How to block ads on Android
Folks, on Monday I told you the alarming (and revolting) news that Google has removed ad-blocking apps from the Google Play app store. Fortunately, Neil Rubenking at PC Magazine has just published a How To for installing AdBlock Plus on Android devices (aka “the workaround”).
I just did it on my Kindle Fire, and I did not have to do the “manually set a proxy” steps. It’s so nice to view ad-free webpages! (And it’s safer, too.)
Here’s the 4-1-1. How To Block Ads on Android
“Yesterday, the venerable adblocking company Adblock Plus (ABP) announced that Google had blocked their enormously popular app on the Google Play store. While Google can slam the door through their app store, Android’s open nature means that users can still “sideload” the app.“” Read more..
It really isn’t hard, and I think you’ll be glad you did it.
[Update: a reader has suggested an easier method in the Comments section, here (below).]
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Tip of the day: Advertising really works!! And is a GREAT!! investment!! See?
And unicorns are real.
Today’s quote: “In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.” ~ George Orwell
First Day of Spring (Yay!) I just heard. Today is the calendar’s equinox, or solstice, or sumsuch, and they say Spring is now playing in a theater near you. Yay!
Today’s Spring quote: “When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.” ~ Ernest Hemingway
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
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I had just flashed my S3 with CM10 when Google did this, so wasn’t able to re-download ABP from the Play store.
I read the article linked, and it sure seemed to be the long way around to do things! I just went into the browser on my phone, typed in “adblockplus.org/en/android” into the address bar which took me directly to their page. I clicked Download and when it was finished, pressed on the download complete notification and it opened up and asked if I wanted to install, which I did. Much easier than what was on the PC Mag page.
Maybe not everyone will be able to do this with a stock setup, but I think I’ve done this when my phone was stock as well. Anyway… try what I did before jumping through all the hoops in this article!
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csaz,
I just confirmed your method on my older HTC Glacier (aka “My Touch 4G”)(which I did have to manually set up the proxy on.) and will update my article to point to your advisory. Thank you.
Note: If you are viewing this on an android device, you can “tap” this link http://adblockplus.org/en/android.
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Cool! Yeah.. when I read the article, it just seemed way more complicated than it should be. Plus, with version 4.0+, Samsung removed the functionality of the phone appearing as a USB drive on your computer and instead mounts it in MTP or PTP mode, which Windows doesn’t like much!
–Matthew Brock
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csaz,
Well, I think the point was to teach the ‘sideloading’ method (using ABP as the example). But going direct to the source is my preferred strategy (in more arenas than just tech).
This news item kinda makes me wonder how many other .apk’s I should download now.. before some Megacorp or Gov’t whim or Insane Legal Ruling disappears them.
BTW.. did you get that $100 tablet yet?
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