RemoveAds

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on July 06, 2012

How many times have you been frustrated by a browser message something like "waiting for pain-in-the-ads.com" while your browser spins its wheels, unable to finish loading your site because it's linked to an ad server somewhere? More than a few programs have been written to suppress, prevent, and kill banner ads in Web browsers, instant messaging programs, and social networking apps. Major Share's RemoveAds is an ultrasimple tool that actually works. It blocks banner ads from loading, preventing the adware from trying to contact its home server, so pages load more quickly than they would if the ad links loaded normally. It's not a browser add-on but a standalone app that works with most browsers and chat tools. It updates automatically, and users can submit recommended ad sites for inclusion in the program's database.

RemoveAds has a very simple user interface, with two controls and three tabs. The controls turn the Anti-Ad feature off and reactivate it by updating the database. The Front Page tab displays the current status of the Anti-Ad tool, Software, and Database. The Database tab displays the Blacklist, which contained many familiar-looking ad links, and a tool for suggesting sites to add. The About tab accesses the usual program info, as well as a link to the developer's site, which is the only source of documentation. Clicking a button that looks like a tiny slider switch rendered the ad blocker's status Inactive, including a message that it might take a few minutes for the change to take effect. Clicking the Reload button automatically updated the program's database and simultaneously reactivated the Anti-Ad tool.

Side-by-side PCs with nearly identical specs gave us the opportunity to see RemoveAds in action in real time, and the demonstration didn't take long, either. We quickly browsed to the same national news site on both machines using the same type of browser, only one PC was running RemoveAds. The site on the RemoveAds machine loaded quickly, while the same site on the other machine was stuck "waiting for" some banner ad to load. A quick check showed the culprit in RemoveAds' Database. RemoveAds works: 'nuff said.

Publisher's Description

From Major Share:

Remove Ads is a powerful program that filters and blocks commercial banners from being loaded by browsers, Google, YouTube, Yahoo ICQ, MSN Messenger, MetaCafe, PalTalk and any other software you want. The multistage defense system guarantees practically complete filtration of advertisements. The super powerful heuristic analyzer allows blocking even the new formats of advertisements without updating the program. The product works right after the installation - there is no need to customize any addition settings in the program or browser. Compatible with all popular browsers regardless of the version.

Make Internet faster. Remove Ads doesn't only prevent banners from appearing on the screen - it stops the browser from loading them at all, which gives you considerable economy (up to 50%) in traffic and noticeably increases the speed of loading and displaying web pages.No need for settings.Even an inexperienced user can get rid of the ads, since Remove Ads starts working right after the installation and doesn't need any additional settings. The program supports all popular browsers: Internet Explorer, FireFox, Mozilla, Opera and Netscape - regardless of their version. You can also block ads in any program you want like ICQ, ICQ Lite, MSN Messenger, Kazaa, Morpheus, Grokster, PalTalk, iMesh, Bearshare, LimeWire, MetaCafe and so on. Work faster. The advertisings don't only distract your attention, but also waste your time.

What's new in this version: Version 1.4 Improved GUI and Istaller.