Firewall disable AdSense

How to fight with firewall?

[ebizcamp]

If visitors have firewall installed in their machines, AdSense will not work. Vistors can view AdSense AdSense links are not clickable.

I have read and followed suggestions from some threads in webmasterworld but still have problems.

Any idea?

[europeforvisitors]

If visitors have firewall installed in their machines, AdSense will not work.

Depends on the firewall, whether it has an ad blocker, and whether the ad blocker is turned on by default (as is the case with Norton Internet Security unless I'm mistaken).

I doubt if this is a big problem yet, and I imagine Google will find an alternative way to deliver ads if such blocking becomes widespread.

[ebizcamp]

It seems more and more people have firewall preinstalled by machine vendors. Recently, both my affiliate and adsense drop a lot. I doubt maybe it is partly due to firewall.

[willybfriendly]

I doubt if this is a big problem yet

Conjecture? Or do you have something to back it up?

I am seeing Norton on an awful lot of machines. Starts with the "free" 30 day subscription to Norton AV on many new XP machines, which then gets the big advertising push when it comes time to renew.

Also, in my day job the network admins have installed something that is blocking most ads, although I think it is some form of script blocking from what I can tell. (They're a secretive lot over in that department.)

I suspect it is getting pretty widespread.

WBF

[Powdork]

I don't think it involves Norton AV alone. You have to have the full Norton Internet Security package. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Also, over in the Apache Web Server forum you can find how to send people using this to a page explaining why they can't see your site and instructions how to disable the little bugger. Actually, you can send them to any page, but I think that would be a good one.

edited-gave name of wrong forum.

[edited by: Powdork at 5:30 am (utc) on May 13, 2004]

[europeforvisitors]

Right--it's Norton Internet Security, not Norton AntiVirus. And I don't think too many PCs come with NIS preinstalled. Even if that were the case, how many consumers have brand-new PCs?

This may become a problem, but again, I doubt very much if it's a problem in most advertising categories right now (although it might be in categories where the typical prospect is a power user).

[paybacksa]

Broadly applied ad blocking on corporate networks won't last for long. If you are in business, you need salesman and you need ads.

Now blocking a large % of ads is indeed possible... so once they can selectivly block ads on a per-user basis (on the corporate network) then it may persist. Data processors and the like don't need to see ads... but then do they really need the Internet on their desktop?

[willybfriendly]

I was unclear in my first response.

Systems come loaded with Norton AV, which is not a problem. 30 days later, when it is time to re-up the subscription for virus definitions there is a nice push to get one to upgrade to NIS. You know, no more annoying pop-ups, spam filtering, etc.

That is when NIS gets installed.

Anyone seen any stats on haow many copies of NIS are installed out there?

WBF

[ebizcamp]

Norton NIS really blocks *both* AdSense and CJ/Amazon codes. It is so frustrating. I have sent email to Google and CJ, no reply yet.

[ebizcamp]

I just got replies from both CJ and Google. CJ tells me CJ is contacting with Norton to resolve this issue while google tells me that I need to contact Norton myself to resolve this issue.

But I do think Google should contact with Norton regarding this and I think maybe Google has alread done it because by disabling AdSense, Norton brings loss *both* to publishers and advertisers.

Any idea?

[ebizcamp]

A follow-up to this topic. I have installed NIS 2004 for several days. As far as I surfed, no website display AdSense properly when my NIS is on. But some website, say, about.com seems auto-detect if you have NIS (or similar) installed. If yes, AdSense will not display hence the visitor will not get a un-clickable area.

[cornwall]

>>Norton NIS really blocks *both* AdSense and CJ/Amazon codes

As a user of NIS, I can tell you the original installation goes further, it blocks the full AdWords set, including all adverts on the Google search results pages.

So Google themselves have a pretty big problem, when you consider how much of their revenue comes from this source.

[Macro]

So Google themselves have a pretty big problem

If that's true then it's almost 100% certain Google are working on something :)

When calculating Google's value I can't see analysts missing this as one of the minus points ... unless Google convinces them it's got something up it's sleeve to combat ad blocking. There's also, of course, substantial revenue at stake that should serve as a motivator to action.

Unless Google's done a deal with Symantec......;)

Any Googleguy/AWA care to comment?

[RichD]

I did some test on this last month. I noticed that Norton (Internet Security or Firewall) changes the HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING header to underscores. I expect the reason for this is to stop the server sending gzip'd data, which would be harder to filter adverts out of.

I set up a script that monitored this header (as well as doing a spyware check) and the results wern't good. Out of 62330 machines tested 6.65% had Norton, or something that alters the HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING header in the same way, installed

The only reason I can see to modify that header would be to make it easier to process the page before the user sees it.

Oh, and 34.79% had at least one piece of easily detectable spyware installed :(

[europeforvisitors]

But some website, say, about.com seems auto-detect if you have NIS (or similar) installed. If yes, AdSense will not display hence the visitor will not get a un-clickable area.

That's probably a bug, not a feature. About.com doesn't display any ads, period, on my PC (which has Norton Internet Security installed with ad blocking turned off). Some of the pages are a mess, maybe because of CSS problems.

As others have said, Google is obviously aware of the problem with NIS's default ad blocking, and a solution is bound to come along in due course if only because Google doesn't enjoy losing revenue any more than we do.

[icedowl]

At this very moment I've got another window open to about.com and they have ads - three(3) ads on one page all for earthlink via doubleclick.net plus adsense.

I haven't used any Norton software since the mid 90's. Their software just isn't as good as it used to be.

[cornwall]

There is a discussion here as well

[webmasterworld.com...]

[a1call]

Hi,
Just a brainstorming idea. Not that I think it's right. But how much leverage do you think adsense publishers have. What would happen if majority of publishers decided to ban visitors with ad blockers?
What if google decided to ban users with ad blockers.
So fellow publishers: Should we? Would you?

[trillianjedi]

What would happen if majority of publishers decided to ban visitors with ad blockers?

Those sites would start to lose visitors hand over fist.

Which.... leaves a gap in the market for me with my affiliate links, so do it please.

;-)

TJ

[Powdork]

You don't have to ban them outright. You can send them to the page of your choice. You can send them to a page explaining what the software on their computer is doing. It's likely they have no idea. You can explain how to turn the behavior off. You can give them a phone number of a sissytec representative to call and complain to. And you can give them a link back to the page where they were redirected from.
Of course, i don't know how to do all this but I'm sure someone over in the Apache or web technology forums would.

Of course, I would be happy to host the page and everyone can redirect them to it.;)

[yump]

Maybe not many people have NIS installed, but the effect depends on their profile.

If they belong to the top group of online purchasers, then its serious. If they belong to the skeptical, been there done that, not clicking on anything group, then its not so serious.