Recently, there has been so much advertising on the Internet that it has become quite problematic to find a web resource that hosts at least a moderate amount of advertising. If you are tired of annoying ads, the uBlock Origin browser extension Google Chrome will come in handy.
uBlock Origin is an extension for the Google Chrome browser that allows you to block any type of ads encountered while browsing the web.
You can either immediately download uBlock Origin from the link at the end of the article, or find it yourself through the extension store.
To do this, click on the browser menu icon and in the list that appears, go to "Additional tools" - "Extensions"
.
Go down to the very end of the page and open the item "More extensions"
.
When the Google Chrome Extension Store loads on the screen, enter in the left area of the window in search string the name of the desired extension - uBlock Origin
.
In the block "Extensions"
the extension we are looking for will be displayed. Click on the button to the right of it "Install"
to add it to Google Chrome.
Once the uBlock Origin extension is installed in Google Chrome, the extension icon will appear in the top right area of the browser.
How to use uBlock Origin?
By default, the work of uBlock Origin is already activated, and therefore you can feel the effect by going to any web resource that was previously full of ads.
If you click once on the extension's icon, a small menu will appear on the screen. The largest extension button allows you to control the activity of the extension.
In the lower area of the program menu there are four buttons that are responsible for activating individual elements of the extension: enabling or disabling pop-up windows, blocking large media elements, cosmetic filters, and managing third-party fonts on the site.
The program also has advanced settings. To open them, click on the miniature gear icon in the upper left corner of uBlock Origin.
The window that opens contains tabs. "My rules"
And "My filters"
, aimed at advanced users who want to fine-tune the work of the extension to their requirements.
Ordinary users will need a tab "White list"
, in which you can add to the list of web resources for which the extension will be disabled. This is necessary in cases where the resource refuses to display content with an active ad blocker.
Unlike all the Google Chrome ad blocking extensions that we have reviewed before, uBlock Origin has impressive functionality that allows you to fine-tune how the extension works for you. Another question is that the average user does not need all this abundance of functions, but even without turning to the settings, this add-on does an excellent job with its main task.
uBlock Origin is a powerful and sought-after ad blocker available as an extension for popular browsers. The efficiency of its work is provided by a large number of filters.
Features of uBlock Origin
The program is able to detect and block ads at the level of the most famous analogues. At the same time, loading the processor and consuming RAM resources is an order of magnitude less, which is confirmed by the results of various independent tests. They also indicate a high speed of operations. For example, when conducting benchmark tests, the presented browser extension performed its functions 3 times faster than the well-known ad blocker Adblok Plus. Moreover, with comparable efficiency and less consumption of computer resources.
To block ads, filters from various third-party developers can be used. The user is given the right to create a "white list", this procedure is performed by pressing just one button, which is convenient. An important feature is that you can disable the blocking of both entire sites and individual blocks on the page.
The program is available for all popular browsers, including Chrome, Yandex.Browser, Edge, Opera.
Blocker Benefits
- high efficiency;
- sparing attitude to the resources of any used computer, as a result of which its performance is always maintained. The same statement is true for the browser;
- easy control, which in many cases is carried out by pressing one large, and therefore convenient button;
- no exceptions - the developers of uBlock Origin point out that they do not make money by disabling the blocking of individual ad units, which is sometimes found on similar products.
uBlock is another extension for blocking ads on the websites you visit. According to Raymond Hill, the developer of the project, and the comments of some users, uBlock differs from analogues in that it consumes less memory, processor resources and is generally more lightweight. For example, here are the memory consumption statistics from the authors:
And here is more impressive data on CPU utilization:
Things got weird this month when a new alternative extension of the same name popped up in the Chrome Web Store. At the same time, the original extension was first renamed to uBlock₀, then completely disappeared from the catalog, and only after some time returned under the name uBlock Origin.
It is quite understandable why, in this situation, many users began to question and even accuse the newer extension of being a scam. But what really happened?
Transfer of rights
Raymond Hill (gorhill), the original developer of uBlock, commented on the situation some time later.
This is how however more and more of my time was spent, and no doubt it would just become worst as uBlock gained popularity. So I was getting sucked into something I never intended to do.
The uBlock project was created by Raymond as a hobby and mostly just for himself. He wanted to create an extension that would suit his needs. And no more. And it all turned out that uBlock became extremely popular (almost 1 million users in the Chrome Web Store). He had neither the time nor the desire to support and develop the extension in accordance with the requirements of users. Therefore, he decided to transfer the right to the name "uBlock" and the main repository on Github to Chris Aleody.
At the same time, Raymond will continue to support the now fork of the main branch. This fork, in fact, is the last version of its extension, which will mainly receive fixes. New features will be added only when he himself feels the need for them for himself. And what's most interesting. This fork will continue to live in the Chrome Web Store at the old address and with the entire current user base. Only the name has changed: now it is uBlock Origin. While Chris had to publish the second extension, which gained about 55 thousand users in a month.
The new uBlock (by Chris) and the old uBlock Origin (by Raymond) will continue to exist and evolve independently of each other. Although on this moment these extensions are almost copies, in the near future their paths, interface and capabilities may diverge greatly.
And what about the removal from the Web Store?
At the very beginning, we wrote that the original extension disappeared from the Chrome Web Store catalog, and then returned under a new name. Some time after the publication of the new uBlock extension from Chris, the old one was removed from the catalog by moderators, allegedly due to violations of the rules of the service.
At the same time, Raymond did not receive any notifications from Google, and even after contacting support, no one could explain the reason to him, referring to the fact that all the details are described in the letter that he should have received (but did not receive). Let's leave out the quality of Chrome Web Store moderation (you understand everything yourself ...).
The Chrome store is ridiculous. They should just be straightforward and state the reason of why the extension is taken down right in the dashboard. What's so difficult about this?
The author never received a response to his request, but tried again to submit uBlock for moderation, this time changing the name to uBlock Origin and the icon (at the very beginning of our post you can already see the new icon). And the extension was missed.
There has been a bit of drama between the old and new authors of the expansion recently. The point is very simple. Chris wrote on the extension page that it is "current uBlock project development by Chris". Raymond was offended by this, believing that Chris thus wants to appropriate all the laurels. True, then they reconciled. Chris even posted an apology video. And the signature of authorship was replaced with "Project currently managed by Chris".
Ok, so where and how to download uBlock?
If you want to keep using the original extension, which is likely to develop only towards fixes, then install uBlock Origin.
If you are interested in new features and want to become part of the community, offer your ideas, then it is better to pay attention to the new uBlock.
It's time to take stock. uBlock Origin continues to live with a new large audience, but uBlock seems to be dead. Users ran after the real author.
Scriptlet Doctor
To the attention of users of Firefox Quantum, Firefox Legacy, Pale Moon, Basilisk and other browsers from the Firefox family.
Interesting information appeared on the “board”, but since it is not recommended to place links to that site here, I will give excerpts from there.
As has been repeatedly discussed, there is a problem in the uBlock Origin + Firefox bundle with the rules that require the execution of scriptlets on sites with strict CSP rules (in particular, on Yandex and its satellites), which can be partially solved with the help of Tampermonkey. Unfortunately, this solution is not suitable for Firefox-legacy (pre-quantum) and Goanna browsers (Pale Moon, Basilisk), so the idea was to make a separate add-on specifically for this task, which would not have such restrictions.
As a result of the experiments, the Scriptlet Doctor extension was born, which was tested and approved dimisa, the author of RU AdList, and is recommended for use for options 2 and 3 of the instructions for using RU AdList filters. The Scriptlet Doctor add-on is available for both Legacy browsers and current versions of Firefox. By default, it is active only for Yandex domains, but you can edit the list yourself in the settings (quick access to settings: Ctrl + click on the add-on button in the toolbar).
When installing the script RU AdList JS Fixes no longer needed.EasyList (main filter)
+ EN AdList Fixes
The Anti-counter added in this version is a kind of Runet analogue of EasyPrivasy. When these two filters are enabled at the same time, basically the same rules work. But if in Runet EasyPrivasy is the main supplier false positives, then the Anticounter does not have this shortcoming.
EasyList (main filter)
RU AdList / RU AdList for uBlock Origin
Adblock Warning Removal List (aka Anti-Adblock)
Counters (aka RU AdList: Counters, Anticounter)
BitBlock (aka RUS: BitBlock List, blocks trash and social networks)
+ EN AdList Fixes
Only Bitblock is added here (read the description!), But this is a very voluminous filter that includes (and corrects) Fanboy's Social + rules for Runet, both social and anti-garbage. Contrary to popular belief, social filters are difficult to use social networks - this is not so. All blocking rules usually only work on third-party resources, for example ||vk.com/widget_community.php$third-party will block the loading of the widget and its frame everywhere except vk.com, this is the responsibility of "third-party" option.Therefore, Bitblock users will not have any problems with VK and other networks.
I will add from myself. Some people think that it cannot be used in legacy browsers. Perhaps this is the opinion of the developers of RU AdList, who believe that Greasemonkey cannot cope with such a task. But it's not. I installed it in Pale Moon and I must say that this “monkey” works fine with both RU AdList JS Fixes and other scripts. Those users of Firefox, Pale Moon, Basilisk, etc. who install RU AdList JS Fixes to fight Yandex ads and directives should pay attention to Scriptlet Doctor. This extension allows you to solve the mentioned tasks by uBlock Origin itself, without connecting additional scripts, so Scriptlet Doctor is easier for the browser than Tampermonkey/Greasemonkey + RU AdList JS Fixes.
I don't use Yandex sites and services, so I can't say which option is more effective in practice, Scriptlet Doctor or RU AdList JS Fixes.
As the venerable says just off(author of the new extension),
