outsimmed:

please stop using ad.fly

not only does most everyone who knows what they’re doing enough to install cc have adblockers installed and running so you get $0 for those clicks, but 

ad.fly periodically, accidentally allows ransomware advertisers

you know, those sites that pop up that say someone (the FBI, windows, microsoft, your hard drive) has your computer locked, and you need to call a 800 number to unlock it? (which usually involves paying hundreds of dollars in untraceable methods i.e. gift cards)

as of 12:50pm on 09/07/2016, the time of posting this, every time i personally click an ad.fly link, both the “continue to ad” (because i’m using adblock plus) and the “skip ad” button on ad.fly open a ransomware popup.

(users can get around the ransomware popups using adblock plus and google chrome, by clicking the x on the popup’s dialog message, then clicking “prevent this page from creating additional dialogs” and closing the tab/page that opened instead of the download link)

i understand most everyone can use more money to support content hosting or the technology needed to continue their creativity, but is the $0.001 you get for every click REALLY worth the real possibility having someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing being exposed to ransomware?

would you feel ok if you knew that someone emptied their life savings to buy iTunes cards to pay some scammer because you use these links?

the users most likely to be affected by ransomware schemes like this are those new to the sims cc communities, younger users, and people inexperienced with computers.

i’m sure ad.fly will remove these particular new ransomware advertisers at some point, as they try to be an above-board company. in my few years of experience using ad.fly links from cc creators, ad.fly blocks these unsavory advertisers within a few days/weeks of them managing to purchase adspace from them, but the scammers ALWAYS try again. and they seem to get through every few months.

is it worth the risk to your fans to get a thousandth of a penny?

let alone your young fans? your newbie fans?

Thankfully I don’t think I’ve seen ts2 cc behind adfly but I use enough ts3 and ts4 cc to know adfly is trash