48 7 - 20August 2019Blockall online ads
without exception
Anadblocker isone of those tools you
only noticewhenit’s gone. Whetheryou
use marketleaderAdblock Plus
(adblockplus.org), its lightweightrival
uBlockOrigin (bit.ly/ublock4 81 ) orsome
otherbrowser-basedad annihilator, that
littleextension has probablymade you
forgethowinfuriating,slowandinvasive
the web can bewhenyou’reinundated
with commercials.
But chancesare you stillsee some
ads.Adblock Plus, which isthe easiest
mainstream adblocker touse,allows
certain ‘non-intrusive AcceptableAds’
bydefault – reportedlybecausethe
advertisers pay for the privilege.
Ratherthan messaroundtightening
Adblock Plus’s settings, gofor a
zero-tolerance adblocker instead.
AdBlocker Ultimate (adblockultimate
.net) blocksall ads andtrackersby
default, andstrictlyrefuses toaccept
payment fromany advertisers. Likeall
the extensionswementionhere unless
stated,AdBlocker Ultimateisfreefor
Chrome and Firefox,andalsoworks
with Opera,Edge andSafari.Switch to anad-free
mobile browser
Chromeisnot the adblocker’s best
friend, asyou’ll knowfromour cover
feature inIssue 479 (bit.ly/webuser479).
It’s muchharder for tools toblock ads in
Chromefor Android– where it’s now
the default browser –thanon desktop,
becauseGoogle usesencryptionand
randomly generatedHosts filesthat
stopfilters detecting ads.
Soinstead ofwasting yourtimewith
an ad-blockingapp thatclaimstowork
with Chrome,switchtoa browser app
thatdoesthe ad-blocking all byitself.
Open-sourceapp BravePrivacy
Browser (Android, iOS,www.brave.com)Adverts are invading more areas ofyour digital life than ever, frompodcasts to voice assistants.Jane Hoskyn reveals how to filterthese annoyances on anydeviceisbuiltonthe Chromiumengine but is
faster and cleanerthanChrome.All ads
and pop-ups are blocked automatically
bydefault (tapthe lionicontosee
what’s blocked). Withanothertap,you
can block all cookies,trackersand
scripts,andenableencryptionenforcer
HTTPS Everywhere,for any site.
Firefox Focus (Android, iOS,bit.ly/
focus481) automatically blocks ads
thatuse trackers, but there’s no option
toblock all ads.AdBlock Browser
(Androidbit.ly/adblockdroid 481 , iOSbit.
ly/adblockios 481 ) –basedonFirefox
code and madebythe AdBlock Plus
team– ismore robustbut only if you
untick‘Allowsomenon-intrusive
advertising’inthe app’s settings(go toAdverts help pay for free
web content. If only there
was a way to bloc k them
withoutcutting off the
cashflow to the sites we
love, eh? Well, there is.
Open-source extension
AdNauseam (adnauseam.io)
is based on uBlock Origin
and clicks every ad it
bloc ks, so a ‘visit’ is
regist eredwith th e
advertiser. You can even
see thes e visits happening
in real time when you click
the extension’s icon. So ads are
hidden, trackers are deflected away
fromyou and the ad-hosting
websites still get the money they’re
promised. Everybody’s happy.
Well, everybody except Google,
that is, which kicked AdNauseam off
the Chrome Web Store and failed toDON’T BANKRUPTYOUR FAVOURITE SITESexplain why. You can still instal l it via
GitHub using Chrome’s ‘Develop er
mode’, if you’re patient (bit.ly/
adnchrome481), but your best bet is
to ditch heavy-handed Chrome and
use AdNauseumin Firef ox (bit.ly/
adnfox481) or Opera (bit.ly/
adnopera481) instea d.EVERYW
HEREBlock the ads other ad blockers leave
behind with AdBlocker Ultimate