An ad blocker. Which forum to ask re. confict with MB ?

[deucy14]

I would like to get a fair ad blocker with not necessary to have all the bells and whistles.  AdGuard reads impressively its promotion. But I wish to have minimum conflict with my 1st priority MW.  I am willing to work an ad blocker to minimize issues with MB ..... but I am not the most savvy with computers.

 My question is if there is a favored, run of the mill ad blocker with decent fulfillment and won't impede or obstruct my MW.

Is there an appropriate forum you can direct me or forward this inquiry, too ?

I admit I am behind with MB updates quite a bit.

[exile360]

Greetings,

Most ad blockers should work just fine with Malwarebytes.  I myself am currently using a large HOSTS file consisting of entries from multiple sources to block ads, trackers as well as malware (currently it has over 900,000 entries) as well as Adblock Plus in all my browsers (including IE) along with several for SRWare Iron (a Chromium based browser similar to Google Chrome but without any of Google's tracking and advertising built in) including Disconnect, Ghostery, DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials, Windows Defender Browser Protection (the equivalent of Smartscreen, but for Chromium based browsers like SRWare Iron which I use) as well as Malwarebytes' own Malwarebytes browser extension beta (this one is particularly useful as it actually speeds up blocking by the Malwarebytes Web Protection component to make loading pages even faster when any content is blocked by it).

That last one is probably the best fit for what you're looking for, but that said, you should be able to use pretty much any ad blocking browser add-on/extension alongside Malwarebytes without any problems.  You can learn more and download the Malwarebytes browser extension beta at the following links if you're interested:

Chrome
Firefox

The Chrome version should work with most Chromium based browsers including SRWare Iron and Vivaldi among others.

[exile360]

By the way, I noticed based on the image you posted that you're still on build 3.6.1 of Malwarebytes.  Just in case you weren't aware, a new build has been released, version 3.7.1.  You can install it by opening Malwarebytes and navigating to Settings>Application and clicking on the Install Application Updates button or by downloading it directly from here.

[deucy14]

This is a treasure trove !  Thank you exile !  I will be on the extension beta.    Updating, certainly !    

[exile360]

Excellent, I'm glad to be of service.  If there is anything else we might assist you with please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks

[deucy14]

 

The MWB browser extension:  I have just engaged it to my Firefox. Did I miss a tutorial ?

About the on/off button.  When green is showing it means the election is in the affirmative ?    i.e. The button is on ?

                                              Should button not be showing the green, it means the election is in the negative ?  i.e. The button is off ?

Am I correct in stating that the Allow List is for those web domains that I cite that I wish to PERMIT malware/scams and permit adds/clickbait ?  If so, why would I want that ?

What does the number mean that is associated with the MWB icon in the upper right of the page ?

 

Thank you in advance !

[exile360]

The switches are for blocking those categories of items on the current website you are viewing, so when each one is on/enabled (i.e. green) those types of items will be blocked for the current site you are viewing in your browser:

Likewise, under Settings you can configure individual blocking components on a global level for all sites (if, for example, you didn't want Malwarebytes to block PUP related sites (Potentially Unwanted Programs):

The Allow List is where the list of sites are stored which you have chosen to exclude from blocking, either from individual components, or to exclude completely for all of the browser extension's blocking functions (think of this just like the Exclusions tab in Malwarebytes where you can exclude items from individual protection/detection components or from all of Malwarebytes components).

The number you see on each page you visit is the number of items that Malwarebytes has blocked for the current tab/site (it may be particularly high on sites that contain many ads and trackers for example).

You can find documentation on the browser extension in the Malwarebytes support knowledgebase here and if you have any issues or questions (such as a possible false positive to report) you may post it here for the Chrome version and here for the Firefox version.

I hope that helps to clarify things  

[deucy14]

exile360, You are very quick and all inclusive, comprehensive.  Appreciation from here for all of that.  I have to navigate around much, and I would like to have it right from the beginning. 

Actually, at first stroke with the extension, I was questioning the on/off of the button beyond the intuitive (green means engage or on).  But I asked myself  "is green really as I just stated and was practicing ?"  I began to wonder.  Creeping in was the notion  that solid white may be an expression of a closed gate to the potentially obstructive / destructive; green was an open gate for whatever existed allowing the user for whatever purpose wanting it that way at that location; similar to what you described with Malwarebytes capability to acknowledge the exceptions of the user. (I actually live behind a substantial, closed, white gate in Latin America.)

The Allow List also is aptly described with its electives.  It is just that it is so robustly and easily designed for use that it made the appearance of the prospect being "quite frequent" to be "allowing" the potential Questionables not to be blocked. That did not feel intuitive.  Not withstanding the labeling is correct, the visual tickled a fragment of doubt. As a rock turner, I wanted to be 100% clear.  So I subscribed to your generous "contact anytime" offer.  I do appreciate you and staff !  Thanks, too, for the links.

 

[exile360]

You're welcome, I'm glad I could help.

Regarding the use of green/white, yes, I can see why that might be a bit confusing.  I believe the logic behind the colors is that green typically means protected in most security applications (or up to date in the case of things like Windows Update) and a switch toggled to the right means "On" and left means "Off" in the case of settings.

As for the numbers, this is typical of many ad blockers and similar browser add-ons.  For example, here is an image showing two other add-ons and their blocks (Adblock Plus and Ghostery):

[deucy14]

Thanks, exile360. 

Note on on the Malwarebytes platform the "on" is a white dot.  Hehe.

 

[exile360]

True, but it's also on a green bar so at least the colors are (somewhat) consistent  

I definitely think it could be clearer though, and I'll be sure to pass along your feedback to the Developers.