adblock

Released yesterday, Adblock Plus for Android offers a no-nonsense way to completely remove ads from your mobile computing experience. Simply download and install the app, and let it run behind the scenes. From there, you should notice that display ads, video ads, push notifications, and even many in-app ads are no more.

So far, I've seen AdBlock Plus kill ads on several Web sites, including Google, and within the ad-supported Pandora app. According to its developers, though, AdBlock Plus does not work when browsing with Firefox for Android, since Firefox does not support Android's system proxy settings.

Adblock … Read more

Searching on a popular search engine nowadays does not guarantee an anonymous state. When you click on a search result, your computer automatically sends information such as search terms, IP addresses, and the date and time that you landed on a site. But when this information is paired with additional account information, your odds of being uniquely identifiable increase tremendously.

For this week's Freeware Friday, check out some of our favorite tools to boost the privacy of your online experience and reduce leakage of sensitive information.

Disconnect (Firefox, Chrome) Disconnect is a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari … Read more

TheWorld 3.1 is a Web browser based on the engine that powers Microsoft Internet Explorer. Like Internet Explorer 7 and 8, TheWorld has a multithreaded frame that is supposed to prevent window freezing.

The browser's default appearance is simple, yet it feels cluttered because its toolbar is packed with icons. Its user interface is similar to that of Internet Explorer 7 and 8 except for a few minor details. The icons are bubble-like and the top toolbar is on the right-hand side of the screen next to an extra option that lets users hide it. TheWorld also supports … Read more

Google is polishing its Chrome browser with the help of open-source extensions similar to the add-ons that have made Mozilla's Firefox the Web browser to beat when it comes to versatility and options. Lex1's AdBlock+ Element Hiding Helper is a good example. As the name suggests, it blocks various kinds of animated elements, typically advertising, in Google's Chrome. If you haven't tried Chrome yet, here's your chance, and you can do worse than to make AdBlock+ one of your first extensions.

AdBlock+ is easy to use, with a few simple keystroke combinations controlling all the … Read more

Ars Technica's Ken Fisher recently wrote an impassioned plea to turn off ad-blocking software like AdBlock Plus to save the online publishing industry. His attempt to turn back the clock on digitization, however, would likely accomplish the opposite.

Fisher has a good point: ad-blocking software almost certainly does hurt sites like CNET by denying them revenue. As he points out, "[m]ost [large] sites...are paid on a per view basis," not a click-through basis, which means that ad-blocking software very literally takes money out of the pockets of publishers, leading consumers to "devastat[e]...the … Read more

Oh, sweet, sweet Adblock. We loved you in Firefox, and Adblock for Chrome is just as wonderful. Who knew that one little browser add-on could make surfing the Internet so much more enjoyable?

Adblock does exactly what its name implies: it blocks ads. Pretty much all of them. Banner ads? Yes. Those crazy annoying Flash ads that seem to be popping up everywhere? You bet. Facebook ads, Google ads, pop-up ads? Check, check, and check. Using the Internet with Adblock is oddly peaceful; all you see is the content you're looking for, and not all the distracting clutter that … Read more

NASA is sending a rocket into the moon Friday morning to study the composition of lunar material. But really, you stopped listening when you heard "blow up the Moon." And so did Cooley. For one small second, that made him love space. We also talk about the world's largest phishing sting and Windows 8. Yep, 8.

Operation “Phish Phry” nabs largest number of phishers ever. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8295945.stm

Wife bans FBI head … Read more

I was scratching my head in wonder at the news that Yahoo! and Google are now making it easy for their users to opt out of advertisement targeting. I can't remember the last time I've seen an ad. I installed Adblock Plus a year or so ago and haven't seen an ad since.

No, I haven't figured out how Google and others can make money in the absence of ad. For that matter, who knows how CNET will?

All I know is that ads are a thing of the past for me, on the TV and … Read more

I must admit, I've completely forgotten what Internet advertising looks like. I installed Adblock Plus with Firefox a year or so ago and I haven't seen an ad since.

Not a single one.

If you have yet to declare your independence from ads, I'd encourage you to do so. It's strangely serene browsing the web without advertisements.

It's not immoral to browse ad-free, as some suggest. No, there are far better business models for the web than simply spraying ad graffiti over everything. Entrepreneurs might just have to think again - use a little creativity … Read more