MSN Throws Down?
Published on November 15, 2017 By Daiwa In Personal Computing

Perhaps it's just me.  Within the past week, msn.com has started refusing to load the home page graphic interface when it detects an ad-blocker.  Same browser, but 2 different rigs.  Access to the graphic interface is immediately restored by disabling ad-blocking, even though the site doesn't say that's the problem, just gives a generic comment about some plugin or extension 'interfering' with msn.com.

Not big whup.  MSN exists only so I can study how the other half thinks, anyway.  Just thought it was interesting.


Comments
on Nov 15, 2017

I have found many News websites blocking the view of the page if you have an AD Blocker activated. Right off , this tells me they are tracking me and I simply say "screw you" and close the page. There are plenty of other sites to get the news without the strong arm tactics to make you turn off your Ad Blocker. Maybe they'll learn a lesson when more and more people turn away and their viewership drops.     --ACE ---

on Nov 15, 2017

Same here.  This was just the first time I'd encountered it with msn.com, which likes to think of itself as an alternative to Drudge.

on Nov 15, 2017

I use IE, my home page is MSN and I use Adblocker. I never had a problem with the site. Maybe it's the browser your using. I use Chrome with AdBlocker as a backup browser and everything is fine.

on Nov 15, 2017

Opera here (chromium), with its native adblocker, for quite some time now without running into this until last week.  Could well be msn.com now 'sees' this blocker & not others.  Hard to say.

on Nov 16, 2017

Still using Chrome with ad blocker and only encounter this problem with Forbes and Business Insider. They want you to disable ad blocker and I just go elsewhere to view the same article.

on Nov 16, 2017


Still using Chrome with ad blocker and only encounter this problem with Forbes and Business Insider. They want you to disable ad blocker and I just go elsewhere to view the same article.

 

Yep, same here. I use adblocker and Ghostery in Chrome. Its nice going to sites without getting ads, and the ones I actually white-list cant use targeted ads due to ghostery...lol.

on Nov 17, 2017

More and more sites are blocking access to content if you're using and adblocker or tracking disabler.  Like Acemetrix, I say fech you and move on.  I dislike advertising intensely, and tracking is just another tool of advertisers to find out your interests and preferences, so they can all go fech themselves, I'm not interested.

I didn't know MSN was doing this, but I have zero tolerance and it's bye bye from me.

on Nov 17, 2017

i believe for chrome at least there are some anti-anti-adblocker extensions. ubo has some list that work with those things. no idea how well they work as i can't be bothered to install yet another thing.

on Nov 17, 2017

alaknebs

i can't be bothered to install yet another thing.

It does seem to be a bit endless, doesn't it.

on Nov 17, 2017

alaknebs

i believe for chrome at least there are some anti-anti-adblocker extensions. ubo has some list that work with those things. no idea how well they work as i can't be bothered to install yet another thing.

Yeah, it seems like and endless battle, doesn't it!  Thing is, I've heard that advertisers and the like have found a way to bypass anti-anti adblockers and can display ads regardless.  I've not come across this myself, I just use Adblock Plus, but if I did I'd simply stop visiting the offending site[s].