Stumbling upon a specifically tailored advertisement on your iPhone can be a bit disconcerting. But that's what happens when you let advertisers track your data. Some of you may appreciate more relevant ads in apps, but the rest of you might consider it a straight-up privacy invasion.
Most of the free apps you'll find on the Play Store have ads. These ads are personalized — in other words, they're for products and services Google believes you might be interested in. The way Google knows about your interests is by collecting data from your smartphone, including your location and app usage. While personalized ads have their advantages, the collection of data is unsettling.
Ad blocking on Android usually requires root access, but a pair of new browsers based on the open source Chromium and Firefox builds are looking to change this.
One thing we can probably all agree on is that ads suck. In particular, ad-supported mobile apps are both a gift and a curse. Most are free, but supplement that non-existent price tag with non-stop banner or video ads. Sometimes, those ads can ruin the entire app, especially if it's a game that requires your undivided attention.
How much privacy are you getting as an AT&T customer? With the recent leaks confirming the National Security Agency's surveillance on AT&T users, and the ongoing trial of Jewel v. NSA, it seems not much at all.
Interested to know how many TV impressions you'll receive over the next seven days? This official video from Google will teach you how to use the new interface to determine just that. For all of the relevant details, and to get started estimating the impressions of your Google AdWords TV Ads campaigns, watch this clip.
NetGuard is a well-established app known for its highly secure firewall, which blocks unwanted web activity from individual apps that can take up both precious bandwidth and battery life. Not quite as well known, however, is the fact there's a second official version of NetGuard that comes with a hidden ad-blocking feature, which can be activated with just a little tinkering in the app's settings menu.
If you're in the market for a non-root ad-blocker, developer Julian Klode has an app that you'll definitely want to check out. It uses Android's VPN system in a similar manner to alternative apps like NetGuard and AdGuard, but it's got a new twist that should save lots of battery life in the process.
Over the years, YouTube ads have become more and more integrated with the videos themselves, which means traditional Android ad blockers can no longer block the ads without blocking the videos. It's gotten to the point where the only ways to get rid of the ads are to either subscribe to Google Play Music and YouTube Red, or go through the complicated process of installing the Xposed Framework.
Evan Rachel Wood, also known by "True Blood" fans as vampire Queen Sophie Anne, has for the past few years been a big fan of retro, glamorous makeup inspired by screen sirens of the 1950s. She adopts this retro look on "True Blood" with voluminous curls, winged cat liner, and red lips.
In this video, we learn how to use Spotify without any ads. First, you will need to download the program from: naspotify. Once you have this installed on your computer, open it up and open up Spotify. Now, when you are on Spotify and you see an ad come up, you just need to press Alt+F9 and the ads will be gone from your page! This is a very easy way to get rid of the ads without having to go to a lot of trouble. This doesn't require any additional downloads, so if you are using a free version...
No one likes in-app advertisements, especially in mobile gaming, but they're necessary because they offer developers a way to make revenue without having to charge you to play. In some games, in-app purchases give you the chance to remove ads, but what can you do about apps that don't offer the option to kill ads?
Augmented reality has taken the advertising industry by storm, but the technology has a steep learning curve. Luckily for advertisers, Unity is here to flatten the curve a bit.
This year's NFL playoffs have been nothing short of spectacular. With Super Bowl XLVIII coming up on Sunday, February 2nd, people are already gearing up for another classic showdown between the NFC and AFC, and this time it's the Seattle Seahawks versus the Denver Broncos.
I think most people can agree that advertisements are just annoying. There is only one day out of the entire year when commercials and advertisements are actually welcomed, and that's the Super Bowl. But, since it can't be the Super Bowl every day (if only), those ads that float around on your Microsoft Surface's screen are just obnoxious. Luckily, there is a way to get rid of them, on Facebook at least. Facebook is one of the most visited sites in the world, so having the ability to hide ads...
Do you find Pop-up ads annoying? This video will show you how to turn on the pop-up blocker tool in Mozilla Firefox. Feel like you are missing out on the excitement of pop-up ads? You'll also know how to allow them after watching this video.
Have a WordPress blog? Make some money by adding some advertisements. You can easily do this by using the AdRotate plugin for WordPress. It's super easy to install and even easier to use.
Remember those iPod ads with shadowy, black figures, a bright background, and a clearly delineated white iPod? You can cut yourself a piece of the overstuffed Steve Jobs pie by watching this tutorial on how to create an iPod people effect with Photoshop.
This Photoshop CS3 tutorial shows you how to create a wedding photography advertisement for a magazine. Using album design techniques in Photoshop, we create a collage-style ad for a bridal magazine. This tutorial is geared towards people who already use Photoshop and have a basic knowledge of the tools and interface.
Learn how to create banner ads for websites in Joomla using the Page Peel Module.
This video documents installing a php script (Almond Classified) that allows for web visitors to post classified ads on your web page.
Hulu used to be simple — just a site with all the latest clips and episodes from your favorite shows. Watch some ads, watch some free TV. Easy, right? Not so much anymore. Hulu is no longer free, and on top of that, offers different pricing plans and add-ons.
The Play Store is loaded with just about any app you can imagine. While many are free or have a "lite" version of a paid app for download, often enough, these freebies have intrusive ads cluttering up your screen.
There is only one time every year where I will willingly watch advertisements—during the Super Bowl. Maybe a Victoria's Secret commercial every now and then, too, but that's about it.
While ads certainly pay the bills (thank you guys, we love you), they can also be obtrusive and annoying when it comes to accessing and viewing content (not our advertisers though, they rule).
"Why do I keep getting popups on my phone when I'm not even doing anything?" I see this question asked all the time. The answer? You have a shady app on your phone and it started showing full screen ads. But people either don't know this (so they don't know they just need to find and uninstall the problematic app), or if they do know it's a bad app, they don't know which app is causing it.
Less than two months after launching its augmented reality platform for casual gaming and shared experiences, Snapchat is ready to make Snappables available to advertisers.
For the past three or four months, Microsoft has been pushing advertisements onto the lock screens of some Windows 10 users as part of its "Windows Spotlight" feature. This feature normally shows you scenic photographs and gives you the option to learn more about them by launching an Edge window once you log in. However, the aforementioned users have reported seeing the image below for the new Rise of the Tomb Raider game. Rather than taking you online in Edge to learn about it, you're given ...
Although they're often times the primary source of income for websites, on-site advertisements can annoy even the most tolerable reader. That's why ad blockers have been some of the most popular downloads on Firefox and Chrome for some time now, demonstrating that when it comes down to it, most people just want nothing to do with ads shoved in their face.
iTunes Radio, Apple's answer to Pandora, provides endless hours of free music streaming, but like other so-called "free" services, every now and then you're going to hear some ads. While you may not be bombarded with them, they can definitely kill the vibe when you're jamming to your favorite stations.
The beauty of free apps is that, well, they're free. But as we all know, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Sometimes these "free" applications are only feature-limited mini versions, or they're so littered with ads that opting to pay for it is the only way to actually enjoy it.
For those not in the know, the Perrier ad campaign by Dita Von Teese is a sexy commercial that Von Teese did for the sparkling tonic water company that includes naughty burlesque dancing. In the commercial, Von Teese sports her signature pinup makeup look with false lashes, liquid cat eyeliner, and of course buxom red lips.
Remember the last time this happened to you? You got home, put on a DVD to watch, and got stuck watching about 12 trailers and ads before you even got to the movie. Pressing the menu button didn't help, and you felt powerless against the MPAA. Well, check out this tip from CNET. All you have to do the next time you pop in your DVD is the following: 1. Play DVD. 2. When the trailer starts, click Stop twice. 3. Then click Play. Voila! The DVD will now play your movie.
Facebook is preparing to make augmented reality experiences for brands more visible in its mobile app with Tuesday's introduction of augmented reality ads in its News Feed.
This video discusses the basic steps necessary to start an online business. The first thing you need is a name for your business. Keep it simple, easy to spell and remember. Once you have your name, register it with the government. Next, find a good hosting company for your website. He recommends Godaddy.com. Also a good web designer is a necessity. They will meet with you to discuss your ideas, and your website should be ready in about a week.
As it prepares to ship its first product by the end of the summer, Magic Leap has managed to impress yet another high-profile investor in telecommunications giant AT&T.
Android has gotten significantly better at handling intrusive ads over the years. Things have gotten to the point to where these nuisances are largely a non-issue for most of us. However, there are still a few ad-laden apps that fall through the cracks — particularly the kind that bombard your lock screen with ads.
A while back, we told you about NoChromo, a no-root ad-blocking browser based on Google Chrome's open source code base, Chromium. That browser was wildly successful, as it offered an identical interface to regular Chrome, but without any ads. Sadly, the developer abandoned NoChromo, but a new ad-blocking Chromium port called Bromite has been released to fill its void.
Snapchat is mostly credited as the first AR social network, and, like most social media companies, its revenue model is nested largely within advertising. As such, the company now has a new avenue for branded content.
While it might be a little past its prime now, the running gag about Nokia phones never breaking was one of the internet's favorite jokes. "If you buy one," they would say, "you'll never need another phone again." I think if those users could see into the future, they'd change their tune, as the Nokia 6 is now available to preorder — and I'm guessing it would give any of Nokia's old bricks a run for their money.
