Everyone knows what Adblock Plus and AdBlock do – and even if you don’t exactly know, you know. They are, as some have been fond of saying in the past, a ‘known-known’, even to the uninitiated user. Really, the name says it all.
But if you’re about to use Adblock Plus (which you can well do just above), it might be good to know that the grass will be a little greener on the desktop side of things with its friendly competitor, AdBlock. In fact, how simple Adblock Plus for desktop really is leaves sort of little to talk about on the subject. You’ll understand when you see just how big AdBlock is where Adblock Plus is small.
But even given that, it still has a big advantage over AdBlock - and that is in how many ways it’s a mobile ad blocker.
Adblock Plus Blocks Mobile Ads. AdBlock - Less So.
ABP for mobile is important because it has an in-app ad blocker for Android, and a browser made for ad blocking that’s designed to work on either Android or iOS devices. AdBlock just has a Safari-only ad blocker for iOS (as does ABP – it’s #2 below) and a Samsung Internet-only app app on the Android side.
Here's ABP's full mobile library -
1. Adblock Browser
A predictably named browser which gets to work straightaway after installation. It is based on Firefox and also a relative newcomer - it was only released in 2015.
For your reference and the sake of completeness, this is the Adblock Browser website. It’s just about the exact same thing as what you’re looking at here.
2. Adblock Plus for iOS Safari
This app runs in the background of iOS Safari. A few activation steps are required, which you are walked through on installation. This app is nearly identical to AdBlock's own iOS app.
3. Adblock Plus for Android
Adblock Plus has an app-reaching ad blocker for Android, which even without the other two apps goes an extremely lot further than AdBlock's Samung Internet app. In-app here means the same as the device’s browsers, so ads can be blocked whether you’re on Chrome or Firefox on an Android device carrying this app, activated. You can include the countdown/video ads that make you wait to use certain functions, and banner ads, in the group of ads in apps that get taken out.
Use the download button, which will take you to cnet.com to get it, but please - only after following steps A and B immediately below, because this gets technical.
Step A
To run Adblock Plus for Android, you will need an app that transfers control of the Android operating system from the device itself, to you. This change is called rooting.
Important - rooting means that automatic functions like app and even operating system updates will be manual - meaning you will need to do them yourself (Step B covers that part).
A good way to safely root (get control of the operating system) an Android device is by using the KingoRoot app.
Of course, with the stakes being what they are, and the mobile web being what it is today, the safest way to root an Android device is with an app. We'll highlight KingoRoot for that. Its site where you can download the app (and learn all you need to know about it) is here.
Step B
The app that will help you get all the updates you need on your device is called SuperSu - you can get it from the Google Play Store here.
SuperSu manages app and operating system updates for you after rooting a device. This is important because rooting de-automates these processes, which devices need to stay up-to-date and secure.
SuperSu will send you a notification when the operating system or its apps needs to take on an update, then lets you do it from its interface.
Because updates often have security patches to keep your device safe from malware (money-making tools for online criminals), and having to search for the updates on the internet's wide open frontier by yourself is the No. 1 way to leave your device a sitting duck waiting to be malware-loaded, this app is critical.
And now that you know how to use Adblock Plus in every respect – unless you haven’t looked at the AdBlock vs Adblock Plus comparison yet, which you may want to here - all there's left to do now is show how getting help in Adblock Plus (for desktop) goes.
Troubleshooting Adblock Plus
Mainly, bugs or other issues with Adblock Plus have to be addressed by making a post in the forums. It might sound impractical or difficult, but there are enough expert users there and active for your questions to be answered fairly quickly. In the Firefox version it’s a little easier.
The Firefox version of Adblock Plus has a deep options menu - nearly comparable to AdBlock's, even though that is the far more sophisticated desktop extension of the two.
The help section of this menu is very convenient because in it there are a few ways to solve issues. There’s a direct link to the forums, the ‘Send us a bug report’ link goes to instructions on (what else) bug reporting, and you can email support directly. Pretty good for a little desktop menu.
Firefox users of Adblock Plus can get help when necessary by clicking the icon and moving to the help section. Other browsers' versions are missing this level of access to support.
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But if you’re about to use Adblock Plus (which you can well do just above), it might be good to know that the grass will be a little greener on the desktop side of things with its friendly competitor, AdBlock. In fact, how simple Adblock Plus for desktop really is leaves sort of little to talk about on the subject. You’ll understand when you see just how big AdBlock is where Adblock Plus is small.
But even given that, it still has a big advantage over AdBlock - and that is in how many ways it’s a mobile ad blocker.
ABP for mobile is important because it has an in-app ad blocker for Android, and a browser made for ad blocking that’s designed to work on either Android or iOS devices. AdBlock just has a Safari-only ad blocker for iOS (as does ABP – it’s #2 below) and a Samsung Internet-only app app on the Android side.
Here's ABP's full mobile library -
A predictably named browser which gets to work straightaway after installation. It is based on Firefox and also a relative newcomer - it was only released in 2015.
For your reference and the sake of completeness, this is the Adblock Browser website. It’s just about the exact same thing as what you’re looking at here.
This app runs in the background of iOS Safari. A few activation steps are required, which you are walked through on installation. This app is nearly identical to AdBlock's own iOS app.
Adblock Plus has an app-reaching ad blocker for Android, which even without the other two apps goes an extremely lot further than AdBlock's Samung Internet app. In-app here means the same as the device’s browsers, so ads can be blocked whether you’re on Chrome or Firefox on an Android device carrying this app, activated. You can include the countdown/video ads that make you wait to use certain functions, and banner ads, in the group of ads in apps that get taken out.
Use the download button, which will take you to cnet.com to get it, but please - only after following steps A and B immediately below, because this gets technical.
Step A
To run Adblock Plus for Android, you will need an app that transfers control of the Android operating system from the device itself, to you. This change is called rooting.
Important - rooting means that automatic functions like app and even operating system updates will be manual - meaning you will need to do them yourself (Step B covers that part).
Of course, with the stakes being what they are, and the mobile web being what it is today, the safest way to root an Android device is with an app. We'll highlight KingoRoot for that. Its site where you can download the app (and learn all you need to know about it) is here.
Step B
The app that will help you get all the updates you need on your device is called SuperSu - you can get it from the Google Play Store here.
SuperSu will send you a notification when the operating system or its apps needs to take on an update, then lets you do it from its interface.
Because updates often have security patches to keep your device safe from malware (money-making tools for online criminals), and having to search for the updates on the internet's wide open frontier by yourself is the No. 1 way to leave your device a sitting duck waiting to be malware-loaded, this app is critical.
And now that you know how to use Adblock Plus in every respect – unless you haven’t looked at the AdBlock vs Adblock Plus comparison yet, which you may want to here - all there's left to do now is show how getting help in Adblock Plus (for desktop) goes.
Mainly, bugs or other issues with Adblock Plus have to be addressed by making a post in the forums. It might sound impractical or difficult, but there are enough expert users there and active for your questions to be answered fairly quickly. In the Firefox version it’s a little easier.
The help section of this menu is very convenient because in it there are a few ways to solve issues. There’s a direct link to the forums, the ‘Send us a bug report’ link goes to instructions on (what else) bug reporting, and you can email support directly. Pretty good for a little desktop menu.
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