Be careful with 'Ad blockers'. Why?
Some blocking programs are overly aggressive, blocking
all Ads, GIF and Flash animations, javascript and sounds.
They do not necessarily stop all the data for those from being downloaded, so there is
no gain in speed. Plus, some actually 'rewrite' web pages on the
fly, seeking out javascript, animations and applets to filter out. The problem
with blocking everything is that many web pages have all of these
elements as part of their style, look & feel, and functionality, and
if you take these away, it's like cutting down the trees to see
the forest. PC Voyage suggests a simple Window blocker like PopUpStopper.
It simply stops another instance of the browser from opening, which
is the way pop-over/under ads work. Sometimes you want another
IE or NS window to open. With a program like PopUpStopper, you can easily
over-ride the blocking by holding the CTRL key down when you click
on a link, or you can temporarily turn off the blocker by a click
on a System Tray icon.
PC voyage recommends staying away from more elaborate blockers like
AdSubtract that attempt to block everything, including necessary web
page functions.
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