using Youtube under windows without being forced to watch their ads to be an extremely rare pleasure.  It happens, but maybe in 3  out of every 20 launches. So much so I just came to expect ads all the time.

Since switching to Knoppix, I have not once been subjected to mandatory ad viewing at Youtube.  Not even the ones that give you the "skip ad" option after a few seconds...not even one.

Can't explain it, but sure am loving it.  Cool

When something suddenly stops working on your computer, the first thing you want to do is review any recent changes you have made...new drivers....updates...new programs...stuff like that.   Well, when their ad server got 'broken' I had just switched to knoppix.

Perhaps they search for cookies to determine what ads to show me? (just speculating)

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Posted by MikeF90 on Thursday, April 16, 2020 12:49 PM

Convicted One
Still not seeing any popups..Even more surprising is that when I previously accessed youtube videos under windows, I almost always was forced to watch their preliminary ad videos before viewing the desired content.

This YT behavior is probably not a client side software issue. I see unskippable ads at random both on my Roku and Firefox/Linux Mint. Most of the time they are very short.

Interestingly, I haven't seen those obnoxious pop-ups in a while despite Ublock Origin being turned off on this site. Perhaps the upstream ad wholesaler caught on to a bad actor and cut them off .... maybe.

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 3:41 PM

I have had no popups since I deflated them several days ago. 

Johnny

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Posted by Convicted One on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 3:07 PM

Still not seeing any popups..Even more surprising is that when I previously accessed youtube  videos under windows, I almost always was forced to watch their preliminary ad videos before viewing the desired content.

But using knoppix live I have never been required to sit through that. I never woud have anticipated this benefit

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 2:52 PM

Well, the fake update scam pops have now expanded from the Nutrisystem ads to others. Whoever Kalmbach sold the bottom popup feature to is providing a virus-clogged product. And I might add, an annloying distraction. Solution is to hit the "back" button and close the popup, but on every page the virus shows up (about 80 percent the past day or two), this is getting annoying.

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Posted by MidlandMike on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 8:41 PM

Today the pop-up ad was partly covered by a Kalmbach ad to subscribe.

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, April 3, 2020 11:35 AM

samfp1943
This time I bought the bullet. and paid for the upgraded version to be installed...

That literally astounded me.  I've been using their stuff for many years, across a wide range of platforms and software, and never had an issue with it.

Is it possible you got one of those 'discount' people who purport to provide software at '10% discount' and then insert themselves as middlemen with middleware for the customer 'support'?  I actually fell for one of those things while 'on hiatus' in Erie when I needed an online purchase of file-recovery software on an 'emergency basis'.  

Never did quite get all the links to the actual customer support (in Europe) of the package I had supposedly 'bought', although there were all sorts of e-mails promising quick and effective solution.

BTW, the online scan version of Anti-Malware has always run effectively on my Windows environments, and requires no download or local storage at all.  If you have a trusted connection or VPN with adequate bandwidth, I recommend you see if it solves the issue you were having.

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Posted by samfp1943 on Thursday, April 2, 2020 3:53 PM

Thanks, Overmod!  I had had high hopes for the installation of the Malewarebite Program, as well. I had used it as a free version several years back...This time I bought the bullet. and paid for the upgraded version to be installed!

 SoapBoxOff Topic   I tried to get it to work right for about a week; and followed many of their installation macro programs to work out my issues... I never could get it to corerectly install, let alone run!  I was hard up against their limit of 99 installations, and still BUPKIS. So I advised them of my problems and requested my payment back; it was over a week later they responded, and offered no solutions, fortunately, I had paid with a card...Took them(the credit card) a month to get it refunded to my account. 

  I had had high hopes for it, but they sure poured cold water on my enthuisiam.Dots - SignBang Head

   Rant off!  Sigh

 

 


 

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, April 2, 2020 12:06 PM

samfp1943
I do have another question: Regarding a 'message' that slides in over Outlook. It has to do with a Notice, regarding an 'unrecognized' USB device.

Probably an infection.  You should promptly run the malwarebytes Anti-Malware, from a 'bootable' stick drive if you can.

I presume you are aware of whatever USB devices you have connected to your system.  A very common 'dodge' used by weasels is to make you think there is some awful Stuxnet-like consequence about to happen to you, or some conspirator who has secretly attached a pendrive to steal precious secrets or whatever.  There's probably a link of some kind that you're supposed to click, either to fix the problem or find out more about it.  Do so about as readily as you'd stick your hand in a cobra's mouth.


I surmise from context that you see this happy little scam when you're reading e-mails, not in your Internet browser.  It was probably imported and loaded when you clicked on something in that program, perhaps a link sent by someone who didn't realize he'd been hacked or infected himself.  I expect the latest version of Anti-Malware will catch it; you might also want to update your antivirus protection 'just in case'.

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Posted by samfp1943 on Thursday, April 2, 2020 11:26 AM

[quote user="Deggesty"]

I at last got around to following the advice presented several days ago. I appreciate not seeing the ads at the bottom of the content I want to see.

Thank you.

[/quote] 

      As you have done, I did last night!  'Ad Block' on my machine ! Now I am able to see what interests me, without having any interuptions.  It was some good advice...

I do have another question: Regarding a 'message' that slides in over Outlook. It has to do with a Notice, regarding an 'unrecognized' USB device.

.   I am pretty careful as to email messages.  I do not open any that are not from someone on my contact list. one that appear to be advertisements, or 'sales' feelers.  I seems to get 'regularly' SPAM in my 'Junk Mail' I just delete it regularly. My household Wi-FI is P/W protected, and to date has not been a problem.

Any help, or advice; would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 


 

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, April 2, 2020 11:02 AM

I at last got around to following the advice presented several days ago. I appreciate not seeing the ads at the bottom of the content I want to see.

Thank you.

Johnny

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, April 2, 2020 9:06 AM

tree68
According to the article, a USB-C charger is "smarter" than the AGC.

This is not quite as 'stunning' as it appears at first glance.  The USB-C protocol includes a number of features that must be actively monitored and managed (high available DC power, for instance) on top of the requirements for effective power conversion with acceptably low levels of RF interference.  The device also has to 'know' how to communicate effectively with a diverse range of potentially connected equipment.

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Thursday, April 2, 2020 8:47 AM

I am noticing since the new "ads at the bottom" feature has appeared, browsing the forum now springs a malicious website block from Norton often enough to be annoying. This was a problem on another forum-style website with third-party ads until that site took steps to kill the problem.

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, March 30, 2020 12:21 PM

blhanel

Heck, with the right app your smart phone can handle it.

I was curious about the details of that and found an article which pointed out that your smart phone is literally a million times more powerful than the guidance computer used in the early Apollo flights.

The AGC (Apollo Guidance Computer) had 64K of memory and ran with at clock speed of 43KHz.  According to the article, a USB-C charger is "smarter" than the AGC.

Pretty amazing stuff, and nowadays we take it for granted.

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/smartphone-power-compared-to-apollo-432/

 

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Monday, March 30, 2020 9:51 AM

blhanel
Heck, with the right app your smart phone can handle it.

But only if you are smarter than your phone.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by York1 on Monday, March 30, 2020 8:36 AM

samfp1943
Our equipment was used by the field artillery to estimate target location. Back at their fire direction center where calculations were made, they were using a large refrigerator sized computer in an oversize trailer.

 

In WWII, my father was in charge of a 155 mm howitzer crew.  He used a piece of wood about 12" x 18" with a laminated chart on it.  There were quite a few variables listed.  It used wind speed, distance, etc., to calculate the shot.  He claimed that by using the chart, they could hit any target by the third shot.

York1 John       

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Posted by blhanel on Monday, March 30, 2020 8:21 AM

Heck, with the right app your smart phone can handle it.

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Posted by samfp1943 on Sunday, March 29, 2020 11:45 PM

MikeF90
tree68
At one point we got a small computer that was supposed to do that in-house. I don't think it ever did - all we ever did was it was play tic-tac-toe. It wasn't the size of a file cabinet - more like an oversized typewriter - keyboard and monitor all in one case.

 As long as we're trading 'old geezer' computer stories, I'll relate mine. In the late 1970s as a defense contractor field engineer I assisted with some Army operational tests. Our equipment was used by the field artillery to estimate target location. Back at their fire direction center where calculations were made, they were using a large refrigerator sized computer in an oversize trailer. Their computer tech showed me the insides - all discrete components on large plug in cards.

That monster was definitely on the way out as their 'backup' computer (usually preferred) was a HP or TI hand calculator with a stored program strip. Not sure what they use today, but for quite a while now the size of a typical military use 'computer' is ruled by interface circuitry and connectors for related sensors.

 

             I am amazed by these tales of old computers and their sizes...Whistling  In 1963 I worked for an engineering consultancy firm ( I was a go-fer/ engineering tech Geeked  ) At that time many commercial IBM machines were just punch card sorting devices...We had all the data that covered an engineering traffic and transportation study for s dizeable metropolitan area.... It had been colated and was represented by box after box of computer cards ( It took the capacity of a 1/2 ton Chevy van to load and haul.)   To get processed results was estimated to take weeks, or a couple of months(?)...  The partner-in-charge had located a facility that could process that card inventory in several hours; rather than the longer time extinated.  Cost was estimated to be $10K per hour !  
I took said load of cards, and myself to Athens, Ga. @ UGA.. They had an IBM 7094 to do the job.... It was in a house off campus (4 floors, and a basement, abt 5,000sq sq ft.)   They loaded, and ran that load of cards in about 4 hours.  That computer filled that house!   Tape decks, and all the other computer hardware was on evey floor; the control station filled one room.... It was amazing in 1963, just to see that; and now we can probably, have that same level of power, and capacity in a home desk top ...

 

 


 

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Posted by MidlandMike on Friday, March 27, 2020 9:11 PM

BaltACD
When Microsoft came out with their Sunset date for XP I bought a W8.1 replacement for it - I later upgraded the W8.1 machine to W10.

My Dell XP laptop was a hand-me-down from my wife when I retired.  It was mainly for browsing the web and was not very powerful, and was getting cranky.  The Geek Squad told me that to upgrade to Windows 8 would take up most of the RAM, so I was ready to trade it in for something more up to date.

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Posted by MikeF90 on Friday, March 27, 2020 3:12 PM

Beside using a live Linux distro, a well designed cookie manager is very helpful.

I use the Firefox extension 'Cookie Quick Manager'. On news sites that only allow a few views, you can delete current site cookies and local storage, refresh the page and you should be good for a few more views. Not sure if this particular extension is available on other browsers but there should be something similar.

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, March 26, 2020 10:15 PM

MidlandMike
 
BaltACD
I still have a XP desktop that keeps chugging along at 17. 

In 2014, Microsoft announced that they would no longer support XP, so I traded it in on a new laptop with IIRC Windows 9.  (MS automatically upgraded it to W10).  Best Buy was giving a discount for XP trade-ins.  Later Microsoft backed down and continued to support XP, but I am happy with my new faster laptop.

When Microsoft came out with their Sunset date for XP I bought a W8.1 replacement for it - I later upgraded the W8.1 machine to W10.  The W10 Desktop is my primary machine, the XP machine is a node on my local network in addition to a W10 laptop and a Vista laptop.  The 'data' I maintain is backed up on each of the machines.

I don't trust Clouds.  Clouds can rain data in locations it is not authorized to.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by MidlandMike on Thursday, March 26, 2020 9:52 PM

BaltACD
I still have a XP desktop that keeps chugging along at 17.

In 2014, Microsoft announced that they would no longer support XP, so I traded it in on a new laptop with IIRC Windows 9.  (MS automatically upgraded it to W10).  Best Buy was giving a discount for XP trade-ins.  Later Microsoft backed down and continued to support XP, but I am happy with my new faster laptop.

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Posted by Convicted One on Thursday, March 26, 2020 6:55 PM

Here's a little tip for "paywall" news sites: Many of them give you 2 or three "free" articles you can read per month, and then once you go beyond that amount, they hit you up to buy a subscription if you want to continue.  (cookies, basically)

You can totally thwart their strategy if you use a "live" distribution of Linux that boots from optical media....such as knoppix.  Such sites will still set their cookies, but it will be set in memory only since they are unable to write to your CD or DVD. So, a simple reboot and you are able to resume reading without getting hooked by their scheme.

I've got three browsers installed on my knoppix disc, Chromium, Firefox, and Konqueror so I can run each one up to their limit individually before having to reboot.  And then there is "Tor" for a 4th one, that I really haven't used much.

Incidently, as it pertains to the  "slow loading" problem that is often lamented here,  I've been using knoppix here going on two months without  ever experiencing the "slow load" that I had cyclically experienced here with windows requiring me to periodically nuke the cookies to restore responsiveness. So this further supports my suspicion that  the slow loading is in some way caused by  obsolete cookies.

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, March 26, 2020 6:51 PM

Ok.  That's nice, I guess. 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Thursday, March 26, 2020 6:45 PM

zugmann

 

 
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
They have now deleted two threads about this ads on the Model Railroader side, as this one reaches 70 posts........

 

Your point?

 

The rules are clearly different over here, but in any case the ads are still in place.

And I am already reading less........and posting less.

Sheldon

    

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, March 26, 2020 6:20 PM

ATLANTIC CENTRAL
They have now deleted two threads about this ads on the Model Railroader side, as this one reaches 70 posts........

Your point?

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Thursday, March 26, 2020 5:35 PM

GERALD L MCFARLANE JR

No serious person surfs the web without using an ad blocker, of which there are many.  I've always had them on my machines, whether that was for Firefox or Chrome, and I have a standing rule that any site that asks me to disable the ad blocker or white list them automatically gets scratched off my list of sites to visit, the same as with sites that insist I subscribe to read content(mostly news sites like the WJS, NYT Forbes, etc.,.  If your news stories are that good then give my 5 free views per month, because if it's not local news it's not something I'm going to be reading daily.

 

Happy to not be a serious web surfer.......

They have now deleted two threads about this ads on the Model Railroader side, as this one reaches 70 posts........

Sheldon

    

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Posted by GERALD L MCFARLANE JR on Thursday, March 26, 2020 5:16 PM

No serious person surfs the web without using an ad blocker, of which there are many.  I've always had them on my machines, whether that was for Firefox or Chrome, and I have a standing rule that any site that asks me to disable the ad blocker or white list them automatically gets scratched off my list of sites to visit, the same as with sites that insist I subscribe to read content(mostly news sites like the WJS, NYT Forbes, etc.,.  If your news stories are that good then give my 5 free views per month, because if it's not local news it's not something I'm going to be reading daily.

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