In order to understand how AdBlock360 works, it is imperative to understand the concept of filters. This is because filters are the pillar on which an adblocker stands.
Filters
A filter is defined as a set of rules written in a specific syntax. Ad blockers interpret these set of rules in order to perform the required action on web traffic. For instance, block certain page elements or modify a page.
What is a Filter List?
The set of rules that form a filter are defined as a filter list. The filter list helps determine which ads, trackers, popups, or cookie notifications to block on a web page.
As mentioned earlier, these rules are defined in a special syntax. Therefore, they are developed by skilled professionals who use the web browser's developer console or other specialized tools (like the AdBlock360's log) to develop rules that tell the adblocker which ads or trackers to block.
However, developing a rule does not necessarily mean the rule will stay effective forever and not go obsolete. New ads come and elements of a web page keep changing continuously. This is where the Filter lists feature of AdBlock360 comes into play. You can use create/import custom filter lists to define which elements of a page to block.
The filtering rules are further segregated into 3 types that include basic, cosmetic, and HTML filtering.
Basic (Block Web Request to Server)
This is the simplest type of filtering rules. In order to access a web page over the internet, your web browser needs to send a web request to the server. An ad blocker simply blocks that request ensuring it does not reach the server. Resultantly, no reply is received and the unwanted ads are blocked. Although this type is very effective in blocking ads, the space left empty by the removed ad is occupied by an ad leftover.
Cosmetic (Modify DOM)
Every web page has an HTML document named DOM (Document Object Model) containing its complete structure and associated elements. Since ads are also elements, filtering rules assist an ad blocker determine which elements are ads. As a result, the ad blocker removes parts of DOM, successfully blocking the ads appearing on the web page. This type is effective as it eliminates the possibility of any ad leftovers taking up the space left by removed ads.
HTML (Modify HTML)
This type requires modifications in the HTML code, cutting out the unwanted HTML elements before the web page even loads. Therefore, this is the most complicated type and requires you to grant certain permissions to your ad blocker, which is why it is not supported by all platforms.
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