ublockorigin.com/

Nobody likes ads. They are annoying, intrusive, and often involving the selling of personal data. It is no secret that many ads we see online are the result of another company selling our personal data. Advertisements and commercials have long been one of the things we have just had to deal with, begrudgingly. There has been an increased pushback against ads and commercials in recent years due to the abundance of technology we have at our disposal, as well as the fact that companies have begun to abuse their advertising power. Advertising has become a profitable business model on its own, rather than being used as a way for media companies to make additional money.

Ads are now at the very heart of how companies conduct their business. This is how media content and many online services have become "free." In other words, users get to watch videos on YouTube, for instance, without having to pay a monthly fee. Anyone who is willing to put up with the aggressive advertising tactics of YouTube does not have to pay with their dollar; they just have to pay with their time in viewing ads.

Many social media sites sell our personal data to advertisers in order to make more money. This is where the real money is – in the big data business. Sites like Facebook and Instagram sell our personal interests and browsing history to a number of companies that, then, use this information to sell us products that are statistically likely to be wanted by us.

I think it's a gross invasion of privacy and unethical when brands post ads on Instagram that are specifically tailored to me.

Many people find themselves unable to avoid advertising online due to the reliance on social media sites. But when looking at the issue from a wider perspective, the use of ad blockers is a better way to go because ads are omnipresent on the internet. Fortunately, there are ad blockers that are high quality and powerful, allowing users to avoid unwanted ads without completely withdrawing from the internet.

Perhaps you have an ad blocker of some sort. For a long time, I used the standard extensions that are offered by most major web browsers. These, however, proved not to be strong enough - especially when put up against the extremely ad-heavy free streaming sites that I like to use. Eventually, I figured out that if I wanted to continue using these free streaming sites (and enjoy them), I would have to find something better.

I found uBlock Origin through a search on the internet. It is a plugin that is made to be used with browsers such as Firefox and Chrome. It is claimed to be better than other ad blocking plugins because it doesn't allow "acceptable ads." The main reason I chose to use uBlock Origin was because it was free and open source. I know that there are no profits involved in its development, so I can trust that it will be effective when blocking ads.

History

This was not always the case for uBlock, which evolved from the original software, uBlock. The whole reason that uBlock Origin came to be (as an evolution of the original software, uBlock) was as a return to form, a return to the origins of what uBlock was originally meant to be: a fully free and open sourced ad-block software. In April of 2015, the original developer of uBlock, Raymond Hill, transferred the project's official repository to Chris Aijoudi. Hill made this transfer because of frustration that came from dealing with requests. Immediately, however, upon this transfer, Hill forked uBlock himself, continuing his anti-advertising efforts under his newly forked software. This software would later become known as uBlock Origin. At present, it is 100% separate from the uBlock of Aijoudi.

After ceasing development in 2015, uBlock (now owned by AdBlock) began allowing "acceptable ads" in July of 2018. As of February of 2019, the software allowed ads based on payments received.

Despite complaints, uBlock Origin remains an independent entity that does not accept money in order to allow ads. It is one of the last living ad blockers with integrity.

Design

There is not much to speak of when it comes to the design of uBlock Origin, seeing as it is a browser extension. Nevertheless, the [user-friendly], lightweight, and quick to install extension was intuitive, user friendly, and appeared in Google Chrome quickly. Upon adding the extension, I was immediately able to make use of it - like many VPNs, the add-on has a large power button at the top of its dropdown interface. Quickly turn uBlock Origin on or off according to your needs. Below the power button is a set of features as well as some basic data about what uBlock Origin has done. There is a minimalistic design so that you can easily understand how to use uBlock Origin and see how effective it has been.

Content and Features

Active voice: Ad blockers like uBlock Origin give users more control over what ads are blocked and how they're blocked. In addition, it is one of the most feature-rich ad blockers I have seen. To permanently block popups and other intrusive web content, you can choose from a number of pre-set options or create your own. You can also choose to selectively disable certain features, like ads, cosmetic filtering, or JavaScript. uBlock Origin is not just for blocking ads; it gives you complete control over your online experience.

With Element Zapper Mode, you can click on specific content on a web page and zap it to eliminate it! This is an extremely powerful feature that allows you to remove any piece of content from a website with just a few clicks. Just click on any piece of content on a website and watch it disappear before your eyes!

Mobile and Desktop Experience

Sadly, it does not appear as if there is a mobile version of uBlock Origin available. This is unfortunate, as there are few solid ad blockers for mobile devices. This means that mobile web browsing is usually inundated with ads - it is a wild jungle of commercialism. Sure, if you are a tech wiz, you can figure out a workaround for Android?but if you use iOS, you are sort of SOL.

Pricings and Plans

As I mentioned earlier, uBlock Origin is a 100% free software that can be tweaked to your liking. It also has open source code available on Git Hub, so if you find yourself enjoying it, I highly recommend considering a donation. Whatever you can afford to give will help show your appreciation and help ensure that Hill and uBlock Origin continue to provide the best ad blocking service on the web today.

Suggestions that I have for uBlock Origin

Honestly, I don't have many complaints. The one thing that would be nice, though, is if it were easier to undo individual actions committed with the extension. For instance, if I am using element zapper and I accidentally zap the wrong element, I should be able to undo that action without too much trouble. However, I struggled to figure out how to un-zap (if it is possible at all).