Five Best Ad Blockers You Can Install
Browsing the Internet can be a frustrating (and sometimes impossible) experience due to advertisements. They are visually intrusive and slow down websites, and in some cases, “malvertising” inserts malicious code into legitimate websites and advertisements to spread malware and compromise the security of your data. Even the most cautious internet user can be at risk, so a good ad blocker is an important tool for reducing both the ads you’re shown and the data advertisers collect about you.
Adblock Plus
AdBlock Plus is a highly rated free and open source extension that lets you block ads and disable tracking on your browser and mobile devices. AdBlock Plus allows users to be more granular about what they block with filter lists that can either block or whitelist specific elements on a page. The service allows what it calls “acceptable ads” through its filters by default, although you can turn this feature off if you prefer.
AdBlock Plus is available on the following platforms:
uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin is another free and open source browser ad blocker that has received good reviews. It’s easy to customize what you block and disable certain features on a site-by-site basis. It also received high marks from Wirecutter for its efficiency and limited resource usage.
uBlock Origin is available on the following platforms:
-
Chromium
-
edge
-
Fire Fox
-
Opera
ghosts
Like uBlock Origin, Ghostery is also a custom ad blocker that allows you to get granular about what is visible and what is not, including hiding ads and preventing pop-ups. As a bonus, the extension can neutralize trackers and anonymize your data to protect your privacy.
Ghostery is available on the following platforms:
-
Chromium
-
edge
-
Fire Fox
-
Opera
-
Safari
-
Android (Ghostery for Firefox)
-
iOS (Ghostery for Safari)
AdBlock
AdBlock is a completely different product than AdBlock Plus, but they function in a similar way. Both are open source and highly rated, both have default and user-configurable filtering, and both allow acceptable advertising as long as they are not actively disabled.
AdBlock is available on the following platforms:
-
Chromium
-
edge
-
Fire Fox
-
Safari
-
iOS
-
Android
Confidentiality
Privacy Badger is not an ad blocker—instead, it blocks invisible trackers that collect information about your online behavior and help shape your online experience. It won’t block ads unless the ads are tracking you, which the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) (the tool’s creator) says is intended to encourage better privacy practices among advertisers. You can use Privacy Badger on its own or in conjunction with a more traditional ad blocker if you want to remove all ads.
Ghostery is available on the following platforms:
-
Chromium
-
edge
-
Fire Fox
-
Opera
-
Android (Firefox on Android)