We definitely know the pain of visiting a website or trying to read an article and every few lines is an advertisement. It is frustrating and can be even hard to navigate with all the clutter. There is something you can do though, and that is by adding an Ad Blocker to your web browser.
Ad Blockers have been around for almost as long as the Internet itself, and while some might have changed in the background, they typically block ads, and do it well.
What Do Ad Blockers Do?
Ad Blockers offer the following benefits, to also just blocking ads
- Speed up web browing
- Improve your browsing experience
- Enhanced Privacy
- Protection from Malvertising (that is where you get malware or phishing attempts from just visiting a site)
- Control over the online experience
- You can allow ads on some sites, while blocking all others. You can also allow ads just for the short time you are on the site, and block it again right after.
How Can I Tailor My Ad Blocker To My Needs?
When you install and Ad Blocker it will block most of the ads. The pages look so much cleaner and less cluttered. Some ads will still be displayed though, these are not typically served up ads. These are ads that are hard coded into the website. They aren’t overly common, but you will still see some ads. . But, some sites do have a problem with them and will force you to disable them (typically journalism websites).
There are other times where I appreciate the site and the content they provide. I also understand that they make money from the advertisers based on how often that the ad is shown. I will enable ads on those sites. It is a toss up though, and you can make that decision when you come to it.
Different Ad Blockers
Please note, that AdblockPlus and AdBlock are two different companies and not different versions.
Each of the above are really good and top of their game.
They all have the same features and all are free for the basic purpose of blocking ads, but offer premium, subscription based versions for more features like blocking Cookie pop up messages. uBlock Origin is the only one that doesn’t have a paid version and is, what is called Open Source and is 100% free.
I personally have been using AdblockPlus free edition and have been very happy with it.
Installing An Ad Blocker In Your Browser
Click on the link for the desired Ad Blocker above, it will take you to the installer page. For AdBlock you will need to click the big red button in the middle of the page labelled ‘Get AdBlock Now’ It will detect the browser you are using an take you to the appropriate web store.
How To Use It
By default, it will try to block all ads on all sites, but as mentioned there will be times you want to disable it for a particular site, Find the icon for the Ad Blocker either in the top of your browser or in your Extensions which can always be found in the settings icon in the top right corner typically in all browsers, it might look like a hamburger with 3 horizontal lines on top of each other, or a string of dots. Click that and you will see Extensions listed. Find your ad blocker and choose your settings for that site. For AdblockPlus below, you move the slider to off for this website, and allow it to refresh the page, or refresh it on your own to have change take effect.
Do you have a favourite ad blocker? Tell us in the comments!