HowToBlockAdsInAnyBrowserWithoutAdblock

WrittenbyVarunKashyap
September17,2009

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OneofthemainreasonsthatsomanypeoplelikeFirefoxisbecause
therearethousandsofaddonsavailablethatyoucanusetocustomize
yourbrowserexperience.Andoneofthemostpopularaddonsfor
FirefoxisAdBlock.
AdBlockblockstheadvertisementsonwebsitesandletsyoubrowse
distractionfree.Quiteafewpeopledontmaketheswitchtoalternative
browsersbecausenoneofthemcansupportAdBlock.Thatsaid,youcan
stillblockdisplayadsusingmostofthepopularbrowserssoletusseehowyoucanblockadsin
otherbrowsersthatarenotFirefox.
Therearedifferenthacksaroundtherelikespecialproxiesandselectivecontentblockingthat
youcanusedependinguponwhichbrowseryouuse.Herewewillbeusingmainly
usingAdsweep.Althoughtheprojectisnotbeingmaintainedanymore,itprovidesasimpleand
easyadblockingsolutionthatjustworks.
Adsweepisessentiallyauserjavascript(thinkGreasemonkey)thathidesthepageelementsthat
containadvertisements.Settingitupisalittledifferentfordifferentbrowsers,letshavealook.

Chrome
DownloadAdSweep.user.js
OpenChromeuserdatadirectory.Usethefollowinginformationifyouareunsureaboutits
location:
WindowsXP:C:\DocumentsandSettings\<username>\LocalSettings\Application

Data\Google\Chrome\UserData\Default
Vista:C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\UserData\Default
MacOSX:~/Library/ApplicationSupport/Google/Chrome/Default
Linux:~/.config/googlechrome/Default
Onceyouareinthere,createafoldernamedUserScripts

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Copythefileyoudownloadedaboveintothisfolder.
NowweneedtocloseChromeandrestartitwiththeenableuserscriptsswitch.Youcando
sofromthecommandlineorsimplyrightclickonthechromeicononyourdesktopand
clickproperties.Addenableuserscriptsattheend.ClickOKanddoubletheicontostart
ChromewithUserScriptsenabled.

VisittheAdSweepwebsite.Ifyouseearednotificationinthetoprightcorner,everythingwent
fine.Ifyoudont,recheckthatyouperformedtheabovementionedstepscorrectly.

IfyouusethedevelopmentbuildofChromeandhaveextensionsenabled,thenyoucanclickand
downloadtheAdsweepextensionforChromeandspareyourselfsomework!

Opera
DownloadAdSweep.js
WithinOpera,gotoTools>PreferencesandthentotheAdvancedtab.
ChooseContentontheleftsideandthenclickonJavascriptOptions.

ClickChooseandbrowsetothelocationwhereyoudownloadedthefileinStep1

HitRefreshandnoticethedifference
Hereisaquickbeforeandafter:

HowtoBlockDisplayAdsInInternetExplorer
ThisiswhereyouwouldhavetoleaveAdSweep(itwontworkonIE)andtakethingsintoyour
hands.Firstandforemost,upgradetothelatestversionofIEInternetExplorer8.IE8hasa
featurecalledInPrivatefilteringwhichcanbetweakedtoblockads.Hereishow:
EnableInPrivateFilteringfromtheSafetyMenu(orpressCtrl+Shift+F)
Nowyouneedafilteringlistofsomesorts,thatcanidentifyadsonapage.JustGoogle
aroundandyoucanfindplenty,evenAdBlocklists.DownloadtheXMLfileontoyour
computer.
ClickonSafety>InPrivateFilteringSettings.Inthedialogthatopens,lowertheShowcontent
byprovidersusedbythisnumberofwebsitestotheminimum.clickonAdvancedsettings.

IntheManageAddonsdialogthatopens,chooseInPrivateFilteringontheleftandclick
onimport,browsetotheXMLfileyoujustdownloadedandtheruleswillbeimported.

Keepinmindthatyouwontblockeachandeveryadwiththesemethods,becausetherules
havetoupdatedfrequentlytotakecareofnewadvertisersandotherchanges.Ontheflipside
therewouldbetimeswhengenuinethirdpartycontentwillbeblockedaswell(speciallyinthe
InPrivateFilteringTechnique).Inanycase,thisshouldridyouofaconsiderableamountofads
andimprovetheoverallbrowsingexperience.
DoyouknowofanyotherwaystoblockdisplayadsinInternetExplorer,Chromeoranyother
browser?Soundoffinthecomments,wewouldlovetohearaboutthem.