So much for ad-blocker on Flightsim.to
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Thread: So much for ad-blocker on Flightsim.to

  1. #1

    So much for ad-blocker on Flightsim.to

    I use ad-blocker with Brave Browser. Download wait time is zip or used to be. Flightsim.to figured out how to prevent people from using ad-blocker on their site. Still looking for a workaround, but it was great while it lasted. NC

  2. #2
    Chrome with Ghostery seems OK, I did get one pop-up advert but the D/L delays didn't occur.

  3. #3
    SOH-CM-2024 MrZippy's Avatar
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    I have seen some Firefox users complaining today about it!
    Charlie Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and will eventually buy a new computer. Running a Chromebook for now!

  4. #4
    Firefox with uBlock Origin works like a charm!

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  5. #5
    I will check them all; thank you so much!!

    NC

  6. #6
    I´m a Brave user, it seems to work sometimes and sometimes not. I use Brave also on my phone and via that I have sometimes downloaded files.

  7. #7
    I tried adding Ghostery to Brave, and it worked perfectly. But I am saving the other recommendations, should that situation chance. Thank you all. NC

  8. #8
    I love how they frame it as if our use of adblock directly harms content creators.

    I'll disable my ad blocker when they stop mixing in payware with all the freeware.

  9. #9
    Senior Administrator PRB's Avatar
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    Whoever is running flightsim.to seems to work really hard trying to alienate the the people who visit that site. Amazing.
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  10. #10
    I must be doing something incorrectly. At first, Ghostery was working perfectly, but now I am getting the popup again on Flightsim.to.

  11. #11
    I'm all for blocking pop-ups, but honestly, as you know as Sim-Outhouse users, bandwidth and hosting are not free. And I can only imagine how much data FS.to pushes. Their store can't be high-volume enough to cover even a fraction of that.

    I thought their reaction to the licensing hullabaloo was unprofessional and hostile to their supporters, so I'm not "in the Flightsim.to camp" on this. And even here, rather than forcibly disabling adblockers, a better approach would have been a banner asking users to turn them off on the site to help ensure it can keep running. These folks really need some PR/social media advice, and this is another example of handling an issue poorly.

    But in the end, I think allowing (non-obtrusive/non-pop-up) ads on a download site is just doing your part to pay for the convenience.

    If you don't like the ads and timer, there's a way to directly support the site with a subscription fee. That's what I'm doing. I have a terabyte of content from the site, so I feel that's fair.

    (No need to debate this, I know both sides of the argument here. Just presenting the side from someone who used to work on ad-supported tech magazine websites who knows what this sh*t costs.)

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by DennyA View Post
    I'm all for blocking pop-ups, but honestly, as you know as Sim-Outhouse users, bandwidth and hosting are not free. And I can only imagine how much data FS.to pushes. Their store can't be high-volume enough to cover even a fraction of that.I thought their reaction to the licensing hullabaloo was unprofessional and hostile to their supporters, so I'm not "in the Flightsim.to camp" on this. And even here, rather than forcibly disabling adblockers, a better approach would have been a banner asking users to turn them off on the site to help ensure it can keep running. These folks really need some PR/social media advice, and this is another example of handling an issue poorly.But in the end, I think allowing (non-obtrusive/non-pop-up) ads on a download site is just doing your part to pay for the convenience.If you don't like the ads and timer, there's a way to directly support the site with a subscription fee. That's what I'm doing. I have a terabyte of content from the site, so I feel that's fair. (No need to debate this, I know both sides of the argument here. Just presenting the side from someone who used to work on ad-supported tech magazine websites who knows what this sh*t costs.)
    The ads themselves do not bother me. For me, it is the countdown popup that runs until you can actually download. With a ad blocker, the time ticks by in a couple seconds. Without it, depending on time of day and server load, it could take up to 30 sec. NC

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Navy Chief View Post
    The ads themselves do not bother me.
    When the ad features admitted criminal Cardi B with her mammaries hanging out on a page that is visited by minors, then I have a problem with their ads.

    Oh, and ads for R-rated movies - there's an ad for the latest John Wick installment running on that site right now.

    Second edit... I let that video frame keep running and it got worse. I thought about uploading a screenshot, but decided against it. Let's just say there was enough blood and gore to make the ad qualify for an R rating. This has no business on a flight sim page!
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  14. #14
    It's 2023. I seriously doubt any minors are going to get their first exposure to Cardi B or violent films from ads on a flight simulator download page. Also, sadly, I doubt many minors are visiting anyway... And if they are young aviation fans, they're probably also simulating virtual killing in DCS and Ace Combat.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Clayton View Post
    When the ad features admitted criminal Cardi B with her mammaries hanging out on a page that is visited by minors, then I have a problem with their ads.

    Oh, and ads for R-rated movies - there's an ad for the latest John Wick installment running on that site right now.

    Second edit... I let that video frame keep running and it got worse. I thought about uploading a screenshot, but decided against it. Let's just say there was enough blood and gore to make the ad qualify for an R rating. This has no business on a flight sim page!
    I don't get it Tom. With my simple setup (FireFox and uBlock Origin), I don't have that bother!

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  16. #16
    I'm using Chrome with Malwarebytes Browser Guard (available for free on the Chrome web store),
    and I don't get anything like that on fs.to. MBG isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it, it's free, and I
    would recommend giving it a try if nothing else is working, although I don't know how it will work
    on browsers other than Chrome.

    Tom, are you noticing other similar unsavory pop ups on other sites? From what you said, I wonder if
    you might have picked up a toxic cookie or two (ones that allow those kind of pop ups to sneak in). Have
    you tried clearing your browser history and cookies (although I know it's a pain having to relog in to all your
    regularly visited web sites), or maybe running a pc sweep with Malwarebytes (free version)? It's just a
    thought, that's all.

    -RobM

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by DennyA View Post
    It's 2023. I seriously doubt any minors are going to get their first exposure to Cardi B or violent films from ads on a flight simulator download page. Also, sadly, I doubt many minors are visiting anyway... And if they are young aviation fans, they're probably also simulating virtual killing in DCS and Ace Combat.
    I posted this in an elevated part of the official forum, and one kid that responded is 13 years old.

    As for the ads I get, besides the video, there were ads for Adobe Pro and Temu (Chinese ripoff of Amazon) - pretty generic stuff that I've never looked up. Plus, I keep as much of Chrome's settings tweaked to reject as much as I can. Between Chrome sending Do Not Track requests with all page clicks and trackers being blocked by plugins like Ghostery and now uBlock, I rarely see any ads based on past browsing. And if memory serves, the Cardi B ad was for a women's fragrance that I'd never even heard of.

    But it looks like I'm good for now. I've uninstalled Ghostery and added uBlock, and f'sim.to hasn't caught on - yet.
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  18. #18
    Using Opera GX, and its spotted UBlock for me.

    I'm surprised by how frustrated I am that they put this big bad red box telling me that it's more or less my fault that fs.to is sinking under its lack of ad revenue.

    and I'm getting tired of being forced to pay for the ability to live a peaceful life without someone trying to sell me something.
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  19. #19
    Ads and commercials are a part of life. If you watch broadcast TV, you'll be watching ads - unless you do like I do and hit the head real quick before the show comes back on. But honestly, I'd be OK with ads on the site if they were subject appropriate, but even more importantly, age appropriate.

    I also wouldn't mind paying for a subscription if their price wasn't so completely outrageous. Their lowest price plan equates to just under US $80 annually. There's no way in Hell I'm paying that much for the ability to download 5-6 freeware files in a year's time. The site claims to have over a half-million "members." If that's true, he could charge $5.00 for an annual membership and become a millionaire overnight.
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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Clayton View Post
    Ads and commercials are a part of life. If you watch broadcast TV, you'll be watching ads - unless you do like I do and hit the head real quick before the show comes back on. But honestly, I'd be OK with ads on the site if they were subject appropriate, but even more importantly, age appropriate.I also wouldn't mind paying for a subscription if their price wasn't so completely outrageous. Their lowest price plan equates to just under US $80 annually. There's no way in Hell I'm paying that much for the ability to download 5-6 freeware files in a year's time. The site claims to have over a half-million "members." If that's true, he could charge $5.00 for an annual membership and become a millionaire overnight.
    100% agree...... NC

  21. #21
    I agree with you, Tom, and NC.

  22. #22
    I use Firefox and ublock, and usually it lets me download a couple of files before the ad wall kicks in. I too am irritated by the arrogant "let's play fair" nonsense and find some ads objectionable. I'm also concerned about malware because they obviously are so indiscriminate with their advertisers. So I will switch off the ad blocker only if I get the ad wall on an item I really want, and just to reload that page. "Fair" compromise I think.

    August

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by K5083 View Post
    I use Firefox and ublock, and usually it lets me download a couple of files before the ad wall kicks in. I too am irritated by the arrogant "let's play fair" nonsense and find some ads objectionable. I'm also concerned about malware because they obviously are so indiscriminate with their advertisers. So I will switch off the ad blocker only if I get the ad wall on an item I really want, and just to reload that page. "Fair" compromise I think.

    August
    I think you can let ublock active while downloading files that are under the 100MB limit.

  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by gribouil View Post
    I think you can let ublock active while downloading files that are under the 100MB limit.
    That seems to be correct.
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