I was just looking around on different websites for what happened to programs like PeerBlock
Seems like they’re not really too helpful to protect yourself against snitches. But they are helpful for blocking the IP-ranges of advertising companies…
Or, if you’re disinclined to running a Pi-hole yourself, there are services like NextDNS.
Seconded on NextDNS. It’s like $20/year for the “pro” version (no monthly limits) and I honestly cannot recall the last time I saw an ad on any device I control. The sole exception is my Apple TV, where one of the apps I use has ads injected into the video, so, no way to block those.
If advertisers truly cared about serving the customers they claim to care so much about, the ad networks would have better standards and more safeguards to prevent malware. I’d still block them, I just wouldn’t feel the same level of pride in blocking them for both annoyance and safety factors.
I’d be a good start, if content platforms had to apply the same guidelines to ads, as they do to content. It’s kinda telling that people on the platform need to not swear, while the ad below goes “You can’t last 5 seconds in this NFT gambling waifu gatcha collector aimed at teens.” or just offer money freud scams directly.
