Ad Blockers: What They Are and How to Choose One

Ad blockers are applications that allow users to engage with website content while removing any form of advertising. As a result, individuals no longer see banner ads, nor do they encounter overlay ads that disrupt the primary content, nor any of its other varieties.

Why are online ads so popular on the internet? According to statistics, an average internet user spends approximately 7 hours online daily, which amounts to about 300 billion dollars spent on advertising yearly. Naturally, advertisers hope that their investments yield significant returns and that ads are viewed by as many users as possible.

However, it has also recently been demonstrated that the majority of internet users are somewhat annoyed by online advertising. It literally follows them around and often takes up too much space on the pages. Imagine seeing around 63 ad blocks daily. In most instances, they are of no use to us at all; thus, they distract and tire us out.

Precisely for this reason, applications known as ad blockers were created. With their help, one can either completely reject advertising elements on the internet or leave visible only those that might be useful to a person. Studies by GlobalWebIndex indicate that practically 50% of users aged 16-64 have utilized ad blockers.

Why can advertising be dangerous?

Annoyance is not the only emotion that can be caused by online ads. In the hands of a professional, advertising can be a much more serious tool. It can lead to such inconveniences:

• Obstructed internet surfing. There are quite frequently sites littered with ads. They are so numerous that they interfere with familiarization with the content, obscure sections, menus, and hinder reading. Often, the presence of such ads generates technical glitches (pop-ups) and can also overload browser systems.
• Shock content provokes outrage. Such ads are characterized by sensational headlines and content from the “for adults” category. The most attention from users is drawn to erotic images, pictures with various perversions and defects. And outrage occurs when the picture and title do not correspond with the context of the link.
• False announcements. We often notice ads promising a miraculous way to lose 20 kg in 5 days, or to remove nail fungus with the help of some magical powder, or to whiten teeth at home. One should not believe such announcements, as they are not only misleading, but can also be harmful.
• Unnecessary spam in electronic mail. Such types of advertising offer a person a chance to enter their email address. Once they do, the person disappears, but afterwards this email will receive hundreds of messages with unnecessary and annoying ads. And rejecting such mailings can be very difficult.
• Messages from official entities. In such cases, a pop-up appears on the screen stating that you may receive a large sum of money from a well-known bank. If one ends up on such ads, they might accidentally send malicious individuals their passwords and personal data.
• Hidden codes that bring harm. Such ads secretly extort money from a person. Advertisements may contain a special code that is not visible to users but is designed to automatically subscribe them to paid services. A person, without even realizing it, may lose a specific amount of money each month. Normally, this sum is small, but considering how many people click on such ads, the profit for the company could be substantial.
• Phishing sites. These web resources pose as some well-known trading platforms. As a result, a person thinks they are ordering a product from a reliable place, while in reality, they are simply losing money.

What else can ad blockers do?

From the name, it is immediately clear what function ad blockers perform. They help users make the internet cleaner by removing ad banners, various announcements, pop-ups that overlay on pages, as well as advertising videos on YouTube.

But in fact, the functionalities of ad blockers are much broader than you might think. Here is a list of additional abilities they possess:

• Increase the speed of page loading. The essence of an ad blocker’s action is that it simply does not allow ads to load. The weight of pages without ads becomes less, and they load at a faster pace.
• Hide from outside sources your personal data. Many online stores, while analyzing the work of their site, find out what exactly you read, what products you added to the basket, and calculate what attracted you the most. This allows them to perfect and make their site even more appealing and enticing. By installing an ad blocker, you hide all this information about yourself. Whether this is good or bad, is for you to decide.
• Prevent installation of ad-installer programs. An ad blocker does not allow unwanted software to be installed on your computer that displays ads without your consent.
• Perform the “parental control” function. Some ad blockers already have this function, while others simply need to be enabled. It allows hiding from a child’s view information of an erotic, shocking, disturbing, or enticing (games) character.

Top 9 most popular ad blockers

Now it’s time to talk directly about which ad blockers exist and how to choose the one that best suits your case.

Adblock Plus

Of course, we’ll start with Adblock Plus, which is currently considered the most well-known in its field. It is free and occupies leading positions globally. Here is some brief information about Adblock Plus:

• It is supported by browsers such as Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Yandex Browser.
• It can be used not only on computers but also on smartphones with various operating systems.
• It is used by over 100 million people.
• It installs easily and is simple to use.
• If there are many tabs open in the browser, it may reduce the device’s operating speed.
• It hides from users video ads, banner ads, and other types of announcements, as well as overlays.
• With its help, you can add necessary YouTube channels to the whitelist.

Most importantly, Adblock Plus collaborates with advertising companies, which is why it may show useful ads. The relationships include information about specialists in specific fields, as well as ads marked with a special marker. In this case, the total screen for it should not exceed 15% transparency, and for others – no more than 25%.

Adguard

It became available for use in 2009. Today, it is called the most advanced across the planet. Let’s discuss it in detail:

• Its working essence consists of utilizing CSS and modifying HTML code, as well as producing blocks based on the web resource’s address.
• It is used in Firefox, Yandex Browser, Safari, and mobile phones with various operating systems.
• It is suitable for those who simultaneously use several browsers on their smartphones.
• It allows for the removal of ads not only in listed browsers but also in messengers and Skype.
• In its work, it uses an enormous blacklist of dangerous web resources.
• It prevents the influence of adware programs, as well as ads that can harm your gadget.
• It allows users to remain anonymous online since it hides their IP.
• It can create custom blocking lists for interesting ads and does not hide them.

In general, reviews about this application are positive. Its main role in this is that an ad blocker, besides hiding ads, also protects users from various actions of sites that may pose a threat.

UBlock Origin

It originated in 2014 and was initially named uBlock. A year later, it was divided into two parts, one of which was purchased by AdBlock. The second part of the project, under the name uBlock Origin, continued its existence. Here are the features of this ad blocker:

• It works across all computer browsers.
• It operates on Android mobile devices and also in Chrome and Firefox.
• In browsers, it functions as a background application.
• It does not allow ads in services that spam email.
• In 2020, this ad blocker had approximately ten million users in Chrome, and around five in Firefox.
• It works practically with any type of ads.
• It does not affect page loading speeds – everything operates in reserve mode.
• It does not degrade the performance of computers or phones.

Also, for many users, a positive aspect is that this program allows them to hide their IP address from outsiders.

Ghostery

This ad blocker appeared on the market in 2010. Its main advantage is that it effectively blocks ads of any type, and it is also available for any browser (even for ones like Cliqz). Here are the main facts about it:

• It works not only on desktop browsers but also on mobile browsers.
• Its developers claim that it operates quickly, effectively, and provides users with complete safety, and this is the absolute truth.
• It operates outside of browsers.
• It allows users to choose a mode – to remove all ads completely or only select types.
• It is ideal for blocking individual ads – pop-ups, video recordings, social media banners, or those appearing on the screen.
• It improves the speed of web page loading.
• It uses anti-tracking to keep your personal information secure.
• It has more than 7 million users monthly.

Overall, reviews of this application are positive. An important role in this is played by the fact that an ad blocker not only hides ads but also frees users from various actions of sites that may cause harm.

AdBlocker Ultimate

You definitely should pay attention to this ad blocker, as it has many advantages:

• It works on all the most popular browsers and blocks any ads.
• You can download a mobile browser from this producer with an embedded blocker, or download it for Firefox.
• The number of users who installed this ad blocker amounts to around 10 million.
• It offers an option for leaving acceptable ads for users.
• It hides banners, text announcements, video recordings with ads, social media ads, and in services where mail delivery needs improvement.

The advantage lies in the fact that this program does not allow various spy programs to access your gadget, ensuring your complete safety.

AdFender

This blocker was initially accessible to users for free, but later it became paid. Its use will cost approximately a year. Here’s a brief overview of this ad blocker:

• It is available for many popular browsers.
• It does not affect the browser’s performance, works quickly, and does not require special attention.
• It works with old messengers and operating systems.
• It allows customizing lists with allowed and disallowed sites.
• It can hide your IP, enabling anonymous operation.
• It effectively hides all types of ads.
• It ensures excellent page loading speeds.
• It clears your browsing history.

Stands Fair AdBlocker

This ad blocker operates exclusively in the Google Chrome browser. Here are some key facts about it:

• It can hide from users any types of advertising – pop-ups, video advertisements, social media announcements, contextual ads.
• It allows for creating personal lists with ads that a user wants to see on their gadget.
• It monitors tracking and blocks it if necessary.
• It prevents the installation of spyware programs, as well as modules that can display ads while browsing.

Since 2016, this blocker has not been updated, yet it is still quite popular.

Opera browser

Opera is a browser in which the ad blocker is built-in from its inception. Additionally, this developer was the first to offer such a blocking option in 2015. Let’s discuss it further:

• More than 55 million people use this browser.
• It allows web pages to load 90% faster (according to the developers’ claims).
• It functions with all operating systems.
• Besides blocking advertising, Opera also offers a built-in VPN and anti-tracking.

To activate the ad-blocking feature in Opera, you need to do the following:

• Go to the “Security” category.
• Select the “Ad Blocking” subcategory.
• Enable the blocking function.
• Opera retains some transparency levels with built-in ads from Yandex, but if desired, they can be hidden.

Conclusion

Advertising on the Internet annoys the majority of people and forces them to use ad blockers. Therefore, we recommend users to choose the most comfortable ad blocker for themselves, to spend time on the internet with usefulness and without negative emotions. And to advertisers, here’s the piece of advice – refrain from making such ads that nobody would even think about. After all, interesting and useful advertising has the right to exist.