The moment many of us have been waiting for is finally upon us! After months of patiently waiting, the most popular ad blocking plugins – AdBlock and AdBlock Plus – are now available as extensions for Microsoft Edge. Learn more about them after the jump.
If you aren’t aware about the benefits of AdBlock / AdBlock Plus: these are popular ad-blocking extensions that protects netizens from privacy-invading trackers, pop-up ads, display ads and other media on websites that can otherwise hamper your browsing experience.
The news of extensions support coming to Microsoft Edge was fairly recent in the Insider Preview Builds. Microsoft announced a basic set of extensions including Pinterest, Reddit Enhancement Suite, Bing Translate and OneNote Clipper, among a few others.
Earlier this year, AdBlock officially announced their support for Microsoft Edge, and now not one, but two ad blocking extensions – Ad Block and Ad Block Plus – are available for use on Edge.
What’s the difference between AdBlock and AdBlock Plus?
AdBlock Plus is the original ad-blocking extension that took the Internet by storm when it was released for all mainstream browsers except Google Chrome. As a result of AdBlock Plus not being available on Google Chrome, an independent dev made their own ad blocker, called it AdBlock, and released it on Chrome where it grew to be the #1 ad blocker. As a result of its popularity, it was ported to other browsers, too!
So, now, we have two ad blocking extensions with similar names and functionality on all major browsers. How do you choose between them?
If you ask me, I wouldn’t use either of them and instead opt for the newer uBlock ad blocking plugin that’s available for Firefox, Chrome and Safari. It’s a lot leaner, faster, and the developer is considered trustworthy.
The team behind AdBlock Plus in particular has a reputation for taking large sums of money for allowing certain trackers and ad networks. This effectively makes them a sort of an automated blackmailing system: they block ads, then they take money for unblocking them. It feels unethical.
But of course, Microsoft Edge users aren’t exactly spoiled for choice, so it’s either AdBlock or AdBlock Plus for them. You can try them for yourself, and see which one suits you.
AdBlock and AdBlock Plus on Windows Store
As of typing, both Microsoft Edge ad blockers are available for download from the Windows Store but only for “Windows Insiders”. What that means is that you will need to be on the latest, bleeding edge version of Windows that isn’t available for the general public. It’s recommended you do this unless you understand the perils of using beta software. It’s unreliable, and unsuitable for use as your daily driver.
We strongly suggest you wait it out till summer for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update when Edge extensions will be available for everyone!
So yes, if you are a Windows Insider on Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14279 or later, go ahead and grab these hot ad blocking extensions for Edge!
Download AdBlock for Microsoft Edge [Windows Store]
Download AdBlock Plus for Microsoft Edge [Windows Store]
P.S. If you need pointers, check out our guide on how to install extensions on Edge.
Good going, Microsoft!
The move to introduce AdBlock Plus is the first of many extensions to come to Microsoft Edge, giving the browser a fighting chance to compete against the other browsers. The lack of extensions support is undoubtedly the biggest weakness of Microsoft Edge vs. Chrome and Firefox.
The number of extensions currently supported by Edge is minimal, but much like its competitors, it should grow fast over time seeing as how Microsoft working so fast on updating Edge. We’ve recently seen Microsoft add the ability to pin tabs, directly import bookmarks from Firefox, and more.
One has to applaud the Edge browser doing so well without extensions, still. It has plenty of unique features, is incredibly lean and fast. The web notes feature is really neat!
But yes, ads can be so very annoying. I’m particularly annoyed by YouTube ads that can last for as long as 2 minutes and make you wait 30 seconds before you can skip, just so you can watch your video.
If you have had an experience with AdBlock or AdBlock Plus prior, do let us know in the comments section below on how your experience with the extension is with Edge and if it is reason enough for you to change your primary browser of choice?
The post Block Ads With AdBlock & AdBlock Plus For Microsoft Edge appeared first on Windows Clan.
