![]() ![]() In AdGuard, you can use any of the available filters or you can learn the rules syntax and create your own rules. The filtering engine is basically an interpreter of a set of filtering rules. One of the core parts of AdGuard is its filtering engine which provides you with a high level of control over what your apps or browsers load from the internet. It's better than nothing, but we still have a lot to do to bring it to the level of the other platforms. Note 2: AdGuard Pro for iOS allows you to monitor your device's network connections at the level of DNS queries. Note 1: Note on the diagram: in Android, the local VPN module executes the role of the network driver. The following is true for Windows, Mac, and Android, and only partially for iOS. In the light of the many problems associated with malicious browser extensions ( 1, 2) it is regrettable.Īnd now let's have a look at the technical side of how AdGuard works. They also don't see a part of the requests sent by other extensions. So, they just do not see many of their own browser's requests (examples: OCSP, Google Safe Browsing). Browser extensions do not have access to requests of other browser extensions, and to privileged connections of the browser itself. Also, they don't control WebRTC connections and this flaw is often exploited to circumvent ad blockers. For example, the recent story with QUIC protocol showed it. Browser extensions don't control some protocols.This one is as important as the first - controlling internal browser structures is crucial for some of the ad blockers tasks. The extension is "inside" the browser and can access its internal structures (for example, tabs).The browser does a lot on its own and the developer does not need to think about network protocols, encryption, installation, updates and much more. The main advantage is the simplicity of development and support.They all work using the same approach and rely on the capabilities provided by browsers. Ghostery, Adblock Plus, uBlock or even our own browser extension. There are many blockers implemented as browser extensions. Ad blockers have become the third type of programs that have to work at the network level and block attempts of tracking. And secondly, malicious programs that monitor the actions of users, collect information about them, and influence their decisions. First of all, those are antiviruses, which need to scan downloaded files in order to prevent infection as early as possible. Historically, two types of programs have always worked at this level. Each application aspires to gather maximum information about the user, and you can control these attempts only by going beyond the browser. In my opinion, it's crucial for an ad blocker and the need for such level of control grows every year. "Network level" means that all internet connections go through AdGuard. So we made a decision that has shaped the future development of AdGuard. The creation of an ad blocker that works at the network level and is not limited by browser functionality seemed as an interesting and challenging task. We always had and still have the viewpoint of engineers so we just wanted to solve complex problems that cover different areas. Were we thinking about it when we started? Frankly speaking, no. You can learn more about the history of ad blocking in our article series. But it quickly dropped in popularity compared to its free analog Adblock Plus for the Firefox browser. For example, the first known adblocker was "Ad Muncher", running on a network level and not dependent on a specific browser. ![]() In fact, this point partly derives from the first one and the importance of this is difficult to overestimate. Also, browser extensions can develop very dynamically because it takes little time to refine new functions and fix defects. First blockers were single-developer indie projects. Browser extensions are relatively easy to develop.There are many explanations for this, but the most important are the following: The overwhelming majority of ad blockers are browser extensions. There wasn't much of a choice, the advertising wasn't so frighteningly scary and big companies hadn't realized yet how precious users' data was.īut even then a trend appeared that remains relevant up to this day. Back in historyĪ long time ago, when we first started the development of the first version of AdGuard, the situation with ad blockers was significantly different from the one of today. It will help you understand not only the difference, but also how and why the key decisions about AdGuard's development were made. I'd like to tell you the story from the very beginning. What's the difference between AdGuard and other ad blockers? Do you really need AdGuard if you have uBlock or Adblock Plus? If I had a dollar for every time I got asked this question, we'd probably make our product free. ![]()
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