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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
YouTube's latest tactic targets ad blockers with fresh measures to make users pay for Premium subscription
Ad blockers mustn't flourish - at least according to YouTube. The Alphabet-owned video platform has been cracking down on viewers who continue to use ad blockers on its site, all because they must submit to the demands of major tech companies eager for your money. If you have an ad blocker extension turned on, YouTube no longer allows playback until you disable it. In its current iteration, YouTube is mostly successful in ensuring that free users can't get away with using ad blockers. Now, the company has added another layer of defence against ad blockers. According to many Reddit users, popular workarounds like uBlock Origin and AdBlock are no longer effective against YouTube ads. That means users are now seeing warnings to stop using ad blockers. For some who rely on these services, the YouTube page appears completely blank. Naturally, this has led to an uproar against Google for its strong stance against ad blockers. Even if we acknowledge that ads help creators generate revenue from their videos, it's clear that Google is ultimately looking out for its own interests. As always, though, users will likely devise new ways to bypass these restrictions. We're at an impasse: users don't want to pay for Premium, and YouTube doesn't want anyone to bypass ads. It's hard to imagine, but there was a time when the internet was virtually ad-free. Sure, pop-ups existed here and there, but you didn't have to pay for every service just to enjoy it without ads. Over the last decade, that has changed. Every company has gradually shifted to premium models that promise an ad-free experience. While many users have caved and paid for these services, it feels like a never-ending battle. For example, companies could randomly introduce a new subscription tier for users who want to pay less but are okay with a few ads. Recently, Prime Video announced that, starting June 17, users would have to pay extra if they don't want to see ads while watching content. That's especially strange considering users already pay for a Prime subscription. Now, the ad-free tier is an add-on for subscribers who don't want ads. This has caused a lot of uproar on social media, but Amazon is moving ahead with its new subscription model in India. As more companies play with subscription tiers to offer users more options regarding ads, it's also becoming unclear what exactly we're paying for besides content. Who wins at the end of all this? In most cases, it's just the companies making massive profits.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
You Need to Update Firefox Before Friday
If you read enough tech news on the internet, you're probably used to seeing the same advice over and over again: Update your software to the latest version as soon as possible. This advice is repeated often, because, for the most part, it's sound—updates not only give you access to the latest features, but also the most up to date stability and security patches. If you want to protect your software, hardware, and the data contained therein, update! Web browsers are no exception. It's particularly important to keep the tool you use to access the internet fully updated if you want to keep yourself safe as you surf the web. While you should update all web browsers whenever possible, it's especially pertinent for Firefox users to update right now. If you don't, your browser might stop working. A Firefox root certificate is expiring Mozilla, the company that makes Firefox, issued a warning last year imploring users to update their browsers as soon as possible. Unlike most articles I write about browser updates, this particular update doesn't include a security patch designed to protect against a vulnerability or active exploit. Instead, this version of Firefox updates a "root certificate," which is necessary for the browser to continue operating as expected. A root certificate is essentially the confirmation that Mozilla approved and certified an add-on. (That's what Firefox calls browser extensions.) Whenever you install something like, say, uBlock Origin, Mozilla first has to ensure that add-on is authentic, as not doing so invites instability and security risks. This root certificate is set to expire on Friday, March 14. Without this root certificate, Mozilla cannot confirm that your add-ons are actually legit, and, as such, will disable them. But it won't just be your add-ons. The lack of a root certificate could also stop DRM-protected content from playing. That includes streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, since their content is, of course, digital locked up via DRM. In addition, Mozilla says systems that use content verification could stop working as well. Firefox itself won't completely cease to function after this root certificate expires. You can keep using the outdated version of the browser, if you insist. However, your add-ons and streaming services will likely stop working, among other functions. Perhaps even more critically, you're setting yourself up for security issues: Without this certificate, malicious add-ons and websites could bypass Mozilla's security features and wreak havoc on your machine, while Mozilla's feature that gives you a heads up when your passwords are breached may not work. There's really no reason not to update Firefox to update the root certificate. How to update Firefox Luckily, this isn't a case where you need to make any significant lifestyle changes to adapt. In fact, this really is as simple as updating your browser. As long as you're running Firefox version 128 or newer, you're set. (For context, the Firefox app on my Mac, which I rarely use, was running version 125, when the latest as of this piece is 136.) If you're on a desktop, like Mac, Windows, or Linux, click Menu > Help > About Firefox. Firefox will look for the latest version, and, if found, will invite you to restart your browser to install it. While this issue doesn't affect iOS, it does affect Android, so make sure to update your mobile browser as well. To do so, open the app's Play Store page and choose Update if one is available.
