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Is Norton Internet Security Blocking Legitimate Links?
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
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I'm the first one to admit we need to curb the unbridled
spam, pop-up windows, banner ads and overall aggressive advertising currently going unchecked online.
Like everyone, I find it extremely frustrating to land on a website only to get bombarded with distractions that make it extremely difficult to determine if the website contains what I need.
However, the solution offered by Norton Internet Security
2004 may represent a bigger problem than it solves.
Ad blockers and pop-up blockers, like the one built into
Norton Internet Security 2004 (NIS 2004), are designed to
block advertising.
"Ads" appear defined as banners, pop-ups, and links with a commercial intent.
When turned on, these blockers literally modify web pages
you visit which contain code meeting certain criteria. In
other words, they chop out parts of the html pages before
you ever even get a chance to see them in your web browser
- and that's where things get sticky.
You see, NIS 2004 comes preloaded to decide what is and
what is not advertising, even to the point where they block entire domains, such as qksrv.net, one of the largest affiliate networks in the world (also known as Commission Junction).
It also blocks Google Ad Sense content on individual
websites.
In fact, any link containing one of hundreds of other
variables defined by NIS 2004 will invoke automatic
censorship of that website's content.
Now you may ask why this matters. Isn't it a good thing to block advertising?
Well, I must insist the answer is "no" for several reasons:
First, on my copy of NIS 2004 ad blocking came in the
default "on" position.
That means users will experience content blocking without
their express consent.
Someone else determines what is and what is not classified
as advertising.
Ever searched online for hours trying to find a particular product, gift, service, or solution to a problem?
Now imagine that you'll never find it because anywhere you might see a link for it automatically gets deleted from every web page before you view it.
Second, on a personal level, do you really want someone
else deciding if a link, banner, flash object or other
piece of content is appropriate for you to view or not?
(I'm not talking about p~rn~graphy or socially unacceptable material - that's a different debate.)
What's next after "ads?"
Will "ad blocker" software turn into "content blocker"
software and start censoring various articles, web pages,
and even entire domains because they contain certain words someone else labeled inappropriate?
Do you want someone else thinking for you?
Third, if you operate a responsible, customer-oriented,
focused website built around a central theme, how do you
feel about a third-party software blocking some or all of
your money-making content... especially after you've worked
so hard to attract targeted visitors to your site?
Now, I'm not saying ad blockers are wrong. I'll also state
for the record that I LOVE Norton's products and have used
them for years. If someone wants to block advertising when
they surf, that's their right.
However, where I see a real problem is with the scope of
the blocking and the fact that, at least on my copy of NIS 2004, ad blocking came in the default "on" position.
This creates circumstances where it's likely the user
doesn't know how content is getting modified before they
see it, and it sets a very bad precedent for things to
come.
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Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (http://www.TheNetReporter.com) and the co-author
of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e
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