Tip #1: Adblockers - Exploring the Internet as Computer Scientist

Hi all, I’m Emmanuel! I’m a junior Computer Science (CompSci; CS) major, which means I’m always the go-to guy when it comes to computer issues. So, I figured I should use this opportunity to tell everyone the best tips and secrets of computers and the web. Here we go!

Tip #1. Adblockers

Everyone hates ads. I sometimes wonder why they exist, but then I remember everyone has to eat.
But not if I can help it. Lets cut straight to the point.

Ublock Origin is probably the single best ad blocker out there in my opinion. In works in Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Opera. Unfortunately it no longer works in Safari, but you should probably be using Firefox anyway, and later I’ll explain why.

Their website: https://ublockorigin.com

To Install

  • On Firefox

    1. click this: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/.
    2. press “add to firefox”.
    3. Done!

      OR

            1. Click the three lines in the top right corner.

            2. Click “Add-ons and themes”. 

           

        3. In search box near the top that says “Find more add-ons”, Search "Ublock Origin".  

           
        4. Click Ublock Origin, then press “add to firefox”.




Just like that, no more ads anywhere. You can also customize more specific rules, or trusted sites that you still want to see ads on, and it is incredibly easy to turn off and on; just hit the symbol, then the giant power button. 

 

  • Chrome

    1. click this: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/.

    2. press “add to Chrome” (or something idk, I don’t use chrome).

For more help see: https://support.google.com/chrome_webstore/answer/2664769?hl=en

  • Microsoft Edge 

    Not sure who is using Edge, but if you are:

  • Opera

        Apparently Opera already has a built in ad-blocker as well as a built-in VPN, but:



Since you made it this far, I’ll also mention that ad-blockers aren’t good for just blocking ads. Have you ever been looking for a movie and when you click it, it takes you somewhere else? That’s not really an ad, that's something called a script, which can activate on button click, often regardless of where you clicked. 

Next level annoying. But not anymore.

If you right click, rather than left click, you will now see an option that says “Block element”.

When you click “block element” it will bring out a new cursor that allows you to pick different elements on the website to block, including that invisible thing covering the video or the whole website.
Once you select it, hit “Preview”. If it looks like nothing happened you picked the correct object! Hit “create” and enjoy.

On the other hand, if something important, like the video, disappears then try clicking something else or quit and start over.

Note: This also works for those pesky “sign in to view”, or "accept cookies" type  boxes over certain sites as well. 



 


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