shadowBlock: Blocking the Worst Ads
shadowBlock is an experimental extension designed specifically for websites that are determined to detect ad blockers. While traditional ad blockers can be easily bypassed by using techniques such as obfuscating ad URLs and hiding ad images, shadowBlock aims to prevent these malicious ads from being visible to users. It achieves this by blocking ads that utilize a technology called "Shadow DOM," which is difficult to block with conventional ad blockers.
Unlike comprehensive ad blockers, shadowBlock employs only cosmetic filtering, which means it applies CSS-based blocking. It is currently only applied to a few websites that have been identified as using malicious ads, so it should be used in conjunction with a general ad blocker. In some cases, websites may detect ad blocking due to the blocking rules imposed by other ad blockers, but this can usually be resolved by disabling specific blocking rules.
It's worth noting that some empty spaces may be left where ads were blocked. This is an intentional measure to prevent the detection of ad blocking. Removing these empty spaces could potentially affect the layout of non-ad elements on the page. Additionally, if a website is particularly diligent in detecting ad blockers, they may intentionally break normal functionality such as image loading to counteract the blocking.
shadowBlock currently supports a few specific websites, but the methodology employed by shadowBlock can be applied to other websites as well. If you encounter websites that utilize ad blocking detection or employ ads using Shadow DOM, you can request support for those sites through the issue tracker on the extension's GitHub repository.
For more information about shadowBlock, please visit the extension's GitHub repository.
