if ads were just static PNGs with a link you went to if you clicked I wouldn't have ever bothered. but ads became a major malware and tracking risk so plugging that security hole became mandatory.

It's true. I work in a computer shop and we see literally thousands and thousands of dollars lost from people clicking on ads that look like normal buttons (things like "Download", "Next", etc). And not just the elderly either. Everyone has a a combination of inputs to get scared and comply. Folks that are otherwise extremely competent and savvy can get scammed too.

The best security you can have online is adblockers, only beaten by using trusted websites.

Edit, fair points with sites being slimy these days. I meant using legitimate versions of websites rather than copy/fake websites designed to steal credentials.

Definitely. Ads are eye cancer at best, and infiltration channels for malware at worst. Compromised ad networks pumping out executable code via javascript (or back in the days, Flash) are still a major source of trojan infections.

And just to add to your important point, Ad Blockers are really Content Blockers. They allow the user to delete annoyances that have nothing to do with advertising. We should all start calling them Content Blockers.

I have said it before, snd I will repeat it as many times as it takes.

Adblocking is security, untill website owners take legal and financial responsibillity for the harm that a hacked ad spreading malware or attenpting any kind of deception, I won't even consider removing my adblocker.

If this changes, I will consider it, but will still not do it, the risk to my data is too large.

Yeah, there's no proper screening process and companies aren't help liable for malicious advertisements. It's the Wild west out there, and companies take money from anyone due to there being no consequences. Internet advertising has no proper screening process like network television.