[Duplicated]Spam advertisment from opera.

[golfstar42]

golfstar42 last edited by

I have been using some scketchy webpages to watch sports, and now I have 27 downloads of the opera Gx installer. Is it company policy to spam-advertise in those kind of places? Is it also company policy to pay for ads that automaticly download the installer? And are those downloads used as stats for being "the most downloaded browser in the world"? Let it be known that I don´t have any interest in installing the browser.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @golfstar42 last edited by

@golfstar42 Is it sketchy sites policy to make people download something so they, the sites, can earn something?

[golfstar42]

golfstar42 @leocg last edited by

@leocg actually not, what they do is force you to click in tons of adds before you can start streaming the content, so they can make money obviusly.
Those adds usually only takes you to paid porn sites, casinos, weird freemiun videogames or online stores. The only add wich downloads something is the OperaGX one.

And its not something new. I have been using those kinds of sites for years, and in the process have downloaded the opera installer thousands of times. No other thing has been downloaded, just Opera. In all of those years, I also have been seeing Opera advertisment in other more common places (like youtube, or news sites) satating that Opera is "one of the most downloaded browsers in the world". And I wonder if all those spam downloads are accounted in that stat.

[burnout426]

burnout426 Volunteer last edited by

If you mention this at https://www.reddit.com/r/OperaGX/ and list the URLs to specific pages that do this and list the full download URL you're redirected to that causes the download of Opera's installer for each case, someone there can investigate to see if those sites in question are abusing referrals (sounds like they are) and possibly do something about it.

[burnout426]

burnout426 Volunteer last edited by

Not sure what browser you use, but in Chrome for example, you can goto the URL chrome://settings/downloads and enable "Ask where to save each file before downloading" so you can cancel the download when it pops up. It's a good setting to have enabled for security anyway.

Using a good adblocker on those sites (if they don't break playing of the media) would be a good thing too.

You can also, edit your hosts file on your system to block the Opera domains that are being used for those redirects those sites are doing.

[golfstar42]

golfstar42 @burnout426 last edited by

@burnout426 yes, obviusly those sites are abusing referrals, but with other types of advertisment they only take you to the home page of the site in question. Only Opera does download the installer the moment you click on the add. I feel that's sketchy policy company (to automaticly download the moment you click an add, willingly or unwillingly).

Also I'm not gonna list the urls that abuse those referrals, 'couse I don't want those services I use to lose their financial support, so I can keep using them.

I know I could twek the setting so that nothing gets downloaded, but I don't mind just deleting everything after I watch the game.

I only find it kind of funny that a browser that sells itself as "the good guys in tech" to pay for adds that automaticly download the installer. And would like to know if those stats they promote themselfs with ("One of the most downloaded browsers") take into account those kinds of downloads.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @golfstar42 last edited by

@golfstar42 The site is sending you to the download page of Opera GX when showing the ad for the browser.

It's not Opera fault.

[golfstar42]

golfstar42 @leocg last edited by

@leocg the site is taking me to the url that opera pays for. Yes, they are doing wrong forcing me to click an add, but its opera who pays for taking me directly to the download page.

https://www.opera.com/es/computer/thanks?ni=eapgx&os=windows&utm_medium=pa&utm_campaign=PWN_ES_HVR_9571_WEB_786_&utm_id=2771410e7199443c81ec759dd7d8d628&utm_source=PWNgames&edition=std-2

Here´s the url that opera pays for me 2 get 30 times for each time I watch a game. "The most downloaded browser in the world" At this pace is gonna be downloaded more than the bible

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @golfstar42 last edited by

@golfstar42 There is no way to say that is Opera doing it without seeing the affiliation contract.
For me, it's more plausible that the site is redirecting you to a direct download so that they get some points for that instead of just send you to the main page and receive nothing.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @golfstar42 last edited by

@golfstar42 Where Opera says that they are the most downloaded? Don't remember have seen that in their official pages.

Anyway, it would be just marketing.

[burnout426]

burnout426 Volunteer @golfstar42 last edited by

@golfstar42 What's the domain of the site that does that and URL to page?