Last Updated on October 2, 2016 by Dave Farquhar
I have some easy uBlock settings to improve how it protects you against malware. You don’t think of ad blockers as a security tool? I do. It’s a good idea to use one even if you configure it to allow most ads through.
My favorite ad-blocking extension for Chrome is uBlock, because it’s faster and more resource friendly than the better-known Adblock Plus. It also comes configured by default to block known malicious sites, where Adblock Plus makes you dig for that feature.
But it’s still possible to tweak uBlock to give you even better protection against malware, and that’s a good thing. It’s one thing to detect malware and block it after you download it. But it’s even better to detect and block it before you download it in the first place. That keeps you safe if your antivirus software is slow to update for any reason.
Click the red shield icon, then click the top bar of the dropdown menu. The configuration page appears. Click 3rd party filters.
First, look in the first section. Enable uBlock Filters – Badware Risks if isn’t already. That’s an option you definitely want.
Scroll way down to the fourth section, Malware Domains. Check all six boxes, then click Apply settings in the upper right hand corner to save your changes. Finally, click Update now in the upper left hand corner to save and activate and update them.
After you finish, you might want to back up your settings. Click on the first tab, Settings, then click Backup to file. A small text file downloads automatically. Use the button Restore from file if you ever need to restore it. You can also copy the file to another computer, install uBlock, and restore the same file there to duplicate the configuration.
Believe it or not, you’re done. That’s all it takes to configure uBlock. Now, Chrome will completely ignore thousands of domains that others reported malicious or otherwise problematic. That’s good, because these days you can’t have too much protection.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.