# Browsers getting hijacked by redirection ads. Help?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 28, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226 "2019-06-28T17:12:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/1 "2019-06-28T17:12:00Z")
Using both Chrome and Dolphin browsers when I go to Listverse and Cracked I open an article and soon after it’s hijacked with some scam offer and I have to close the browser and try to get back to the article. I’ve tried using incognito mode and it still happens. These are the only 2 sites it seems to happen in consistently.
I’ve done scans on the phone with Lookout and everything seems OK. The sites are big enough and well known enough I know they aren’t the issue. The browsers, same. Been using Dolphin for about 10 years. Any advice with this? Thanks
---
### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/2 "2019-06-28T17:13:25Z")
BTW, it’s a Galaxy S8 and if course the ads are always for Galaxy owners.
---
### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/3 "2019-06-28T18:27:09Z")
Ublokc Origin works on Firefox for Android, if that’s what you’re using. Otherwise there are other adblockers for cellphones that you could use.
---
### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/4 "2019-06-28T21:09:15Z")
Thought the adblockers were built into chrome and Dolphin. I’ll try Firefox again but for some reason I gave that up. But worth a shot. Thanks
---
### Author:  [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/5 "2019-06-28T21:35:25Z")
From the OP, if you’re doing this on a phone, the phone hijackers are frickin’ insidious, much worse than the computer-based hijackers.
The best you can do on your phone is to turn off pop-ups, but sometimes that doesn’t work.
There’s a lot of sites, like cracked, that I just can’t view on my phone because its hijacked every time.
---
### Author:  [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2019, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/6 "2019-06-29T05:19:06Z")
Don’t use Chrome, ever. Google spyware is built in.
---
### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/7 "2019-06-29T06:38:20Z")
> [@duffer](#):
>
> Thought the adblockers were built into chrome and Dolphin. I’ll try Firefox again but for some reason I gave that up. But worth a shot. Thanks
Dolphin has one, but you have to turn it on in the settings (and maybe even download something to make it work–I can’t remember), and it’s not as good as uBlock Origin on Firefox. (The latter is what I use.)
I’m dismayed that Chrome isn’t stopping these. They’ve been talking a lot about baking at least that level of adblock into the browser itself. Any ads that hamper your ability to use your device are supposed to be being blocked.
Seems they still have a long way to go.
---
### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/8 "2019-06-29T16:23:44Z")
Yes, it only happens on the phone. I’ll check for any Dolphin extensions. Thanks for all the advice guys.
---
### Author:  [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2019, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/9 "2019-07-02T08:25:40Z")
If dolphin don’t do the trick Opera for android has a built in ad-blocker (and also VPN) - I’ve switched to this from chrome for most of my browsing on phones, due to among other things this issue.
---
### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2019, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/10 "2019-07-02T08:31:27Z")
Adguard will block most of these. Uses the same blocking lists as Ublock, but works across all apps (including Chrome):
> **[AdGuard — World's most advanced adblocker!](https://adguard.com/en/welcome.html)**
>
> AdGuard is the best way to get rid of annoying ads and online tracking and protect your computer from malware. Make your web surfing fast, safe and ad-free
---
### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/11 "2019-07-02T12:51:52Z")
> [@sps49sd](#):
>
> Don’t use Chrome, ever. Google spyware is built in.
So what?
---
### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-getting-hijacked-by-redirection-ads-help/836226/12 "2019-07-03T01:09:58Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> I’m dismayed that Chrome isn’t stopping these. They’ve been talking a lot about baking at least that level of adblock into the browser itself. Any ads that hamper your ability to use your device are supposed to be being blocked.
Chrome (Google) makes their money from ads. Why would they want to block them?
In fact, the next version of Chrome (Partial release on July 8th) is changing APIs in a way that will severely cripple existing Adblockers. They claim that they are doing this because Adblockers slow down the browser, but this has been shown to be untrue by various tests. (In fact, by blocking ads, they often speed up browsing.) Despite these tests. Chrome is insisting on distributing theis adblock-killer version. So I’m looking for a new, non-Chrome browser to switch to.