Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Any time I visit a non tech relative - their desktop is constantly popping up with messages they claim to know nothing about.

In the old days, you needed an RCE and some malware to do desktop popups. Now it's apparently just a feature. It's becoming an increasingly abused function.



The upside is, at least they don’t have a virus, not the kind that encrypts files or sends you CC info to China.


No, they just have the regular spyware conveniently bundled with almost every site they visit :).

Seriously, ad&tracking blocking is the first thing I do when I have to fix up a computer for a friend or family member.


This is why I applauded Firefox shipping it by default. It’s so much easier to leave it in than have to install something else or figure out which ad blockers are trustworthy.


I thought it was a great idea at first but in reality I only use it for the calendar and get annoyed by requests on every other site.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: