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Workshop 4
Getmore practical advice atwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine 10 - 23 July 2019 57
Remove sites you don’t like from search results
G
oogle’s powerful search engineis pretty goodat
filteringout trashy websites. However, it still delivers
resultswe may not want to see, suchas sites that put
up paywalls or don’thave the best reputation for reliableorunbiasedinformation.Thankfully, you can
blocktheseannoyances from your searches
by installingthe uBlacklist extensionfor
Chromeand otherChromiumbrowsers.
uBlacklist: bit.ly/ubl479 | 10 mins | Chrome1
The easiest way to blocksites is to do it as you go. Install
the extension,thensearch for somethingin Google.^1
When the resultsappear, you’ll see a ‘Blockthis site’ link(^2) next to eachURL.Clickit to opena dialogbox. In our
example, we’re blockinga result from the DailyExpress.
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The box containsa web address with‘wildcards’ (the
asterisks) to account for variations,suchas whetherit’s
‘http’or ‘https’.^1 ClickOK^2 to blockresultsfrom this
site. If you clicka link but thendecideyou want to blockthe
site, clickthe extension’s toolbaricon to openthe samebox.
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The next timeyou performthe samesearch, you’ll see
that uBlacklist has hiddenthe resultsfrom the site
you’ve blocked.^1 It also removes the site from any
‘Top stories’.^2 If you want to see whichsites the extension
has removed, clickthe Show link.^3
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To configure the extension,right-clickits toolbaricon^1
and chooseOptions.^2 A window appearscontaininga
list of all the sites you’ve blocked so far.^3 This list is
editable, so you can modifyit by clickingand typing.
Highlightan entryand press the Delete key to remove it.
5
If you sync your list usingGoogleDrive, you can use it
on multipledevices. Click‘Sync withGoogleDrive’,^1
thenclickPermit^2 and signin. Tick the box next to
‘Enablesync’.^3 You can also clickthe Advanced Settings
optionto hidethe “Blockthis site” links,if you wish.
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For more options,right-clickthe uBlacklist icon and
choose‘Manageextensions’.^1 Here you can switch the
extensionon or off^2 and limitwhichof Google’s
regionalsearch enginesit can access.^3 Scroll to the very
bottom of this pageif you want to uninstall uBlacklist.
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