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Unknown Mozilla dev addon "Looking Glass 1.0.3" on browser

(support.mozilla.org)
757 points shak77 | 1 comments | 15 Dec 17 13:47 UTC | HN request time: 0.223s | source
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shak77 ◴[15 Dec 17 13:47 UTC] No.15931738[source]▶
This is what it looks like: https://imgur.com/a/mriUw

It scared the hell out of me! Are these guys losing their minds?

It was reported as a bug and the response thus far is indeed underwhelming for such a severe issue: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1424977

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grawprog ◴[15 Dec 17 13:57 UTC] No.15931793[source]▶
>Are these guys losing their minds?

Yes

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shak77 ◴[15 Dec 17 14:05 UTC] No.15931833[source]▶
I don't know what the hell is going on with Mozilla. Ever tried to install Firefox on Android? The new tab page is full of ads by default!

And this is the company we are supposed to trust? Because right now I feel like I trust Google more, and that's a lot to say.

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teekert ◴[15 Dec 17 14:28 UTC] No.15932006[source]▶
Adds are annoying yes, but they are only bad for your privacy if they track and profile you. Adds allow for free stuff and they can be done the right way. Granted this is becoming more and more rare so I understand your standard association of adds with distrust. The adds you refer to are non tracking (please tell me if I'm wrong though) and will slowly be replaced by sites you visit (often).
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1. chriswarbo ◴[15 Dec 17 15:28 UTC] No.15932442[source]▶
> Adds[sic] allow for free stuff

The opposite is true: ads must be paid for, which makes products and services more expensive.

Ads are a convoluted, inefficient form of wealth redistribution; whether that's "good" or "bad" depends on the specific circumstances.

For example, we might (simplistically) say it's "good" when we receive something paid for by ad revenue, but the burden of paying for (e.g. by price increases) and being subjected to those ads is carried by others. For example, if we tune in to a radio station, listen to a song, and tune out before some ad for a product we don't use.

We could say it's "bad" when the opposite happens, for example if we pay higher fees for shopping on Amazon, which then get spent on advertising Prime Video which we don't use.