How I block all online ads

Summary

Ads support content creators and free services. If you value specific creators or platforms, consider supporting them directly through memberships or donations rather than relying solely on ad blocking.A couple of years ago, I decided I'd had enough of ads. Not just the occasional banner or a quick pre-roll video — I mean all of them. They have to go.So I embarked on a holy crusade to get rid of them as much as possible. I tried the obvious solutions first, then dug deeper into less conventional approaches. It took a long time, tons of experiments, and many observations, but today I am finally happy where I stand.There are many techniques out there, some well-known and others surprisingly obscure. Here's what I learned over the years and what actually worked for me.Let's start with the basics and work our way up to the more unconventional methods. The first few are straightforward and widely used. The later ones require more setup and maintenance but can block ads in places where traditional methods fail.Browser ad blockers are the biggest boycott in history. You're probably using one already!I use Firefox with uBlock Origin — it's the best ad blocking combo out there. It's harder if you're on Chromium-based browser, since Google transitioned to Manifest V3 which conveniently limits ad blockers.I keep my filter lists minimal — they cover almost everything I need:Built-in uBlock filtersEasyListAdGuard - AdsI also maintain my own filters. They don't focus on ads, but rather on other annoyances.If you find yourself constantly annoyed by specific elements on sites you visit regularly — sticky headers, newsletter popups, etc. — you can write custom filters to remove them. That's exactly what I do.uBlock Origin has excellent documentation about filters. Start small: right-click an element, use the element picker, and look at what it did. You'll pick up the patterns quickly for simple things.Once you're comfortable with basic filters, uBlock Origin offers advanced scriptle...