Install an Ad Blocker. Today. It Takes Two Minutes.
Install an Ad Blocker. Today. It Takes Two Minutes.
The short version
- Why: ads are one of the ways criminals deliver scams and malware, including fake “your computer is infected” pages. An ad blocker cuts off a lot of that route.
- Install uBlock Origin (free, about two minutes; Edge and Chrome get the “Lite” version): Edge · Chrome · Firefox
- Use only those links. Fake “ad blockers” exist.
- A virus popup with a phone number on it is a scam. Close it. Don’t call it.
- It won’t catch everything. It’s one of the best moves you can make after updating your machine and running antivirus.
Why I’m telling you this
People ask me what they can do to protect themselves online. After updating your machine and running antivirus, this is the one I’d actually push.
Ads aren’t just annoying. They’re a delivery truck. Anyone can pay to put something on that truck, and criminals do, because it works.
The FBI warns that criminals buy ads to point people at malware and phishing sites. Its public warning says: “Use an ad blocking extension when performing internet searches.” (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, alert I-122122-PSA.) That alert is about fake search-result ads that send people to malware and phishing sites, not specifically the popup flavor. Different scam, same delivery truck.
It won’t catch everything. Some scary popups come from the website itself, not an ad, and blockers catch only some of those. But it cuts down a lot of the junk before you ever see it.
Install it
Microsoft Edge (the default on Windows)
Google Chrome
A box pops up asking Add “uBlock Origin Lite”? Click Add extension.
// Yes, it says it can “read and change all your data on all websites.” Scary wording, but that’s the standard permission for any ad blocker: it has to work on every site you visit.
Firefox
Don’t get fooled: install only from the links above. Fake “ad blockers” exist, and if anything asks you for money for uBlock Origin, you’re in the wrong place.
If a scary popup shows up anyway
Windows: hold Alt and press F4.
Mac: hold Cmd + Q.
If the browser offers to restore your tabs, say no.
Windows: hold Ctrl + Shift and press Esc, pick your browser, click End task.
Mac: hold Cmd + Option and press Esc, pick your browser, click Force Quit.
A virus warning that wants you to phone a stranger is a sales pitch with a scary font.
Want to go further?
I run AdGuard Home at home, which blocks this junk for every device on my network at once: Step Aside, Pi-Hole: Why AdGuard Home is the DNS Hero Your Homelab Deserves. It’s great, and it’s also a project. The browser extension isn’t. Anyone can install it today, no server required.