1

I’ve been using Adblock plus for the longest time, and I am wondering does it add any kind of security from malware to have such addons in the browser?

2

Hi Coolmario88, my friend :slight_smile:

Definitely an adblocker will protect you from Malware, as the Advertisers can be infected as well.
Or with an adblocker you can block dangerous ( malware ) domains/websites.

But you should ask/pm our Überevangelist polonus, he is the real expert on this :slight_smile:

Greetz, Red.

3

In short, yes.

4

Whilst it isn’t specifically designed as a security device, but an ad blocker. Now a days there are many malvertising ads, these are adverts crafted to deliver malware or in some cases actual advertising companies get hacked.

So it is wise to have a general ad blocker.

There are other add-ons that can also help, RequestPolicy is a firefox add-on that blocks access to third party sites, unless you specifically allow them. This can do the same thing as many adverts are from a third party site not the page you are actually visiting. Not only that it can also prevent driveby downloads (usually malware) where a site has been hacked.

So there are tools that may not have been specifically designed to block malware, but can seriously add (excuse the pun) to your security.

5

You may want to consider “ublock origin” because AdBlock Plus does paid to allow certain ads.
“uBlock Origin” does not use this practice.

For Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/
For Chrome https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en

6

for IE11 and IE Edge users there is Adblock Plus too

for Firefox, Opera and Chrome users I would suggest Ublock Origin and only as worse alternative Adblock Plus

at least for me the UO was lighter on resources (memory, cpu) while doing the same job faster :wink:

7

Personally I don’t care about this so called white list as A) you have to option to disable that and B) you can import other lists that may well have these so called white listed sites. It is almost F.U.D. I would see something if you couldn’t disable said unobtrusive ads.

In all of the time I have been using AdBlockPlus ads have been pretty much history.

8

And as Rednose announced here comes Polonus’s view on the matter,

Well the question was is an adblocker adding to security. And the answer must be a definitely yes as an additional layer of defense where malicious ads are concerned. Mal-ad campaigns can be huge and could pose a real threat to browser users. And it still is very much so, that what you cannot click, cannot infest you - a basic truth! So running a decent adblocker with the right subscription formula inside a browser can indeed be a good additional protection against malware.

ABP has a very high standard and developer Palant sought to have good technology there, but it is no longer the block-all-ads an adblocker should be. The pay-model there is to let “acceptable ads” through from big players against allegedly 30% of the costs that goes directly into the coffers of ABP’s investment firm.

From the old-fashioned “block-all-ads” blockers Adguard Adblocker and uBlock Origin are the best, to be combined inside Google Chrome with the use of uMatrix, an extension to block much more from a website than just ads and malicious domains etc.

Here is a good read why keeping an decent adblocker with the right subscriptions and well updates running inside a browser is a must nowadays, read: - again huge malvertising campaign: https://blog.malwarebytes.org/malvertising-2/2015/09/malvertising-attack-hits-realtor-com-visitors/

On a smartphone I would use the ABP browser, so you get a choice to browse that way, because an Android without adblocking possible is a threat machine.

I also have this protection against those that wanna kill my adblocker - https://github.com/reek/anti-adblock-killer#anti-adblock-killer--reek You can subscribe to the filterlist with your adblocker of choice. I have reek/anti-adblock-killer running insite Google Chrome via Tampermonkey. Know that trying to circumvent adblocker’s (ads_bypasser_user scripts etc.) and serving ads via main website home pages comes created by the best brains in the field.

There is a constant war going on between the creators of monitoring, tracking and malicious and harmless ad-launching on the one side and those that try to protect against this on the other. So all purpose adblockers also protect against intended criminal and/or unintended infection and abuse by crafty methods that may facilitate such threats.

So until these threats go away I block all ads so ads cannot be abused by malcreants and SEO redirect nerds.

As long as the general threat from malicious ads goes on on a gigantic scale as it does, I will keep blocking all ads that adblockers allow me to block.

Damian

9

I guess it should put adblock back on my computer… I removed it to see how ad friendly sites were that I go on, and about 2 out of all them is awful by effecting performance.

10

Hi Coolmario88,

Nothing to prevent that now as firefox with or without ABP or uBlock Origin installed uses more or less the same amount of memory now, so there should not be an objection to install an adblocker from that point either.
You and others could test this themselves at this here test page:
http://vimcolorschemetest.googlecode.com/svn/html/index-c.html

polonus

11

One way to look at it is, if you can’t see it, you can’t respond to it. Hence some additional security.

12

I’m with you, DavidR. Unchecked the whitelist and see no ads at all. ABP whitelisted ads are unobtrusive and easily ignored if left at default.

13

Adblock Plus performs multiple tasks.

  1. Block ads
  2. Allow acceptable ads
  3. Disable tracking
  4. Disable malware domains
  5. Disable social media buttons
  6. Typo protection

See attached.

14

Which can be disabled, as stated.

15

I would also advise to set Avast Online Security to blocking all tracking systems on all websites.
DrWeb extension also blocks all Internet trackers.
There is also a special extension called Stop Tracking!-> chrome-extension://gomekmidlodglbbmalcneegieacbdmki/common/ui/aos.panel.html
Then there is Privacy Badger. Everybody should work that extension what works for him/her and he/she feels good with.
AOS is already there for you, so set that to blocking all tracking systens.

polonus