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Ad blocking is alive and well, despite Chrome's attempts to make it harder
(www.theregister.com)
this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2026
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Technology
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Let's be honest: The internet without adblock is unusable. I really do not know how all those people without adblock are doing that.
well that's why most people use apps instead. the real internet is so hostile without a guide.
especially now that you can't use the mainstream browsers and do it. the barrier to entry has gotten so high that i don't blame kids for being put off by computers and prefering their phones for everything. tiktok has annoying ass ads, but no apps are as bad as the average news website...
it reminds me of trying to learn about cars growing up. i didn't learn about cars growing up. i tried, but everyone i tried to learn from spent the whole time complaining about all the anticonsumer practices that made cars shitty these days. all the hoops you have to jump through to work on them yourself anymore. how the manufactures went out of their way over the course of years to take what used to be a fun tinkerers hobby for the everyman and made it incredibly difficult and expensive to do yourself.
my take away was "I hate cars". so when i hear teenagers these days say that they hate computers i get it. they fucking suck now and there's this 8 foot fence of knowing how to make them suck less before they can even start wanting to learn about them. but it's going to take them a very very long time to get good enough with the computer that they can accomplish anything on it better than on their phone. so we have trucks full of ladders that can scale that fence, and even if we lose our fences we know how to scale that fence barehanded if we gotta. but the kids just walk around the fence because they don't value what's inside. why would they?
so I'm just waiting for the old pc based intent to slowly wither away as we age with it... places like this becoming out last bastions in a world that requires validated apps on phones.
I think people are using the world wide web less now and much differently. Most people don't browse websites like going to ESPN.com or newgrounds or something. Problem use apps now and only a select few for that matter.
My wife can't even find her safari browser in her iPhone which she's glued to most of the day. For her is 90% email and 10% tiktok.
No seriously though. Was using managers laptop very briefly, and needed to look up some instructions. No adblock, Google Chrome default browser, etc. The websites were almost unreadable. Giant video ads in top and bottom corners, big thick flashing distracting ads on all sides making the readable area a little bigger than a postage stamp. Genuinely how do people browse the Internet like this?
something something when all you know is the farm
I see people who put zero effort into ad-blocking in a similar light as people who don't leave shitty partners. At some point they manage to convince themselves that it's not a problem.
Don't forget that most people don't know that blocking ads is possible. To most people, their browser is on an appliance, like a washing machine or fridge. They know how to do the basics, but that's about it.
Some even LIKE the ads.
I'm pretty sure I've clicked in like 3 ads in my life accidentally. But I saw people actively clicking in ads on purpose regularly and that shit shocked me completely. People don't look at it as malware and phishing links like I do and think it's a good thing. Internet was a mistake.
I've heard the phrase "I saw an ad on Instagram for..." way too many fucking times.
I used to click on ads when they were hosted by Project Wonderful. :( Shit was amazing. I even uploaded some back in the day.
So I’m not trying to be contrary… but who is using their browser on an appliance?! Certainly not ‘most people’?
I would agree that there is a general ignorance of adblockers but there’s no way most people are using browsers on appliances..
A computer is an appliance. In the strictest sense of the word.
I believe he meant "people use their browser like they use an appliance" as in they don't know any details about it, just open it and use it as is.
What? Nobody's using their browser on an appliance (except for a handful of masochists with Samsung fridges). I said to most people their browser is on an appliance, as in they treat computers, phones, and laptops like appliances, in that they're mysterious boxes that do a particular job.
Hardly anyone is trying to hack their appliances, and the majority of people just lump their computing devices into the same category - it does what it was designed for and nothing else
Haha, clearly a misunderstanding then.. I think the ‘on an appliance’ part did it! In any case we seem to agree!
I have got a mental picture of a Linux super nerd trying to browse through a text only browser on their oven's display now though 😁
Or who do so little cleaning at home that their appartment becomes almost unusable or outright dangerous to live in
Similar light? Go get some fresh air. It's just a bunch of ads, the worst are avoidable if you don't visit clickbait sites.
All of them are avoidable if you block them.
Found the person who needs to leave their partner.
rekt
Mainstream sites have been known to spread malware due to the lack of vetting process ads go through even on big ad networks.
But really, it's just a bit of ~~a black eye~~ malware, you slipped and ~~fell into a doorknob~~ clicked it yourself, your ~~partner~~ ads didn't do anything.
It's genuinely insufferable. I have plenty of ad block on my pc but little on my phone. When I'm doing stuff on my phone it's sometimes impossible to navigate certain news sites or watch videos because of all the fucking ads.
There are a couple of VPNs with built-in DNS blocking for advertisements. Athena is a solution that uses your phone's VPN functionality to route traffic served from known ad networks into a digital brick wall like Roadrunner baiting Wile E. Coyote into a painted tunnel.
Seconding Ad Guard and Firefox with uBlock origin, that's what I use and I see minimal ads unless ad guard isn't running
If you have Android, you can install Firefox and use uBlock Origin there. It's awesome :)
AdGuard works well,l on Android, as well as Vivaldi or Brave with their in-built adblockers.
Firefox on android works well too! I use it instead of a lot of apps (including the other place...ugh...)
I prefer not to use Firefox
What browser/OS? There are many options on mobile, from extensions to system wide DNS blocking.