Getting tracked online is something many of us have come to accept and sometimes even joke about. But safeguarding your privacy and security should be taken seriously as it’s not only about some websites harvesting personal information.
Banners and popup ads can be infuriating, slowing down page load time and cluttering up your browser window. But there is also the real risk of Malvertising – advertising to distribute malware.
Malverts can appear on any website and need little to no user interaction. They contain a tiny piece of code directing you to criminal servers without opening a new browser window so you’re not even aware of it.
So how best to browse securely and protect your personal data? Install an ad blocker. Here are our two favourite ones and a third that currently only works for Chrome.
01. Ghostery
Ghostery let’s you browse smarter by showing which companies are tracking you and allowing you to choose which trackers to block. The built-in ad blocker removes ads to improve speed and eliminate clutter. Available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera.
02. Adblock
Adblock is probably the best known ad blocking software. It stops annoying pop-ups, banners and video ads which slow down your web page loading time and can distract you from the content you’re trying to read. Available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, iOS and Android.
03. Stands
Stands works much the same way as Ghostery and Adblock and is a great fallback to have installed. Some websites are savvy to Ghostery and Adblock and will ask you to disable your ad blocking software to continue browsing. So a lesser known ad blocker to keep blocking ads is worth having. Available for Chrome.
