Personal tools
Ad Blocker
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 Ad Blocker
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About Ad Blocker
Ad Blocker is a free service that allows you to block a majority of advertising content that is delivered to users on web pages that they request. Ad Blocker uses downloadable filter subscriptions from a variety of sources which contain lists of web sites and extensions that are typically used to deliver advertising.
Settings
Once Ad Blocker has been downloaded and installed in your rack, it will download its configuration files. The configuration is made up of a large list of web sites and web site extensions that are known to be used for advertising purposes. This list is provided to all users by Untangle, and is updated on a regular basis.
While the default Ad Blocker configuration should work for most users, you may wish to make some adjustments. If you use Untangle and produce web advertising, we will effectively keep you from seeing your own ads. You may also encounter web pages that do not display correctly if the page names chosen by the web site developer are on the list to be blocked.
Status
The Status tab simply shows Ad Blocker's statistics - there is nothing to configure.
Filters
Ad Blocker's filter list will populate with many entries to match common ad serving strings, but you are free to add to and edit this list as you see fit.
Blocking a web site or web extension
To unblock specific sites:
- From Ad Blocker, click the Filters tab.
- Click the Add button in the upper left and add your new blocking rule.
- Be careful when selecting blocking criteria as you may block much more content than planned if your criteria is not carefully specified.
- Remember to save your changes.
Unblocking a web site or web extension
To unblock specific sites:
- From Ad Blocker, click the Filters tab, and find the rule you would like to modify.
- Once you find it, either uncheck its Enable checkbox or delete the rule.
- Remember to save your changes.
Pass Lists
If a web site that users wish to access is being blocked by several different Ad Blocker criteria, you can add the site (or users) to a Pass List.
Passing Specific Sites
To pass specific sites:
- From Ad Blocker, click the Pass Lists tab, and click the manage list button below Sites.
- In the table, select the add (+) button. A new row appears.
- In the IP address/range text box, specify the URL of the site that you want to be exempt from Ad Blocker.
- Click the Save button.
Passing Specific Users
Before You Begin: It may be useful to assign the user a static IP address. If the Untangle Server is your router, go to Assigning Network Computers Static IP Addresses.
To pass specific users:
- From Ad Blocker, click the Pass Lists tab, and click the manage list button below Client IP addresses.
- In the table, select the add (+) button. A new row appears.
- In the IP address/range text box, specify the computer IP address and subnet mask of user that you want to be exempt from the web filter.
- Click the Save button.
Event Log
Use the following terms and definitions to understand the Ad Blocker Event Log:
timestamp The time the event took place. action The action which the Untangle Server took on the web request. client IP address of the client who made the request. request A description of the request made (e.g. http://someurl/somepath.html). reason for action The reason the action was taken. server The server IP Address. The server is the computer that receives the request.
Related Topics
Ad Blocker FAQs
Do I have to pay for Ad Blocker?
No. Its a free application.
How does Ad Blocker keep up with ads?
The list that Ad Blocker uses contains known advertising web sites that are linked off of web pages, as well as known extensions that are used from non-advertising sites. As new advertisers start delivering content, the list is updated. Untangle grabs these updates and makes them available to your server, so that your Ad Blocker is being updated on a regular basis.
My ads do not show up on pages where they're supposed to!
If you are an advertising user, you definitely want to know that your ads are appearing when and where they're supposed to. You'll need to change your Ad Blocker configuration to see your own ads.
Some advertising is getting through. How can I get rid of them?
If the ads persistently get through, you'll need to change your Ad Blocker configuration to do this. You'll either need to block the web site that is delivering the ads, or block the extension. You will need to be very careful when choosing how to block the ads you are concerned with, as you could easily block an entire web site or block the specific method that is used for non-advertising purposes on other websites.
