Heres a little screenshot of some “FREE” pop-up blocking software already out there. Check out the nice variety of options. Not bad for freeware huh ?
Correction, I was looking at the wrong one. That ones good but its only free for 30 days, cost 30 bucks, unless your switching from a competitor pop-up blocker in which case you get 50% off, so thats 15 bucks. I’d pay either price if I really needed it, but I have a great free (open source) pub that I got from sourceforge that just does everything.
Hopefully somebody will write a module for Apache that blocks freeloaders using blockers.
Apache would be of little help. To block those who block your ads, you need to use client side JavaScript and CSS. Ad blocking software works in three basic ways:
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it prevents specific objects from loading (e.g. specific graphic files, popups, etc.)
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It hides specific objects (e.g. display:none on banner graphics).
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It strips specific sections of code out of the HTML source (this is how ZoneAlarm and many other proxies function).
To detect and block users of ad-blocking software, one simply needs to use JavaScript to detect for the presence and size of specific objects. To make pages unviewable if JavaScript is not allowed to run, one uses one set of CSS instructions to keep the contents of a page hidden until the “onLoad” event is allowed to run. Using this method in order to bypass the blocking scripts, one must turn off both CSS and JavaScript rendering the site completely unstyled. One could go further, but this would create accessibility issues.
To protect one’s countermeasures, use randomly generated function names, variable names and object IDs (done via PHP or ASP). I also found it useful to have bait functions and multi-layered CSS tactics. For instance, one set of objects that when everything runs correctly are turned off by CSS and one set of objects that are supposed to be turned on by CSS if things run correctly. What this does is screw with software like Proxo that use complex rules to reverse your style settings. Also take measures to make all images on a site look like ads, this can further mess with ad-blocking software as it won’t be able to separate out banner ads from normal graphics.
If you review the source code of my environmental site, you can get an idea how all of this can work. I still need to make some accommodations for PDAs and fully test for accessibility issues. This testing is on hold pending my ability to use these alternative devices to test my site; although my site works just fine with CSS and JavaScript turned off (e.g. via Lynx).
While these tricks will stop the vast majority of users who use ad-blocking software, you won’t stop the hardcore ad-blockers from accessing your website. You will trip them up even the hard core ad-blockers and be able to get your point across.
I don’t use popups or popunders, so all my script is designed to test against is standard banner ads, although the principles would be the similar for popup ads. I’ve found about 2.5% of my users block traditional style banner ads, but I suspect the number of people who block popups and popunders will be much higher. This means that these techniques could have a seriously negative impact on the traffic levels (and user satisfaction) if deployed to protect popups. If you want to use popups, my advice would be to create a popup detection script that would simply activate a different form of advertising if popups were blocked. This is a much less hostile approach and still enable you an opportunity to generate revenue.
You know that during the fast evolution of popup blocking software that there are already popup blocking programs that account for sites using technologies that attempt to bypass viewers using blockers. If you do a simple search on google you can find a few sites that provide links to test pages that use these technolgoies in all sorts of different fashions. There are there for people who are designing popup blockers so they can test their software against these new technologies. Theres an open source pop-up blocker on source forge that currently accounts for every known technology against popup blockers that the test site has to offer. Seeing how the project is open source, anytime a new technology is innovated to bypass blockers, the general programming public quickly provides upgrades to accomodate. Creating diversions, alternate delivery methods, and popup blocker detection scripts was a good idea for anti-popup blocking, but I’m sure they didn’t think it was going to be that easy. Especially with vast power of alot of open source programmers that we have out there in the world. I guess my point is, I don’t think the industry for market end research will ever over power or can even keep up with the IHRR. (Information Highway Rebelion Revolution). Thats a term I came accross once when reading an article about the anonymous programmers who lead the war against abusive power of the corporate technology industry. In other words, people who dont give in to the bussiness side of the industry controlling all aspects of the market and choose to fight back using whatever means neccessary. Sounds all hyped up kinda like a movie I admit, but technically speaking people like that do exist. I think that the P2P industry is probably now the backbone for IHRR. But to stay completely legal we have great open source sites like sourceforge.net where tons of programmers come together to help out the rest of us. Have I gone off topic ? hehe, yep. ah well. Kinda late, just “typing” out loud. :agree:
A lot (not alot) of people consider Flash (and by extension, Flash designers) to be the scourge of the Internet.
Maybe somebody will create a plugin that converts accessibility-ignoring, seizure-inducing Flash into standards-compliant HTML.
Hopefully somebody will write a module for Apache that blocks freeloaders using blockers.
Apart from the technical viability, you do know that IE6 on WinXP SP2 has a built-in popup blocker, which is enabled by default? Do you really want to block all users of that browser (let alone everyone else with blockers)
Use workarounds.
This is funny. You know Dave, it’s easy for us to see that your resorting to bashing flash simply cause your angry at my comments. I mentioned early in this thread that I was flash designer, so when I finally put you in your place, all you could do was bash whatever it was that I did. Had I been some other kind of developer, you would have bashed that instead. There’s no use for these childish tatics. I already mentioned before that we were wasting our time with you trying to enlighten you with important information. Your last post just confirms it.
You’re really shooting yourself in the foot by your not knowing the difference between your and you’re.
DaveMichaels, and Flash_Monster, turning this thread into childish personal attacks is not only counterproductive, but it violates the very tenets of participating in the SitePoint forums. The best thing about these forums, is that people can have an open debate about various issues without those debates turning into name calling and personal attacks.
The original question of this thread was in regards to circumventing popup blockers. The answer to that question is no. There are no reliable methods to successfully serve up traditional popups to those who use popup blocking software.
One could, however, use JavaScript to detect when popups weren’t displayed and substitute the ad with some sort of on page DHTML ad. This way you will serve popups to those users who don’t care about blocking them while being able to serve less obnoxious ads to those users who don’t want popups. This will allow you to still earn a good return on those popups you do serve while earning revenue from other forms of advertising.
This brings up the issue of JavaScript being client-side technology.
People seem to forget that users don’t view websites on websevers, but on their own computer.
Just as opening up another browser to display pop-ups is partially controling the behavior of someone else’s computer.
In the end the user has total control over how they view a website and what behaviors they will allow.
So what? There’s a lot of client-side software (in chips) in TVs and radios but you don’t see people getting irate at having to suffer through 20 minutes of ads per hour, or paying subscription fees.
This may be true, but publishers can also control who they deliver their content to. If certain users aren’t willing to accept ads and allow them to be displayed, then publishers are under no obligation to allow these users to access their content.
Very true. As Dave mentioned, commercials on TV are displayed on the viewers TV sets.
The difference between computers and TV’s is the computer is interactive and the TV is not.
With a TV your choice is to change the channel or turn the TV off. Each choice is drastic. Since each station is likely to have the same or similar ads there is nothing really gained by changing stations.
On the computer viewing websites is a whole different ballgame. You can visit other sites that offer similar services without pop-ups (or whatever annoys you about the site). Loyalty on the internet is virtually non-existent.
Control has shifted from the content provider to the users/customers. At one point the only way to be heard was to approach a studio and try to impress them. You would then sign on with their label.
P2P is an example of this change. People are tired of being fed media. Authors have the choice of publishing eBooks via Amazon. Don’t like Amazon? Go to barnesandnobles.com. The choices are endless.
i can decied to view the web with images disabled, java turned off, or style sheets disabled. is that how developers want me to see it? no. but of course its the users computer and they decied what they want to do with it not you. so i say go ahead use popup but dont get mad at a user if they want them disabled.
also if there was one rock solid way to get past all blockers then im sure it would have been exploited and in turn fixed by now.
lol… both sides make good points… I can’t believe I wasted so much time and just read this whole thing!
Interesting (and kind of ironic) article on this topic:
http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66764,00.html
Hey there, new to the site. Was surfing around and stumbled on to this thread. I know its an older thread, thought I would chime in anyway. We have developed a technology that gets around all the major pop blockers. It is NOT using a layover ad or Rich Media method nor do we serve the ads. You can continue running pops on your site as normal. This has been working well for Ecommerce sites getting blocked by such blockers as Google, SP2, Opera, FireFox, Alexa, etc. Let me know if anyone would like to see a demo. Thanks!
JeremyUV
Hello There!
I would like to know how to bypass pop-ups. Please send the
demo to himanshukhatri1978@yahoo.com