I was working on someone else’s computer today when I saw an ad on the internet (and it was offensive). I suggested a course of action to resolve this problem, and it made me think that others might benefit from this short lesson. Do not do this if you like advertisements that flash in your face, show immodestly dressed women, or promise that you are a winner.
Step one: download and install Firefox. This is free and henceforth you will use it instead of MS Internet Explorer.
Step two: install Adblock.
Step three: if it comes up with a screen about a subscription check the dot on the top one (it is the one labeled easy something, it is the one for English web sites). If it does not come up then go to this web site to subscribe to the subscription: http://adblockplus.org/en/subscriptions
That’s it. It is amazing how wonderful it is to browse the web without that garbage being shoved in your face. Actually, you’ll forget all about it…until you use someone else’s computer.
UPDATE (8/24/07): I updated some instructions and links that a friend noted were outdated.
Todd … nice find. I’m afraid to try it, because I have a feeling it might wreak havoc on sites that stream legitimate ads, such as Amazon.com or Wal-Mart. I’m also afraid it might wreak havoc on a site like Netflix, which utilizes ad technology.
I guess the bigger question — can you set it to allow ads on certain Web sites? I mean, I might want to see ads on a Christian Web site or on a Web site for teachers — where the advertised product might be something of interest. On the other hand, there are sites where I see ads I would like to turn the distracting ads off.
Brian – it doesn’t wreak havoc on anything; it just doesn’t load ads from specified servers. Yes, you can whitelist pages and sites.