Ads keep web content free, but many are annoying, intrusive and even dangerous. Robert Irvine reveals how to block ads that dodge traditional filters
More than 22% of British web users now use ad-blocking tools such as Adblock Plus (adblockplus.org) and uBlock Origin (bit.ly/ublock393) – up from 15% in 2015. Rather than responding to this rising trend by making their ads less invasive, many advertisers are now employing devious methods to evade ad blockers. Here, we explain how to combat the worst offenders.
Adjust your ad blocker’s settings
If your ad blocker regularly lets through adverts, it’s possible that your settings aren’t configured for optimum blocking. Notably, when you install Adblock Plus, the option to ‘Allow some non-intrusive advertising’ is pre-selected on the ‘Filter lists’ tab, which means the add-on won’t block ‘acceptable ads’. Adblock Plus says this option encourages companies to use non-intrusive forms of advertising, but it has also been accused of taking ‘back-handers’ to allow ads from big firms including Google and Microsoft (a method of funding it now explains on its website: bit.ly/adblockplus393).
If you’d rather not see any ads at all, and don’t care about funding small websites (you heartless beast!), then untick the box.
All ad blockers subscribe to constantly updated filter lists to determine which content to block. If you don’t have the correct list, then you’re likely to see lots of ads. To check, go into your ad blocker’s settings and make sure that the EasyList filter is selected and up to date. You can also choose additional lists if you think you need them, although this may adversely affect the performance of your browser.
If ads are appearing on one website but not on others, make sure that the site hasn’t been added to your whitelist. This exempts the domain from filters, and you may have inadvertently added it to your whitelist when temporarily disabling your ad blocker.
Block ads in Windows 10
One of the trade-offs for Microsoft making Windows 10 free is that the operating system pesters you with adverts, and there’s nothing that your ad blocker can do about them. Fortunately, by performing a few simple tweaks, you can disable these ads yourself.
First, let’s get rid of the ads for apps that recently started appearing in the Start menu. Microsoft prefers to call them ‘suggestions’ because developers don’t actually pay for them. Open the Settings menu, click Personalisation, then click Start at the bottom of the left-hand column. Find the option ‘Occasionally show suggestions in Start’ and switch it to Off.
To stop ads appearing on your Lock screen, click the ‘Lock screen’ option in the Personalization column and disable the option ‘Get fun facts, tips, tricks and more on your lock screen’. We promise you won’t miss any “fun facts”!
You should also clear the unique advertising ID, which Windows 10 uses to build a profile of you so it can target you with ads. Go to Settings, Privacy, General, and flick the slider next to ‘Let apps use my advertising ID for experiences across apps’ to Off. Next, open your browser and go to bit.ly/optout393. Find ‘Personalised ads in this browser’ and ‘Personalised ads wherever I use my Microsoft account’ and set them both to Off.
Mute audio adverts on Spotify
The free version of Spotify (www.spotify.com/uk) is supported by audio and banner adverts, which seems fair enough until you’re subjected to the same annoying commercials over and over again. If you want some relief from these repetitive ads, but don’t feel like paying £9.99 per month for Spotify Premium, there’s a sneaky tool you can try called EZBlocker (bit.ly/ezblocker393). This automatically detects when an ad begins, then mutes the volume for the duration, without affecting other sound on your PC. The program can also block banner ads and mute video ads, although it can’t prevent them from playing. Note that EZBlocker only works in Windows 7 and later, and that some security software wrongly flags it as a threat.
Stop adverts appearing in software
Most ad blockers run in your browser to filter adverts in web pages and online videos, but they can’t prevent ads from appearing in other programs. A more versatile option is Ad Muncher (www.admuncher.com), a powerful ad and pop-up blocker that used to cost $29.95 (£21.15), but is now completely free.
Ad Muncher is a standalone program rather than a browser add-on, which means it can block ads in other software that connects to the web. It works quietly in the background, so you don’t need to worry about configuring settings or filter lists, unless you want to. For example, to block text ads as well as image-based ones, open Ad Muncher’s Options panel, click Filtering and deselect ‘Leave small, text-only adverts alone’.
Block all ads on your tablet
Ads on a phone or tablet are considerably worse than in a Desktop browser because they obscure the entire screen and the tiny ‘x’ buttons that close them can be tricky to find and tap. So we were delighted last year when Adblock Plus launched Adblock Browser (adblockbrowser.org) – a dedicated ad-blocking browser for Android and iOS – and equally pleased that Google and Apple haven’t removed it from their respective stores. It works just like a normal mobile browser with the obvious exception that it blocks all ads in web pages, although – like its parent tool – it lets you allow ‘acceptable’ ads if you want to.
You can also configure different filter lists, which is useful if you’re using your phone abroad and find yourself targeted by foreign ad servers, and use the browser to block malware domains, social-media buttons and hidden trackers. There’s even an option to disable the anti-ad blocking messages you might otherwise encounter while using Adblock Browser.
Don’t be forced to disable your ad blocker
Lots of websites now detect when you’re using an ad blocker and either ask you to temporarily disable it or force you to do so if you want to access their content. If you resent being bossed around in this way, you can get around the restriction by using a tool called Anti-Adblock Killer (bit.ly/anti392), which we recommended in last issue’s Best New Browser Tools section. It’s compatible with Chrome Firefox, Opera and Safari, and Adblock Plus, Adblock and uBlock Origin, and works by disguising your use of an ad blocker so that sites don’t refuse you entry.
For Anti-Adblock Killer to work effectively, you’ll first need to install a userscript manager such as Greasemonkey for Firefox (www.greasespot.net) or Tampermonkey for other browsers (tampermonkey.net). Once this is done, go to bit.ly/adblock392 and click the Subscribe button to add Anti-Adblock Killer to your ad blocker’s filter list. If you’re using uBlock Origin, you’ll also need to go into its Options, click the ‘3rd-party filters’ tab and tick the box next to Anti-Adblock Killer.
The team behind Anti-Adblock Killer emphasises that it isn’t a “universal solution for all anti-adblock scripts”, but it works on many sites that now forbid ad blockers, although not on streaming services.
ONLY BLOCK ADS ON SPECIFIC SITES
If you disagree with ad blockers because they deprive the web of essential revenue, but you still find ads irritating, there are other options available. One is to only filter adverts on big sites that don’t need the money. For example, Facebook Adblock for Chrome (bit.ly/facebook393) lets you use the social network without putting yet more dosh into multi-billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s overflowing bank account. Then there’s Search Engine Ad Remover for Firefox (bit.ly/search385), which strips the confusing ads that surround search results in Google and Bing. Best of all is Clean YouTube (bit.ly/cleanyoutube393) for Chrome, Firefox and Opera, which ensures you never again have to sit through a 30-second commercial or annoying pop-up message when you’re trying to watch a video.