My recommendations for the ultimate configuration of AdGuard's browser extension :)
NOTE: For AdGuard on Safari on iOS, see here, and for AdGuard on Safari on macOS, see here.
NOTE: This project can be found on both Codeberg, which will act as the main & preferred way to contribute, and GitHub.
Block search ads and websites' self-promotion -> ✅
Phishing and malware protection -> ❌ (Use Quad9 instead)
Activate the most appropiate filters automatically -> ✅
Auto-update filters -> 1 hour
(If this causes you any issues, you can set to 6 hours
instead)
I would generally recommend enabling most of the built-in filters, besides those under the Language-specific
category & some of those under the Other
category. These are all extremely carefully picked lists with strong coverage and minimal breakage, and I would recommend enabling them as follows for the best coverage possible.
Ad Blocking -> ✅
Ad Blocking:
-
AdGuard Base filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard Mobile Ads filter
-> ✅ -
EasyList
-> ✅
Privacy -> ✅
Privacy:
-
AdGuard Tracking Protection filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard URL Tracking filter
-> ✅ -
EasyPrivacy
-> ✅ -
Legitimate URL Shortener
-> ✅ -
Peter Lowe's Blocklist
-> ✅ -
Fanboy's Anti-Facebook List
-> ✅
Social Widgets -> ✅
Social Widgets:
-
AdGuard Social Media filter
-> ✅ -
Fanboy's Social Blocking List
-> ✅
Annoyances -> ✅
Annoyances:
-
AdGuard Cookie Notices filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard Popups filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard Mobile App Banners filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard Other Annoyances filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard Widgets filter
-> ✅ -
AdGuard Annoyances filter
-> ✅ -
Adblock Warning Removal List
-> ✅ -
Fanboy's Annoyances
-> ✅ -
EasyList Cookie List
-> ✅ -
Dandelion Sprout's Annoyances List
-> ✅
Security -> ✅
Security:
-
Online Malicious URL Blocklist
-> ✅ -
Phishing URL Blocklist
-> ✅ -
Scam Blocklist by DurableNapkin
-> ✅ (Only enable this if you don't also have DNS content blocking with this list enabled in place, otherwise keep this list disabled) -
uBlock Origin - Badware risks
-> ✅
Other -> ✅
Other:
AdGuard DNS filter
-> ✅ (Only enable this if you don't also have DNS content blocking with this list enabled in place, otherwise keep this list disabled and re-disable theOther
category)
Custom -> ✅
Custom:
I would recommend importing the following lists:
-
⭐️
Divested - Fingerprinting
-https://codeberg.org/divested/dnsbl/raw/branch/master/Fingerprinting.ubl
-
⭐️ Yokoffing's
Block third party fonts
:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yokoffing/filterlists/main/block_third_party_fonts.txt
Additionally, if you don't have a DNS content blocking solution in place (you should), or you just can't use the relevant list on your DNS blocker, you should import the following:
-
⭐️ My
BadBlock
:https://codeberg.org/celenity/BadBlock/raw/branch/main/abp/badblock.txt
-
⭐️
Dandelion Sprout's Anti-Malware List
:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DandelionSprout/adfilt/master/Dandelion%20Sprout's%20Anti-Malware%20List.txt
-
⭐️
Divested Combined Blocklist
:https://divested.dev/hosts-domains-wildcards
-
⭐️
HaGeZi's Badware Host Blocking
:https://gitlab.com/hagezi/mirror/-/raw/main/dns-blocklists/adblock/hoster.txt
-
⭐️
HaGeZi's Most Abused TLDs
:https://gitlab.com/hagezi/mirror/-/raw/main/dns-blocklists/adblock/spam-tlds-ublock.txt
-
⭐️
HaGeZi Multi PRO++
:https://gitlab.com/hagezi/mirror/-/raw/main/dns-blocklists/adblock/pro.plus.txt
-
⭐️
HaGeZi's Threat Intelligence Feeds
:https://gitlab.com/hagezi/mirror/-/raw/main/dns-blocklists/adblock/tif.txt
-
⭐️
HaGeZi/xRuffKez's Newly Registered Domains (14 days)
:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xRuffKez/NRD/main/nrd-14day_adblock.txt
-
⭐️
OISD - Big
:https://big.oisd.nl
Additionally, if you're fine with a little breakage, I would highly recommend:
-
⭐️ My
BadBlock
+ instead ofBadBlock
:https://codeberg.org/celenity/BadBlock/raw/branch/main/abp/badblock_plus.txt
-
⭐️
1Hosts Pro
:https://o0.pages.dev/Pro/adblock.txt
-
⭐️
HaGeZi Multi
Ultimate instead ofHaGezi Multi
Pro++:https://gitlab.com/hagezi/mirror/-/raw/main/dns-blocklists/adblock/ultimate.txt
Stealth Mode -> ✅
General -> Block trackers -> ✅
General -> Remove tracking parameters -> ✅
General -> Hide your search queries -> ✅
General -> Ask websites not to track you -> ✅
Cookies -> Self-destruction of third-party cookies -> ✅
Cookies -> Self-destruction of third-party cookies -> Your choice, the shorter the better, I usually leave at the default of 2880
Miscellaneous -> Hide Referrer from third parties -> ✅
Miscellaneous -> Disable WebRTC -> ❌ (As long as you're using a private browser like Firefox or Brave, then there really isn't a point or benefit from setting this IMO)
User rules -> ✅
User rules:
This is where it can really depend on you and your set-up. I'll provide my recommendations and filters here I myself use below:
First, I would highly recommend setting the following to protect against IDN Homograph attacks You don't need to set this if your DNS provider already provides IDN Homograph Attacks Protection (i.e. NextDNS):
-
xn--*
-
xn--*$doc,popup,frame
I usually also set the following to always enforce blocking Google's Doubleclick & Google Analytics: ((Why?)[https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Privacy-stuff])
-
||doubleclick.net^$important
-
||google-analytics.com^$important
Additionally, I set the following to block social media tracking on websites:
-
||facebook.com^$important,third-party
-
||facebook.net^$important,third-party
-
||linkedin.com^$important,third-party
-
||instagram.com^$important,third-party
-
||tiktok.com^$important,third-party
I also set this to block tracking from Gravatar:
||gravatar.com^$important,third-party
I also set these rules to block 3rd party sign-in prompts from Google & Apple, as they're 1: annoying and 2: a tracking concern:
-
||accounts.google.com^$third-party
-
||appleid.apple.com^$third-party
-
||appleid.cdn-apple.com^$third-party
-
@@||accounts.google.com^$domain=youtube.com|chromium.org|gstatic.com|googleusercontent.com
-
@@||appleid.apple.com^$domain=appleid.cdn-apple.com
-
@@||appleid.cdn-apple.com^$domain=appleid.apple.com
Finally, I usually set the following to block the annoying banner on Old Reddit promoting Reddit's new UI.
-
www.reddit.com###redesign-beta-optin-btn
-
old.reddit.com###redesign-beta-optin-btn
Once you are done here, make sure to select Save
.
Use optimized filters -> ❌
Invert allowlist -> ❌ (Should be default)
Help with the development of AdGuard filters -> ❌
Show information on the AdGuard full version -> ❌
Notify about extension updates -> ✅
-
Use a privacy-respecting browser like Firefox with my Phoenix.text
-
Enable Safe Browsing in your browser if possible and if it's not done in a privacy-invasive way. (You should use i.e. Google Safe Browsing on "Standard" Mode, Firefox's Safe Browsing, & Brave's Safe Browsing, you should avoid most other options i.e. Google Safe Browsing on "Enhanced" Mode, Microsoft SmartScreen, & Opera Sitecheck).
-
Use a private, secure, & reputable DNS provider of your choice. I would recommend setting up your own NextDNS configuration if you are able to (See my recommendations for NextDNS here), otherwise I would recommend Quad9. (Even if you have a private/secure DNS provider set on your OS/network level, make sure to also set it in your browser as well, so that you can take advantage of Encrypted Client Hello)
-
Use a (reputable) anti-virus if possible. On Windows, you can use the built-in Microsoft Defender Antivirus, on macOS, you can stick to the built-in XProtect, on Android, you can use Hypatia, and on Linux, you can use ClamAV. NOTE: You should install Hypatia through the DivestOS Official Repo instead of F-Droid's main repo, as it will allow you to receive quicker updates directly from the developer. It's also recommended to use F-Droid Basic as your F-Droid client of choice.