Tampering with a website's interface using javascript - is it legal?

Question

On my site I am distributing a piece of code (written by me) that when, either run as a bookmarklet or injected into the url and executed, alters the user interface of another website and removes some functions. Is this illegal in any way?

Specifically the code removes full screen cpalead adverts.

Thanks for your time

Answer 1

no its not this is very common firefox has a plugin called greasemonkey and you can download scripts at userscripts.org that do just this, this is because it is only altering the experience for the individual user, its not altering the site.



facebook threatened to sue a userscript writer but its just them being jerks, its gone nowhere

Answer 2

Javascript is used to execute logic in your webpage. For instance, let's say you have a text box on your webpage in which the user is supposed to key a number before they submit the form. But some goofball keys the word "hippie" instead, and then hits the "submit" button. Well, your server side code (PHP, or ASP, or JSP, or OWA, or Cold Fusion or whatever ... ) probably catches the error and sends the webpage back to the use with a message like, "Please Enter Numeric Data Here". Well, that's okay, but you've wasted alot of time sending the web page back to the server, and then sending right back to the user. Plus, if there are other fields the user might have filled in, you have to make sure to put those values back when the webpage is sent back to the user. Javascript, on the other hand, can do things like check text boxes to see if they have numeric data, and can prevent the form from submitting AT ALL, and can pop an alert box on the screen to tell the user what the problem is. This is much faster than waiting for the server side code. Javascript code can be run when fields or buttons are clicked, or even on "mouseover" events. It can make objects (like buttons or pop-lists) visible or invisible depending on what else goes on in a form. Like a regular programming language, it has loops, conditionals, mathematical operators, the ability to run other blocks of JavaScript code (they're called "functions" whether they return a value or not), and pretty much everything else a programming language can do. Javascript is really very useful for making your web pages react to what a user is doing. I've never written a webpage that doesn't make EXTENSIVE use of Javascript.

Answer 3

From the sound of it, your not making any changes to the site, your just altering the way that the end user views the page. If you use Firefox, AdBlock does something similar - stops any adverts getting downloaded.

You may find that CPAlead are just messing with their delivery system rather than anything they feel is tampering with their adverts.

Answer 4

Heck, I want to see it. I don't believe javascript has any capabilities outside of a framed html. If you are retrieving content to your server, altering the html and redirect, then yeah, at the minimum you have plagiarized.



But, it would be so lovely if it were so, imagine modifying web sites we don't like, say rushlimbagh.com showcasing his adoration for the present administration.