How to Block Ads on the Web
Are you sick of advertisements on the Web? Let us show you a way to block these and speed up your Internet experience.
What to do
- If you don’t have Mozilla Firefox, download it first. It’s free.
Sponsored Link:
The above link takes you away from this page. So bookmark this page to return here after you download Firefox. To read more about Firefox, click here.
If you already use Firefox, read on.
You must install extensions (free) for Firefox in order to block those annoying ads.
- To get each extension, click on the name of the extension below to go that extension’s home page.
Adblock Plus Adblock Filterset.G updater Flashblock Fasterfox
On each page, click on the ‘Install Now for Windows’ button. A pop-up window appears.
Wait for the countdown to end and then click the ‘install’ button. Once the plug-in is installed, a message may tell you to restart the browser, but don’t restart the browser until you’ve installed all the extensions.
Once you’ve installed all the extensions, then restart your browser.
To understand how Firefox and these extensions can help you ‘clean’ your Internet experience of ads, read below.
A little more
Ads are everywhere on the Internet, but the Web community has released free tools that can help you limit the number of ads you see. By blocking ads, you can make your browsing experience more enjoyable. Since ads also add to the amount of time a Web page takes to load, you can greatly speed up your browsing experience by blocking these ads.
Ads on the Internet come mainly in two different forms: static and flash. Static ads tend to be just simple advertisements - like a picture that doesn’t move, or a banner at the top of the page that doesn’t rotate images. Flash ads are more dynamic. They could have little movies or animations.
Our strategy can help you block both types of ads in the following ways.
Firefox
To learn about what Firefox is, and how it works, read our Firefox explained article.
Firefox is a better browser than Internet Explorer, which is the program you may use currently to surf the Web. You use Internet Explorer if you click the blue ‘e’ to get online. Firefox blocks a majority of static ‘pop-up’ ads, or those little windows that show up when you visit a site.
Firefox also blocks ‘script errors’. If you use Internet Explorer, you have probably seen your browser say, ‘The scripts on this page are not loading properly’ or something along those lines.
By itself, using Firefox to surf the Internet greatly reduces the number of ads you see online. Once installed, Firefox blocks pop-up ads and script errors automatically, but extensions add an extra layer of protection against these ads. Extensions are add-ons which enhance the features of a program.
Adblock Plus
One such extension is Adblock Plus. Adblock Plus blocks a lot of ads on its own, but it also gives you the powerful ability to tell the extension which ads to block. You can do this in one of two ways:
1: Right-click on an ad, and select the option that begins with ‘Adblock…’ to block that particular ad from appearing again.
2: Right-click on an ad and select the option that says ‘Block images from [source]’.
This is a powerful tool - by blocking images from a source, you block all images (or in this case ads) sent from a particular ad source. Think of it like blocking all ads that come from one ad agency. Over time, as you block ads from more sources, you’ll find that the Web pages you visit will be cleaner.
Once you’ve blocked ads using one of the two methods above, refresh the page. You’ll notice that the ads you’ve blocked are replaced by white space.
Adblock Plus does NOT work with flash ads, so if you right-click on an ad and don’t see the above options, it’s probably because that particular advertisement is a flash ad.
Adblock Filterset.G Updater
Adblock Filterset.G updates your Adblock ‘filters’ every 4-7 days. Your filters are a list of ads that Adblock maintains and blocks on its own. Think of it like keeping your anti-virus software up to date. Every 4-7 days, Adblock will notify you that additional filters are available - if you like Adblock, allow the update to happen.
Flashblock
Flashblock blocks ALL flash items, both ads and non-ads, on a page. It puts a convenient little button over each flash item on the page. To play that particular flash item, click the button.
The button means that if you visit a Website and there is a flash item you want to see, you still can. It also means that a lot of flash items you are not interested in (like advertisements) are blocked. If you use Flashblock, you should find that Web pages tend to load faster.
Flashblock starts working automatically once it’s installed.
Fasterfox
Sometimes, flash ads move across the screen, and don’t stay in one place on a Web page. One of the many attributes of Fasterfox is that it blocks many of these moving flash ads.
Fasterfox starts working automatically once it’s installed.
Full Disclosure: Excluding any sponsored links (which identify ads which exist within the main text of posts/pages on this blog), there are no referral or affiliate links in this article.
If you found this article useful, please consider making a one-time donation (by PayPal or credit card) by using the one-time PayPal donation box located in the middle column of this site.
We use the money generated from this article to keep Howtobewebsmart.com free for you; to limit the number of ads we put on the site; and to support us in finding ways to use the web to save you time, money, and effort. Please note that Howtobewebsmart.com is free to users and that all donations are voluntary on your part. Donations by users are our most important source of revenue. We appreciate your support!
You can learn more about why we maintain a full disclosure policy by reading How We Make Money.
