uBlock Origin for Windows

Free ad blocker extension

uBlock Origin is a free security and privacy program that allows you to block pesky online ads. Developed by Raymond Hill—known as gorhill—this software is an open-source and cross-platform extension available for most browsers. PCs with Windows 11 OS can use this too. It filters webpage content and prominently blocks different types of ads that can be annoying to get rid of. uBlock Origin is a fork of the original uBlock software or ublock.org and doesn’t ask for donations. 

Easy to block

Ad-blocker extensions are always a life-saver when you want to avoid getting bombarded by tons of ads while visiting websites. These little tools are quite nifty since you can easily access their settings on your browser’s top bar, letting you quickly pause their job on certain websites if you have to and just as quickly resuming it. uBlock Origin is just one among the many ad blockers that are easy to use. 

You just have to set up your preferences—whether or not you have any particular sites you’d like to exclude on the blocking and such—and you’re all set. To make things easier, you can also load up block lists maintained by online communities instead of painstakingly setting up your own. Some of these are immediately available to you after you install uBlock Origin. These block and filter lists can even cover malware domains, giving your web-surfing some added security. 

A total upgrade

Unlike uBlock, uBlock Origin has tons of other features thanks to its dedicated community. You have the usual option to optimize your filters with its dynamic URL filtering feature, but it also has great accessibility features, like a color vision deficiency mode. The extension has a DOM inspector, a logging functionality, options to block link-prefetching, hyperlink auditing, site-specific switches, JavaScript disabling, and even cosmetic filtering and blocking of remote fonts. 

If you have the Firefox version of uBlock Origin, you can also enjoy an extra feature that blocks websites from stopping your ad blocker’s features. uBlock Origin’s source code is free, so you can tweak it even further. Furthermore, since this is a lightweight program, it will only take a little storage space. 

uBlock Origin is less resource-intensive when it operates, compared to other software like AdBlock Plus. It also is one of the most resource-efficient blockers around. Not to mention that while the uBlock—eventually acquired by AdBlock—allows certain paid ads, uBlock Origin remains independent of any payment for blocking ads and lets you completely block them out.

No lies here

If you want less strain on your resources and more customizable functionality, uBlock Origin is a good choice for many reasons. It’s free and won’t offer any premium paid deals—plus, it has tons of extra features you can’t find in the original software. Take care when downloading this extension, however, as you might accidentally go to ublock.org and get the other ad blocker instead of this one.