I had no idea where to ask this, so hoping to get some good feedback here.
I am trying to find a free ad-blocker to use (if such a thing exists), but I’m unsure where to start. I have tried googling, but like with so many software downloads I am cautious of just downloading something riddled with viruses, or something that doesn’t even work.
I am also trying to source a free VPN (again, if it’s even possible).
I am very tight for money at the moment, and yet another subscription fee is just not possible for my family at the moment.
This sub always feels welcoming and seems like a trustworthy source for something like this, so thought I’d give it a shot.
Firefox + ubock origin is by far the best and safest way to use an adblocker. I would not recommend using adblock plus because they let advertisers pay them to be unblocked. as for the vpn mulvad is the most private and trustworthy but a lot of people have misconceptions about what vpns actually do so make sure you actually need one first.
There are loads of free adblockers for browsers and you can use them all at once as Google Chrome add-ons or Firefox extensions etc. My three I used are ublock origin, adblock plus and adblock and they’re all free.
As for VPNs, I haven’t tried many of the free ones but they’re hit or miss. There’s one called cyberghost that’s also a browser add-on but only works on browsers for free but of course pretty limited. There’s a download version that I haven’t tried before so I don’t know if it has a free version or not. I used a paid VPN since it’s guaranteed to work.
If I may ask, why are you looking for a VPN? A lot of people talk about it for general Internet privacy, but it’s not something you need unless you’re sure you need it. Are you?
You already got good responses here, I just also wanted to recommend looking at the mega thread over at r/piracy. They have a huge compilation of resources as well as tutorials on how to set them up properly.
You dont need to pay for adblocker. Easiest on your phone is just add dns.adguard.com under private DNS (under more connection settings for internet on android.) It can make promoted search results and certain email ads act up a bit, but I think it’s easy to work around that.
Mulvad is also pretty cheap VPN, you pay 5£ for a month. It’s cheap and reliable, while not requiring recurring membership.
On chrome (PC), use ublock origin. On your phone, use Samsung Internet with the following adblockers plugins installed: ABP, Adblock Fast, and Adguard.
Windscribe is a free VPN I’ve seen recommended in other parts of Reddit.
Ad blockers should be free (most extensions should be) make sure you’re downloading them from your browsers add-in page. I recommend uBlock origin for an ad blocker on pc. For phones, I use ADguards free version as well
For VPNs, proton has good privacy and interface. You can even download it on your phone. They offer both paid and free versions and are based in Switzerland.
For even more privacy, you can use a privacy based DNS such as Quad9 or Mullvad, they can even be used on phones. For browsers, I recommend a hardened version of Firefox (a pre-configured Firefox, read more here). For search engines, I recommend DuckDuckGo. Lastly, a good free antivirus software I’d recommend is malwarebytes. Good luck with your endeavors!
Thank you all so much for your suggestions, I really appreciate your input.
Sometimes with software I find things a bit overwhelming. It is so hard to determine whether something will actually be useful, or if it’s just more bloatware. It feels almost impossible to distinguish at times.
Keen to try some of these and see what works for me.
