Did you know that ad blockers can protect you from malicious software (malware) embedded in advertisements? Even if you practice good “net hygiene” and stay away from the shadier parts of the web, many reputable websites have inadvertently exposed their users to malicious advertisements through syndicated advertisement networks. For example,
Huffington Post and LA Weekly in Early 2015
The BBC, AOL, and NFL.com in 2016:
Equifax in 2017:
https://www.cnet.com/news/equifax-website-ads-served-adware-malware-expert-finds/
New York Times and The Atlantic earlier this year:
https://www.fastcompany.com/40516897/a-new-wave-of-bad-ads-is-hijacking-even-top-tier-websites
Unfortunately, there are many more documented cases of advertisements with malware appearing on legitimate websites. GHC IT recommends installing an ad-blocking extension on your browser(s) of preference. However, it is critically important to make sure the extension is legitimate. There are many fake versions of ad blockers that will only serve you with more malicious advertisements or compromise your computer! A few known, reputable ad blockers to try are UBlock (https://www.ublock.org) or AdBlock Plus (https://adblockplus.org/). Once you’ve installed an ad blocker, you may consider allowing advertisements on websites you choose to trust since many operate solely on ad revenue.
HTTPS Everywhere (https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere) is another useful browser extension that forces your web browsing to encrypted (https) versions of webpages whenever they are available. It is important to note that this alone will not protect you from unsafe or malicious websites, but it will make it more difficult for someone to eavesdrop or tamper with your connection to a legitimate site.