OK, I admit it. I run Adblocking software inside my web browsers. To see web pages nowadays, that means I bump them up to 150% so I can read the text. That leaves less room for other stuff, especially ads. But I’ve noticed that an increasing number of websites simply won’t let viewers visit unless those visitors permit the ads to show. So I open those sites inside Windows Sandbox because it works as a no-filters and no-blocks-applied environment. Alas, this “Sandbox effect” keeps spreading as more and more sites make me do this.

Why Say: Sandbox Effect Keeps Spreading

I got a particularly rude wake-up call about this on Wednesday. In fact, I didn’t even figure it out until this morning. Two days ago, I noticed that WinAero was coming up in Firefox (where it’s in my favorites) as an all-back page. I even asked Copilot what might be wrong and it speculated that something with the CDN (Content Distribution Network — e.g. Akamai, etc.) might be wonky.

Wrong. This morning, it dawned on me that this “black screen” might be a particularly draconian implementation of a “no ad blocking” policy. And indeed, that’s what it appears to be (lead-in graphic, left). When I open the same site in Windows Sandbox (lead-in graphic, right) it comes up in readable form right away. Wowie-Zowie.

The Sandbox List Is Growing

Minutes ago, I had a similar experience at Thurrott.com. I suppose I should be grateful, because that site operator at least had the courtesy to tell me what was going on. Here’s what it showed me after a click-through from a “problem loading the page” error message:

Life is interesting when one is inclined to appreciate being informed that they must watch ads on a website, or skedaddle. Here in Windows-World, gratitude often takes unusual forms. This one, methinks, is more unusual than most. Happy Friday!