Prevent firebug from manipulating DOM

Question

Is there a way to prevent programs like Firebug from manipulating the DOM of a page.

I've noticed that you can simply delete thing like ads that are paid for by other companies.

Is there a way for the page to stop it?

Answer 1

The simple answer is no.

The long answer: if you construct your ads from many unrelated absolute-positioned elements, it will be next to impossible to delete them.

The right answer: if your ads are so obtrusive that you have to worry about people deleting them, then you should rethink your business.

Answer 2

Can you prevent me from switching to another channel on TV, or from cutting away ads from my newspaper? No. Same thing with my PC.

In other words: it's in client's computer, and client can do whateer they wish with it. (That is: until there are laws saying not watching ads is unlawful)

Answer 3

Firebug runs in the context of the displayed page, and since pages' scripts can alter dom and delete things, firebug can too.

However you can run some javascript to check if the ad is deleted, and restore it, but still that javascript can be stopped/disabled with firebug.