Ad Blocking Software Details

Online or Internet advertising is a field of marketing that uses the Internet as a platform for delivering promotional marketing messages to consumers. Some forms of online ads include web banners, pictures, animations, autoplay text, and video messages. Most modern browsers have native capabilities to block ad messages by targeting technologies and common URLs used to deliver advertisements.

Ad-blocking software is popular in the market as they provide a better browsing experience with clean websites displaying proper information. Multiple ads clutter the user interface and cover vital information for the user to make the website unusable. Complete removal of ads from websites can help in faster page load times because of reduced bandwidth consumption.

Ad makers often subject consumers to malvertising, where popup ads on web pages redirect the user to scam sites intended to cheat customers. Ad publishers and website owners argue that web advertising helps boost revenues in the digital market. This enables website owners to purchase content for their websites. They claim that ad-blocking software could adversely affect website owner revenues, reducing the availability of free content on websites.

Real-World Example of Ad Blocking Software

AdLock is one of the most popular ad-blocking software available in the market, partly because it supports most modern browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc. AdLock provides its solutions for Windows and Android, which helps block ads on Skype, YouTube, and other applications. It also provides content privacy and user data protection.

AdGuard is another popular ad-blocking software available for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS. Their secure browsing feature helps safeguard private user information like passwords and preferences. AdGuard also has parental controls that prevent kids from being exposed to adult content.

Significance of Ad Blocking Software

Ad-blocking software helps user experience as it prevents ads from consuming space on the web page and ensures quicker web page load time and lesser bandwidth consumption. Ad-blocking software allows students and professionals to consume information from websites without any distractions.

Ad-blocking software improves security as ads could contain malicious computer viruses. Some website popup redirects to pornographic websites, adversely affecting younger audiences. There have been several instances where ads containing malware appeared through popular online platforms like YouTube and Google's Doubleclick platform.

Popular brands have come up with several alternative strategies to website popup ads to create awareness about their brand. Native advertising and product placement help these brands strategically place their products through several mediums. Soft drink manufacturing giant, Pepsi, has used strategic product placements in entertainment mediums to push their product to a wider audience.

Types of Ad Blocking Software

Ad-blocking software differ based on the business model that they operate on. Ad-blocking software like uBlock Origin work on the free and open-source software model where all ad-blocking features are made available to customers for free. The open-source nature ensures that the wider community can make changes to the software feature log.

Adblocking organizations like AdBlock Plus follow the whitelisting model where the company maintains a company-wide whitelist against a share of the ad revenue. This type of ad-blocking software business model has come under heavy criticism because it allows a list of acceptable ads to be shown on websites, thereby hampering the user's browser experience.

Subscription-based adblocking software provides complete coverage and protection against browser ads in exchange for an upfront subscription fee. Wiper is one of the most popular paid adblocking software available in the market. Freemium adblocking software combines concepts of free and subscription-based models; some basic features are made available to the customer for free, and the company levies charges for advanced features in a freemium business model.