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Microsoft is testing AdBlock Plus on the Edge mobile browser
Microsoft is apparently serious about creating a great experience for users of its Edge browser on Android and iOS. According to The Verge, the tech giant has added Adblock Plus directly into the beta version of its Microsoft Edge for Android browser. It's also been added to the iOS beta program. The Android beta is, unfortunately, currently closed to new users, but you can download the latest version of Microsoft Edge on the Google Play store in hopes that it will be added to the final release soon.
Adblock Plus creator hopes blockchain will help spot fake news
The creators of Adblock Plus, eyeo, have an uncommon solution to the fake news scourge: rely on one of the tech industry's biggest buzzwords. They've introduced a beta Chrome extension, Trusted News, that will use blockchain to help you verify whether a site is trustworthy. It's initially using four established fact sites (PolitiFact, Snopes, Wikipedia and Zimdars' List), but the eventual plan is to decentralize the database with the Ethereum blockchain and use game-like token mechanics to reward everyday users for submitting feedback while protecting against trolls. If enough people think a site is getting a bad rap, eyeo could change the product to provide a better perspective.
German court says ad-blocking is legal
Germany's supreme court has dismissed a landmark case brought by a publisher looking to destroy ad-blocking services in the country. European behemoth Axel Springer was defeated in its years-long battle with Eyeo, the firm that owns AdBlock Plus. Springer argued that blocking adverts was in violation of competition law, while AdBlock's whitelist strategy was legally dubious.
AdBlock Plus retools its service to pay sites you visit most
Last year, we covered Flattr, AdBlock Plus' endeavor to help you pay the sites you visit most often. Now, the company is relaunching the tool and billing it as what the team had imagined when they first conceived of the project. Flattr 2.0 is a browser extension that works with an algorithm and a subscription to automatically figure out how much to pay the websites you love. Previously, the service was in a private beta, but now it's available to the public.
37,000 Chrome users downloaded a fake Adblock Plus extension
If you use Adblock Plus with Chrome and downloaded the extension pretty recently, you may want to check what you've installed. Apparently, a fake Adblock Plus extension made it through Google's verification process and lived in the official Chrome Web Store alongside the real one. Google has taken down the phony listing after SwiftOnSecurity tweeted about it and put the company on blast, but by then, it has already been up long enough to fool 37,000 people. That's a drop in the bucket for a service that has 10 million users, but it sounds like trouble for those who were unlucky enough to download it.
Adblock Plus' ad network is off to a rough start
When Adblock Plus unveiled its own ad network in a bid to make money from toned-down ads, it raised more than a few eyebrows... including those of its supposed ad partners. While the company said that its Acceptable Ads Platform would supply ads from Google and AppNexus, it turns out that it was merely relying on a go-between company (ComboTag) to get those ads. It hadn't asked the underlying ad providers about a deal -- and now, they want out. Both Google and AppNexus are ending their associations with ComboTag, leaving Adblock Plus without much of a leg to stand on.
Adblock Plus launches its very own ad network
The immensely popular (and sometimes controversial) Adblock Plus browser extension is taking the next step in its crusade to clean up online advertising -- even if that effort comes at a cost to users and publishers. On Tuesday, Adblock Plus announced it is joining the ranks of those online advertisers and launching its own ad network called the Acceptable Ads Platform.
Adblock Plus bypasses Facebook's attempt to restrict ad blockers (update)
The war between Facebook and ad blockers is heating up. Just two days after the social network announced plans to restrict software that removes its advertising, the popular utility Adblock Plus has already unveiled a workaround. All you need to do is update your Adblock Plus filters to banish those ads once again. Facebook previously said that it didn't pay to be whitelisted by any ad blocking company, instead it changed how its ads are recognized, and also gave users more control over what sorts of ads they see.
Windows 10 update adds AdBlock support to the Edge browser
AdBlock and AdBlock Plus are no longer exclusive to Windows Insider Program participants. Microsoft's anniversary update for Windows 10 doesn't only come with Cortana voice commands (and many other features), it also adds support for the ad blocker to your Edge browser. This version is based off the extension's code for Chrome instead of Internet Explorer, but you might encounter some issues anyway since it's still in development. Of course, you'll have to wait for the anniversary update first before you can install the add-on and tweak its (potentially problematic) whitelist. You're bound to get it within the coming weeks, so long as you're running Windows 10.
AdBlock and AdBlock Plus are available for Microsoft Edge
Back in March, Microsoft started testing a version of its new Edge browser on Windows 10 with support for extensions. Now, one of the most-requested features is covered with the introduction of AdBlock and AdBlock Plus extensions for Edge. The feature list appears to be mostly intact from its Chrome and Firefox iterations, with the ability to block varying levels of ads or whitelist certain sites (like... Engadget.com for example).
Opera's speedy built-in ad-blocking goes wide and mobile
Back in March, Opera introduced its native ad-blocking feature to developers. Today, the feature is available to everyone -- on desktop and mobile. The company claims that compared to Chrome, browsing with its native ad-blocking on is 45 percent faster than Google's browser with third-party ad-blocking extensions running. Beyond that, Opera says that the update makes pages load up to 89 percent faster than without the feature activated.
AdBlock Plus wants to help you pay the sites you visit most
With hundreds of millions of internet users choosing to block ads, publishers are being forced to adopt new strategies to survive. Paywalls are one option, but they often put off readers who wish to visit a website just to read one article. As companies scramble to provide a middle ground between subscriptions and pay-per-story services, an unlikely new challenger has emerged: AdBlock Plus. Known for its browser apps and extensions, the service has teamed up with micro-transaction specialist Flattr to let people pay the publishers they visit most regularly.
Latest Windows 10 preview brings Edge browser extensions
Microsoft has finally started testing the feature that could make its new Edge browser a real alternative to the likes of Chrome and Firefox: extensions. An updated browser with support for extensions is part of the new build rolling out to Preview users in the Fast ring. There are updates for both PCs and Mobile, although extensions are a desktop-only feature and there are only three of them available right now: Translate, Mouse Gestures and the Reddit Enhancement Suite. Versions of popular extensions from the likes of AdBlock Plus, LastPass, Amazon and more are promised to arrive later this year. The video below explains how the installation process works, so you can watch that while your computer updates.
RIP: Adblock Plus
I got a little too excited when the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) chief called Adblock Plus (ABP) "an unethical, immoral, mendacious coven of techie wannabes." I immediately wanted to know when the next coven meeting was and how many stars to sew onto my witch cape. The chief's accusations of heresy came after ABP was disinvited from the bureau's Leadership Summit. IAB's chief further twisted the ceremonial dagger by saying they weren't invited "in the first place." After that splendid outburst of public bitchiness, finding and joining the ad-blocking coven was my destiny. But little did I know that any ad-free witchery Adblock Plus might've been storing up for future spell-casting was getting less ad-free by the minute.
You say advertising, I say block that malware
The real reason online advertising is doomed and adblockers thrive? Its malware epidemic is unacknowledged, and out of control. The Forbes 30 Under 30 list came out this week and it featured a prominent security researcher. Other researchers were pleased to see one of their own getting positive attention, and visited the site in droves to view the list. On arrival, like a growing number of websites, Forbes asked readers to turn off ad blockers in order to view the article. After doing so, visitors were immediately served with pop-under malware, primed to infect their computers, and likely silently steal passwords, personal data and banking information. Or, as is popular worldwide with these malware "exploit kits," lock up their hard drives in exchange for Bitcoin ransom. One researcher commented on Twitter that the situation was "ironic" -- and while it's certainly another variant of hackenfreude, ironic isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe what happened.
ASUS' mobile devices will ship with built-in ad blocking
Ad blocking is now easy to find on just about every device you own, but it's rarely included from the get-go. However, ASUS aims to change that. As of early 2016, all of the company's web-capable mobile devices will ship with AdBlock Plus not only included with the company's proprietary browser, but switched on by default. If you tend to visit sites with intrusive ads, you won't have to lift a finger to get rid of most promos.
Yahoo restricting Mail accounts if it detects ad-blockers (updated)
Yahoo is reportedly preventing some of its users with ad blockers installed on their computers from accessing their email accounts. Digiday has spotted a thread on the Adblock Plus forums with complaints from a couple of people who couldn't access Yahoo Mail on both Chrome and Firefox. One of them posted a screenshot of the message he got asking him to "disable Ad Blocker to continue using" the service, which you can see below the fold. If you take a close look at the URL, you'll see that it says "reason=ADBLK_TRAP." Update: A spokesperson told us: "At Yahoo, we are continually developing and testing new product experiences. This is a test we're running for a small number of Yahoo Mail users in the US."
Adblock Browser officially launches on iOS and Android
With more than 400 million desktop installations in its pocket, it was only a matter of time until Adblock Plus became available on mobile devices. Eyeo, the company behind the extension, first tested the water back in 2013, but when Google pulled the app, it decided that incorporating its filters into Adblock Browser was the best way to go. After months of testing, the app has finally launched on iOS and Android devices, promising to let users "browse fast, safe and free of annoying ads" on their smartphone or tablet.
Germany rules that using ad-blocking software is legal
The ability to silence the constant braying of advertising is great, unless you're a publisher who relies upon the cash that it generates to keep running. This tension between media outlets and ad-blocking agencies has finally spilled over into a courtroom punch-up after some German newspapers took AdBlock Plus to court. The outlets, which include Die Zeit and Handelsblatt, claim that the browser plugin was an anti-competitive product that threatened their businesses. Judges in Hamburg, however, ruled in favor of the company, saying that software that saves you from watching that awful Kate Upton advert for the thousandth damn time this week is perfectly legal.
Amazon, Google and Microsoft escape Adblock Plus, for a price
It's long been rumored that Google, among other companies, has been paying Adblock Plus in order to get through its filters. Now, Financial Times says that it's not only Google that's been paying the ad-blocking service to be part of its whitelisted websites, but also Microsoft, Amazon and ad platform Taboola. Adblock Plus, as you might know, is a popular Chrome and Firefox extension that blocks ads: as such, some websites that rely on advertisements for revenue haven't been too happy with it, with a handful of German publishers taking the service to court. While what these companies are doing might not sit well with some Adblock Plus users, it's not bribery and is entirely legal.
