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The company, Adtech, found that during October and November, only 0.11 percent of Firefox users ever clicked on an ad, compared with around 0.5 percent of IE users. The percentage of IE users clicking on ads varied depending on which version of the browser was being used, the company said: from 0.44 percent of version 6.x users to 0.53 percent of version 5.5 users. The survey was based on 1,000 Web sites in Europe that use Adtech's ad server.
Dirk Freytag, the chief operations officer of Adtech, said in a statement that the reason for this trend is probably the different surfing habits of Firefox and IE users, plus the inclusion of an integrated pop-up ad blocker in Firefox. Among IE users, only those who have version 6 and who have installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 have an integrated pop-up blocker, although IE users can also choose to install a third-party pop-up blocker.
David Hallowell, a Mozilla contributor, said this trend may have emerged because nontechnical Web surfers, who tend to be IE users, are more likely to click on pop-up ads by mistake, because they think the ad is a system dialog box.
"People click on (pop-up) ads because they think the system's trying to tell them something," Hallowell said. "The average Firefox user is more aware that they're ads, not system dialogs."
Hallowell added that Firefox users may be more likely to click on targeted ads, rather than other types. "Most people I know are more happy with Google's targeted ads--they don't like big banner ads that are totally unrelated to what they're looking for," Hallowell said.
Adtech's findings could have significant implications for the online-advertising market. It may be bad news for sites that rely on online advertising, because as the number of Firefox users grows, those sites may get lower click-through rates. Alternatively, if Hallowell's theory is correct, then click-throughs from Firefox users could actually be more valuable--if a Firefox user is considered more likely to have intentionally clicked on an advertisement.
In some cases, Web surfers would be well-advised to stay clear of banner ads. Last month, ZDNet UK reported that hackers have attacked ad servers and have modified the banner ads so that they redirect users to Web sites that download malicious code.
Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London.
https://update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=10&vid=664
Of course, a good host file helps also.
Why in the world would anyone CHOOSE to use a product that is released with innumerable security holes? Why in the world would anyone in the world CHOOSE to suffer through popups that redirect us to innumberable sites we don't want to see? Why in the world would anyone CHOOSE to use a product that is by inspection so deficient that's it's almost impossible to understand why any self-respecting company would want to put its name on it?
It's a piece of garbage. c|net's reviewers know it. I know it. Millions of people around the world know it. We use it because we're accustomed to it, and because Microsoft's lousy security made it so easy for us to get at a time when we were all developing habits. Should we blame MS? No. But should we be the least bit surprised when users develop enough sophistication to recognize a problem when they see it and choose to use something else.
Not in the least.
I like IE 5.5 SP2 and for a variety of reason never see any ads. What the author state's regarding versions of IE prior to 6.0 simply isn't true, that earlier version of IE could not stop popups. In any version of IE choose custom for the Internet Security Zone. Scroll down near the bottom and disable "Active Scripting" and "Allow paste operation via script", you'll never see another popup again, unless you have some adware/spyware installed. I add sites such as the place I order my checks from, which uses a popup if one wishes to view altered data on the check, to IE's Trusted Security Zone.
help significantly. But no ad is worth any attention. All are
garbage in one way or another, and many are just plain frauds.
So, all ads get ignored, all the time. It gets real easy, real fast.
It is interesting to note that this survey was done in the UK. Users in the UK are not as likely to modify anything like changing there browser as compared to US users.
It is also interesting that this survey is even possible. The idea that the firefox browser sends out information regarding the pc it's installed on should be a big red flag.
There should be ONLY one focus here....
The people that use the net NEED to be educated about what they own, what the internet really is, and how all this stuff actually works. The ONLY reason that these numbers are what they are is because a user so inclined to use ANY browser other than what was already on the pc to start with would be more likely to understand something about computers (NOT just the various problems that DO plague IE).
This IS NOT a testamonial in praise of Firefox NOR is it a bashing for IE. What this story ACTUALLY is, is an example that there are people that are learning and educating themselves. It is also a warning that advertising and net tracking companies like this can still watch your movements....even if you use Firefox (to me, this in itself is a security risk).
As far as I am conserned....it is the online advertising industry that is creating so much of the problem. They employ their own hackers and back them with plenty of money. Online advertising is a greater threat to ALL of us than ANY rogue hacker out there (black hat or white).
technique:
http://webreference.com/tools/browser/javascript.html
It is simply a code test to determine your client's
capability since many sites use non-standard IE
specific code, a test would be prudent to determine
compatibility. One can easily mask your browser's
identity, but, you cannot mask the fact your
browser does not support a particular javascript
object. Firefox can mask it's ID but it cannot
mask the fact it does not support a platform
specific "activex" code segment. One can easily
see how you can glean information on the browser
type from it's ability to execute a section of
code (standard or not). No conspiracies here.
Even so, I use Firefox (I am from Australia) and I think I have clicked on 1 ad in my life deliberatly. I find them annoying, but since they do make sites like CNET free I don't have any huge problem with them.
I do not want to go to a site that wants use my computer for what ever reason. With internet security, as it is today, the less others use my computer (through the internet) the better.
Even if it is a well know company, was the person who wrote the code out-sourced or still with the company, and will the company take any responsibility, I don't think so.
-What everybody already knew is that more techy people use firefox.
-And simple users also tend to have IE5.5 while compagnies tend to have more recent IE6.x.
Clicking only depends on the USER that clicks. So if firefox is spread also to the simple user we WILL find that firefox users are going to click more often on the ads...
The only thing we CAN conclude is that techy people click less on ads than the simple user. And ... that is something we already knew!
- This is a problem we have suffered
- by globalsven December 13, 2005 2:32 PM PST
- Every day I check my stats for our company website www.sexyparadise.info and one of the things we look at is the success we get from each browser. Firefox users although plentiful do not click our ads. We don't know why this is but we have people working on the problem constantly looking for solutions.
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