I would instead recommend running a tor relay or i2p node. That way you have encrypted traffic and are helping others and further legitimizing privacy by its everyday use
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
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Privacy
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Some superficial thoughts, please correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't AdNauseam generating more traffic to ads, thus increasing their value in terms of metrics? Also, do people really think that agencies like NSA, which are capable of extremely sophisticated surveillance, can be disrupted by random text in emails? These tools sound like a waste of time to me.
I think all 3 are likely detectable.
AdNauseam is my favorite though, and probably currently the least detectable. It purposefully costs advertisers the money they bid against each other for clicks. Though, if abuse of it becomes too high, I think Google would very likely separate out users they have detected as likely bots. Though, for people who do not browse the internet very often, there might not be very much data to be confident they’re a bot.
I really don’t like that modern advertising is based on highly invasive spying. A billboard is a nuisance, but someone watching everything I do online is a stalker.
edit: It’s about making predictions about behavior worse. An issue is that advertising has conversions or sales, which most fake clicks will not become conversions… but part of it is just creating data that might cause predictions against other people for content they don’t desire. (resulting in less impactful advertising)
I like the sentiment. The challenge is that those who violate privacy benefit financially, while those who defend against it are just trying to protect themselves. To go on the offensive requires effort and know-how without any corresponding financial or personal benefit. A spite based effort sounds appealing but wouldn't be sustainable.
This would help them to improve the algorithms and make it worse. An active defense could be to keep the ads visible and boycott the announcers, so that they lose more money when they pay for advertising.
Adv effectiveness is a fraud anyway, so they wouldn't care nor notice it.
Not to be a defeatist, but unless a significant share of internet users does this, the effect would be at most negligible.
Not true. I run ad campaigns and pay upwards of 1$ a click most times. AdNauseum hurts like hell.
Please use it :)
Is it possible for you to somehow quantify traffic originating from AdNauseum? If so, how?
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