As more and more online publications are forced to assess the realities of how content is paid for, AdBlock software has become an increasingly heated talking point. Sites are beginning to enforce measures that detect when a user is bypassing their adverts — but now there is a new way to counteract that process.
Anti-Adblock Killer is an extension that allows users to continue using their Adblock software, even when the site they’re trying to visit has scripts or other countermeasures set up to block access. It’s currently available for Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari, according to a report from Tech Spot.
Rather than blocking ads outright, this extension blocks the ability for a site to tell that your browser is blocking ads and in turn, this denies that site from blocking you from its content. The back-and-forth nature of these pieces of software makes for an accurate depiction of the cat-and-mouse game that’s going on.
It’s clear that there are plenty of people out there who feel that the advertising used to support content is spoiling the experience. However, it’s more difficult to determine whether the majority of these users are trying to remove specific nuisance ads, or simply remove all marketing materials from their online experience.
Notably, the Anti-Adblock Killer GitHub page has a donation section, which stresses that user support is necessary for the project to continue development.
It remains to be seen how long it will take for sites to start detecting and blocking the use of Anti-Adblock Killer, but a fix is likely to already be in the works. Outlets that are serious about protecting their content will maintain the same hard line that’s already been established.
Moving forward, it’s clear that a more permanent solution needs to be devised. Both content creators and readers need to be satisfied with the way ads are implemented, and currently neither seem to be happy with their lot.
