By Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker – September 27, 2010 at 08:00PM
Whether you block internet ads or not, ad-blocking extensions are pretty handy. Not only can you use them to block offensive material, rickrolls, and other unpleasant things, but reader Dave-Farquhar lets us know that they can also block malicious software.
Ads on the web can be all kinds of annoying, but some people prefer not to block every internet ad they see—after all, it is how most web sites (including Lifehacker) make their money, and are able to keep pumping out content for free. Even if you don’t block ads, though, it may be worthwhile to install an ad blocker (like Adblock Plus for Firefox), if only for its malware-blocking powers.
You won’t see it on the list of ad filters when you first install most ad-block extensions, but a few folks have created a filter that maintains a listing of domains used for spreading spyware and malware. It started out as a tool for DNS servers, but has since been converted to a filter so those using ad blockers can take advantage of (on Firefox or Chrome). Hit the link to read about it and subscribe to it, and don’t forget to install Adblock Plus on Firefox first if you haven’t already.