You’re halfway through a fascinating article on one of your favorite websites. You’re just about to find out the “plot twist,” the shocking statistics, or even the identity of the “mystery woman” a popular celebrity has been seen with.
But all of a sudden, your screen is covered in annoying pop-up ads that you thought your adblocker was supposed to prevent you from seeing. It’s clear your adblock is not working, and you’re seriously frustrated.
You want to be able to avoid having to watch those spammy videos before you can see a funny video on YouTube. You’d love to be able to get through a blog post without flashing sidebar and in-article ads distracting you.
Often, your viewing or reading is even interrupted by an ad that you can’t simply “scroll past.” Sometimes, you’re faced with seriously inappropriate or loud autoplay ads that could get you in trouble at work.
In short?
You’ve had enough.
So, why is adblock not working and blocking YouTube ads and other irritating pop-ups — and what can you do about it?
Read on to find out.
1. Is Adblock Installed?
Adblock not working?
If so, then we suggest that you start out with the most basic fixes first. Often, the problem is much simpler than you may imagine.
First of all, make sure that your adblocker is actually installed on your device. To do this on Chrome, simply enter the phrase “about: extensions” into your website address bar. If you’re using Safari, open the preferences folder and look in the extensions subfolder.
If you’re on Firefox, choose add-ons from your main menu and then extensions from your sidebar.
If it’s installed, you’ll see it easily after taking these steps.
On Chrome, you can even check for the extension on your browser. Look for an icon on the top left of your browser screen that looks like a stop sign. If it’s clearly not installed, click here to get instructions for how to enable it on your specific device.
2. Look Deeper
If you want to learn how to stop ads on Skype or any other program, you may simply need to do a quick uninstall-reinstall of your adblocking program.
While this often does the trick, a faulty adblocker may also indicate another potentially serious issue. Your device may have been infected with malware or adware that prevents you from blocking ads — and causes great harm to your system as a whole.
Have you noticed that you see the same ad on every site that you visit? Are the ads explicit? Has your homepage suddenly changed? Is there a new extension in your toolbar that you’re fairly confident you didn’t download?
If so, then you need to take immediate action to remove the malware from your device.
This post gives you a great, easy-to-follow guide on how to do so.
In order to prevent this from happening again in the future, consider switching to a stronger adblocking tool like AdGuard.
These innovative new tools can help to keep viruses and malware at bay, not just stop those annoying ads from popping up everywhere.
3. Check Your Settings
So, you know you have an adblocker installed, and it’s clear that (thankfully!) your system isn’t infected with malware of any kind.
So, what gives?
It might be that you’ve forgotten about “Acceptable Ads.” These are ads that adblockers don’t block automatically. Often, these ads aren’t blocked because they’re not seen as a threat to cybersecurity or because they’re from companies/websites you’ve visited in the past.
Many people aren’t even aware that Acceptable Ads exist, let alone how to revisit and refine their settings.
Go into the adblocking menu, click on “General options,” and take a look at whether or not you’ve checked the box for “Allow non-intrusive advertising.” You can turn it off completely, or take a closer look and choose which ads you’re ok with seeing.
4. Multiple Adblockers
If one adblocker is good, then two, three, or even four are even better — right?
Wrong.
What happens instead is that the adblockers interfere with one another, often rendering them useless. Your best bet here is to select the adblocker that you feel is the most effective, and then turn off all the other ones.
Also, ensure that you’re actually following the troubleshooting tips for both your chosen adblocker and your chosen device. There are so many different options out there that manuals often get muddled.
Make sure you’re also following instructions for your specific web browser.
5. What If Your Adblocker Is Still Not Working?
So, you’ve taken all of the above steps, and your adblocker still seems to be on the fritz.
There are still a few other things you can do before you consider getting some professional help. First of all, take the time to clear your cookies. In addition to helping make sure your adblocker works, clearing cookies will vastly improve your website loading speeds.
Next, take a look to be certain that you’re working with the most current version of your chosen web browser. While we know that updates are annoying, always run them as soon as possible.
If you don’t, working with outdated browser versions can easily interfere with the functionality of your adblocking tools.
You might also want to consider manually blocking the ads.
This works best in cases where you’re usually seeing a low number of ads already, but still want to get rid of those that just won’t go away. Click on your adblocking icon and select “Block ads on this page.”
We also suggest that you report the ads so that those in charge of creating filter lists can take a closer look at the matter. I
If all else fails, contact your adblockers support team. You’ll need to email them a screenshot of your current adblocking settings so that they can give you the most accurate help.
Remember that adblocking technologies can’t actually prevent you from seeing ads completely. Instead, their goal is to limit the ones you do see.
The Other Side of Adblocking
So far, we’ve spoken exclusively about how Internet users can improve their adblocking abilities.
Now, we need to look at the other side of things. The truth is that, if you’re a company that relies heavily on pop-up ads or ads on streaming services, adblockers can pose a real problem.
Since about 26% of consumers have already installed adblockers, companies need to start thinking about how their business could be negatively impacted by those who just want an uninterrupted browsing experience.
Is your business prepared to be blocked, and what can you do to help ensure your revenue isn’t impacted?
First of all, invest in more mobile ads, as far fewer people have adblockers installed on mobile devices than on desktop computers.
Next, consider adjusting to an “opt-in” advertising strategy.
This means that your ads — or content — will only be shown to those who have actively chosen to see it. (For example, by following you on social media, signing up for emails or subscribing to your blog, or even giving you their cell number for texts about offers.)
Opt-in marketing will not only make consumers far less irritated with your company when one of your ads interrupts them. It will also improve your marketing capabilities because your ads are being shown to people who are already interested in buying from you.
Curious about how to make the most of your opt-in ad strategy?
Professionals like those at Radcrafters Marketing Agency and other digital marketing firms can help you do it right.
Adblock Not Working? Don’t Give up Before Trying Our Advice
We know that it’s easy to get irritated with your adblock not working.
However, before you go nuclear on your computer, try the tricks we’ve outlined in this post first.
Remember to do a basic installation check, ensure your device hasn’t been infected with malware, and to evaluate your current adblocking settings. Especially if you’re trying to avoid irritating or inappropriate ads on a work computer, we suggest investing in more thorough adblocking tools and extensions.
Need a bit more advice on how to make your office network safer? Curious about the kinds of employee guidelines you should be implementing when it comes to office Internet use?
Perhaps you’re one of the many companies whose revenue has been impacted by adblockers and need immediate marketing help.
No matter what you’re looking for, our blog is here to give you the answers you need.
Keep reading through our posts to learn more about cybersecurity, digital marketing, and countless other topics.
