Adblock Plus and (a little) more

Adblock Plus 2.0 released · 2011-12-13 16:59 by Wladimir Palant

Install Adblock Plus 2.0

Major changes

  • Experimental pop-up blocking support for the cases where the built-in pop-up blocker fails.
  • New Filter Preferences dialog makes managing filters and subscriptions easier.
  • Custom filters can be organized into any number of filter groups.
  • Backup and Restore functionality allows creating a copy of all filter preferences, not just custom filters.
  • Added “Allow non-intrusive advertising” setting (can be changed in Filter Preferences, documentation).

Detailed changelog

Known issues

Tags:

Comment [19]

  1. Bruce Williams · 2011-12-13 17:28 · #

    “•Added “Allow non-intrusive advertising” setting (can be changed in Filter Preferences, documentation).”

    Ad-block can start to let ads through but lets face it, you do this for money and so, the ad that pays the most is the one that gets through. Who thought this was a good idea? We use adblock to block advertisements. I do not want the developers deciding for me which advertisements will not be blocks; the only person who should control the whitelist is me.

    Hello NoScript.

    Reply from Wladimir Palant:

    Looks like you are new to this site. Ways to make the impact of Adblock Plus on the web a positive one have been discussed here for years, it’s just that we finally found one that might work. We did a user survey in Adblock Plus 1.3.10 to see whether our users would support that move – and the majority did. I understand that “doing it for money” is the only reason you can imagine. But that doesn’t mean that you understand our motivation – it merely means that you need to dig deeper.

  2. funny · 2011-12-13 17:33 · #

    It seems too hard for someone to uncheck the option!

  3. MonztA · 2011-12-13 17:33 · #

    @Bruce Williams
    Feel free to deactivate this feature. I do not think Wladimir wants a discussion about it here. Please use the forum: https://adblockplus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8872

  4. some other guy · 2011-12-13 18:00 · #

    Thank you for all your hard work over the years. AdBlock Plus has been a must-install on every client’s machine I’ve worked on.

    Unfortunately, I’m going to find it hard to continue to recommend an adblocking extension that by default overrides my blacklist choices in order to allow ads through.

    As soon as a fork or a new adblocking extension that doesn’t include the new “allow non-intrusive advertising” feature is released I will be abandoning ADP for it and recommend everyone else I interact with do the same.

  5. tr00don · 2011-12-13 21:05 · #

    I too hope a fork will be available where no ads can get through if I want it so. Adblock++, maybe?

  6. unknown · 2011-12-13 21:44 · #

    This is the beginning of getting cash for displaying ads with a adblocker and the end of adblock plus (and yes i know the option to disable it, but unfortunately the option to allow ads, is on).

    Yes, hello NoScript and please fork adlblock

  7. Chris · 2011-12-14 05:16 · #

    Anyone that doesn’t understand this release fails to see the big picture, perhaps even the small picture. While it’s great to view the web without any ads using this powerful extension, many/most websites couldn’t exist or wouldn’t have as good content if this were a default extension for every browser. For sites that provide value with a fair balance of unobtrusive ads (e.g. Google), I am willing to exempt them from filters. I still don’t click on ads much but there are benefits such as job ads for example if you somehow stand out on unblocked sites. It’s also good to at least have one site or disable the extension from time to time just to serve as a connection to the real world (Acid3 etc) else you might find yourself missing out on something important and an unblocked site can keep you in check with ‘reality’. It’s good to see that Wladimir is acting in the best interest of the web in offering this new option for users. It comes at a time when Firefox (a project founded with this very principal) can use a boost in generating ad-based revenue (eg Nov 2011 Expiration of Google’s default search contract). Clearly by making this concession, this plugin large enough to “push it’s weight around” and I’m glad to see this power being used to put pressure on annoying ads that do more to pollute the web and deceive users while allowing the option of displaying ads that are unobtrusive and support the continued growth of quality content on the interweb.

  8. Cristian · 2011-12-14 06:16 · #

    I don’t like the new feature “Allow non-intrusive advertising”, but thanks for the option to uncheck , even if it’s annoying.

  9. Marijo · 2011-12-14 10:40 · #

    Wladimir, you’re in the news:
    Adblock Plus 2.0 lässt nicht-nervende Werbung durch

    Thanks for 2.0! The stricter pop-up blocking just rocks! It should be part of Firefox itself.

  10. Ralph · 2011-12-14 12:35 · #

    I can’t hear it any longer, without advertising my site doesn’t exist. Okay then your site isn’t there any longer, who cares?
    How many peoples have a hobby and put every single dollar they don’t need to live in this hobby, even for fun and not to earn money. But if you run a site it seems to me that most people think they must earn money.
    And in fact it is as Bruce wrote. I don’t like to see ads on the web and when I want to see them I will decide, no one else.
    It seems that Wladimir want to play god over the ads.

  11. Dave · 2011-12-14 18:29 · #

    Thanks for all your hard work. ABP has always been a great plugin.

    As for some of the users making ignorant comments in this thread… I hope Wladimir possesses great patience and understanding.

  12. WorknMan · 2011-12-14 23:31 · #

    Ralph is right. If your website can’t exist without ads, then maybe it shouldn’t exist. Why is that so complicated to understand? Does that mean I think everything should be free? Of course not. If a site offers enough value, then I am happy paying to access the content. But I have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to advertising, and that is not going to change. And as time goes on, there will be more and more people just like me. What are you going to do then, when school buses can’t even afford to run without having ads plastered all over them? (And for the record, no… I do not subscribe to cable.)

    I was on the web in the mid-90’s before ads were introduced, and do you know what? It was fine back then. And it will be fine now, after the ads are gone.

  13. Dean · 2011-12-15 00:23 · #

    I wanted to make a donation today, followed a chain of links, found this, and the “non-intrusive advertising” immediately killed my desire to donate. AdBlock Plus is dead in my book, good buy a good extension, hello a wish-to-be-a-business…
    What is ironic, that knowing much about programming 99% of these “entrepreneurs” fail dramatically at business, then seek to re-gain back what they were popular for, but the space is occupied by lots of new-coming alternatives.
    Big mistake… Huge.

  14. Sheri · 2011-12-15 05:44 · #

    Having a problem with option to show the icon on the add-in bar. In all previous versions, the icon appeared around the lower right corner. Now its all the way at the left lower corner, further left even than the “x”. Is the position configurable somewhere?

    Reply from Wladimir Palant:

    You can customize the toolbar, as usually. See http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/how-do-i-customize-toolbars.

  15. K Fenderson · 2011-12-15 05:58 · #

    I have always liked adblock but I am not sure this change was a good idea. Time will tell….

  16. Frank · 2011-12-15 17:24 · #

    The option to show the settings dialogue from the tools menu has vanished, I found it a pretty useful feature so I could easily switch the \*.facebook.\* feature on and off but now you’ve got to get it via add-ons, and the new interface for it, is pretty poor compared to the old one. And I’m pretty much in agreeance with the other posts, you’ve killed adblock plus, RIP.

  17. Tom · 2011-12-15 17:57 · #

    OK, now I need to know how to block the annoying page I keep getting when I start firefox that tells me about the new adblock plus feature to allow limited advertising.

  18. bob · 2011-12-15 22:08 · #

    What really annoys me is that I did not even get notified of this change!

    Reply from Wladimir Palant:

    The only scenario where Adblock Plus wouldn’t notify you of a change would be “no change at all” – if you are subscribed to a privacy protection subscription then “Allow non-intrusive advertising” will not be turned on, meaning no notification.

  19. Ben Batt · 2011-12-16 00:45 · #

    Never been here before, but I just wanted to say I think the “Allow non-intrusive advertising” setting sounds like a good idea. I’ve always been a bit concerned that my usage of Adblock Plus could be hurting my favourite websites, and it’s good to have a way to allow them to make money without making my web experience incredibly annoying.

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