FAKE WINNER ADS AND FAKE VIRUS WARNING

[rockyjohn]

Shame on you for running fake winner adds that are only designed to let some advertiser gain a lot of information and place a lot of cookies on my machine. This is a new low that is guaranteed to chase away viewers.

Especially since I not only enountered the fake winner add, but in trying to get rid of it I was linked to one of those fake virus warning ads that actually install viruses and that you can't escape except by completely closing the browser window. I guess you let anyone buy a link - even hackers now.

And all this on top of the normal barrage of cookie install attempts. And to pile abuse on abuse, I have had the winner ads four times now over the last two days, and the only way to escape is to click back leaving the THG site altogether. Pretty stupid to design ad pages that force viewers away from your site. And very annoying to viewer.

I guess the days of customer focus are long gone. The ad suits have clearly taken over the site and the geeks are out - now just petty shills for the Madison Avenue Boys.

 

[audiovoodoo]

Take a Firefox 3.6 install, add a generous layer of Better Privacy, sprinkle with a little
Ad Block Plus and garnish with No Script.

This isn't just Toms HW, it's Ad Free Toms HW.. and it loads a shed load faster.

 

[strangestranger]

These posts always bemuse me. I am not too big on security but do use the ad block and no script and have cookies set to ask everytime.

Nothing bad happens to me, can't say I pick up any malware at all, at least according to spyware doctor or spybot when I run it.

 

[randomizer]

I block 3rd parties cookies. I don't see why going to one site should add cookies from 30 different locations instead of one.

 

[enderwiggen]

Whether people use ad block or not Toms should consider these types of ads as spyware and remove them. Especially the fake antivirus stuff. Maybe it is not toms fault. Maybe the ad companies are just slipping in the crap. Either way this thread is good and should be considered if anything can be done about it. Good advise though to use an ad blocker with Firefox. I have had good success with ad blocker as well.